More staff going to work when ill, new research shows

PEOPLE are increasingly going to work when they are ill, highlighting a culture of “presenteeism” rather than pulling sickies, new research has revealed.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said a fall in absence levels from just under eight days a year, to less than seven, coincided with a third of employers reporting a rise in the number of staff going to work ill. The threat of redundancies and worries over job security were fuelling presenteeism, with the problem likely to get worse in organisations expected to make redundancies in the coming month, said the report.

A study of almost 700 employers also found that stress-related absence and mental health problems were increasing.

Firms were urged to tackle staff concerns because of the suggested link between presenteeism and stress.