Do employees really ‘call in sick’?

When asked if they had ever called in sick to work, simply to take a day off, 24% said they had and 76% said they had not. Only 14% of respondents said they would actually plan to take a sick day, whilst 50% said it would be a more spontaneous decision. A further 36% said it would be a combination of planned and spontaneous.

Monday (47%) and Friday (47%) are the most popular days to call in sick.

Reasons employees ‘call in sick’

The survey highlighted a number of reasons behind respondents calling in sick. These included: needing a mental health day (62%), a heavy workload (29%), running out of paid leave (14%), looking after a sick child (14%), not being busy enough at work that day, family and friends were visiting, or the fact that they simply could not be bothered going to work.

Although none of the respondents admitted to taking time off to watch the 2006 World Cup, 4% said they had taken time off to watch a major sporting event in 2007.

The majority of people who had admitted to taking a false sick day spent the day watching TV (62%). This was closely followed by staying in bed (57%) and shopping (48%). Others responses included: visiting relatives, going to the beach, catching up on household chores, dealing with a hangover, or going to an interview.

More: Managing false sickness absence