Kronos Absence Survey shows younger employees in the UK are more likely to ‘throw a sickie’ than their older colleagues

A new survey commissioned by The Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated and conducted by Harris Interactive reveals that 43 percent of UK employees admit to having called in sick to work when they were not actually sick. The Kronos Absence Survey looks at what employees are doing with this extra leisure time, how the rest of the workforce is affected when employees call in sick and what employers can do to better manage the problem.

Kronos has also created a videothat looks at the issue of absenteeism – not just in the UK, but around the world.

News Facts

• Significant numbers of employees admit to calling in sick to work when they are not actually ill. In the UK, 43 percent of adults admit to calling in sick when not sick. This figure increases significantly for the 16-24 age group, with 65 percent admitting to bogus sick days, compared with just 25 percent of the 55-64 age group admitting the same and 40 percent of the 25-30 age group.
• When asked why they had ever called in sick when they were not actually sick, the overwhelming response was that employees felt stressed and needed a day off. In the UK, 25 percent of respondents have taken a sick day when feeling stressed. Again, the figures were highest for the 16 – 24 age group at 34 percent and lower for the 55 – 64 age group at 14 percent.  Other reasons for taking a day off sick included having to look after a sick child, having too heavy a workload and running out of paid leave.
• So how did they spend their day off? The top two activities were staying at home and watching TV or staying in bed: on average 50 percent of respondents took time off work to stay at home and watch TV, with 69 percent of 16 – 24 year olds choosing to spend a sick day in this way. 44 percent have stayed in bed on a bogus sick day; 29 percent had to take care of a sick child, 16 percent of respondents met with friends and relatives; 16 percent have used the time for a shopping trip and 9 percent went to a sporting event.
• When asked what their employers could do to prevent them from calling in sick when they were not really sick, the top response was to offer employees the opportunity to work flexible hours: 50 percent of respondents would like flexible hours;39 percent would like the opportunity to take unpaid leave; 33 percent would like the option to work from home occasionally; 32 percent think that more paid leave was the answer and 27 percent would like the chance to take ‘duvet days’ – days that could be taken as leave at short notice.
• The majority of employees - 51 percent - said that they were negatively affected when colleagues called in sick with the top reason being that they have to take on the workload of the missing employee. The second reason at 25 percent was an increase in stress levels.
• When asked if employers use an automated system to keep track of absences, 45 percent responded yes, 31 percent responded no and 19 percent didn’t know.
• Unscheduled absences, such as when an employee calls in sick at the last minute, cost organisations 8.7 percent of payroll as highlighted in a recent survey conducted by Mercer and sponsored by Kronos.

Supporting Quotes

• Simon Macpherson, Senior Director, Operations, EMEA
  “This survey provides a fascinating look at the issue of absenteeism both in the UK and around the world. Employers everywhere can learn from this survey – about the problem of absenteeism and the possible fixes – from providing more flexible working arrangements to enabling employees to work from home.”

Survey Methodology

The Kronos Global Absence survey was conducted online within the U.S. between July 19-21, 2011 among 2,293 adults (aged 18 and over), of whom 1,209 are employed full-time and/or part time; within Canada between July 18-25, 2011 among 1,006 adults (aged 18 and older) of whom 538 are employed full-time and/or part-time; and within the U.K., France, Australia, Mexico, China, and India between July 19-27, 2011 among 6,153 adults (aged 16 and older) of whom 4,860 are employed full-time and/or part-time, by Harris Interactive on behalf of Kronos via its Quick Query omnibus product, the Harris Decima Canada online omnibus, and the Global omnibus product. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online. All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with non response, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, un-weighted, random samples with 100 percent response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

About the Workforce Institute

The Workforce Institute was founded by Kronos Incorporated in 2006 as a think tank to provide research and education on critical workplace issues facing organizations around the globe. By bringing together thought leaders, The Workforce Institute is uniquely positioned to empower organizations with the knowledge and information they need to manage their workforce effectively and provide a voice for employees on important workplace issues. A hallmark of The Workforce Institute's research is balancing the needs and desires of diverse employee populations with the needs of organizations. For additional information, visit www.workforceinstitute.org.

About Kronos

Kronos is the global leader in workforce management solutions that enable organisations to control labour costs, minimise compliance risk, and improve workforce productivity. Tens of thousands of organisations in 60 countries — including more than half of the Fortune 1000^® — use Kronos time and attendance, scheduling, absence management, HR and payroll, hiring and labour analytics applications. To learn how Kronos uniquely delivers complete automation and high-quality information in an easy-to-use solution, visit www.kronos.co.uk