A new survey conducted by the BBC has revealed that 2 in 5 workers would fake a ‘sickie’ if they wanted a day off work.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the most common reasons for calling in sick in 2018 were colds, musculoskeletal problems, mental health conditions and “other” problems. Their findings also revealed that generally speaking, employees were happy to cover for their colleagues who were faking a sick day – two thirds said they wouldn’t tell their manager if they knew a colleague was absent but not ill.

Tackling ‘sickie’ culture is vital to ensure continual productivity in the workplace, not forgetting the cost and disruption it causes to employers. If a company is experiencing an unusually high number of sick days, it would be beneficial to implement a system to keep track of who’s off, when and how often, and act from there.

How LeavePlanner can help

Reduce absence in the workplace by implementing a system that actively tracks staff sickness. By making staff members aware that a system is in place for managing absence, ‘faking a sickie’ will soon become an action worth thinking twice about.

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