“86% of companies reporting people coming into work ill, proves the UK is in the midst of a presenteeism crisis. Small and medium businesses are certainly not exempt from this crisis – our research revealed that every second employee feels guilty about calling in sick (52%) despite being genuinely ill.
While low absence levels are a positive for business as a whole, organisations must create an environment in which calling in sick is acceptable and supported. There is no benefit in making employees feel guilty about taking genuine sick days. It has potentially devastating consequences on recovery, productivity, morale and a business’ reputation, both internally and externally.
“However, there are cases where employees pull a sickie despite being perfectly healthy. Having insights into individual employee absences and being able to spot patterns can help businesses reduce non-genuine sick days and increase business productivity whist still supporting staff with genuine health issues”