Although job security is much stronger since the end of the recession, many workers are still feeling the pressure to demonstrate their dedication. Along with remaining in the workplace for longer hours, this has seen sick leave fall to a new low, with employers claiming that the number of days taken has fallen from an average of 7.6 days per employee last year to only 6.6 days this year.
According to the report, commissioned by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), workers are increasingly choosing to go into work when unwell or during recovery. It found that a third of employers had noticed workers returning to their desks whilst suffering from a health problem, debunking the theory that British workers are now much healthier than in the past.
Furthermore, the report found that the majority of people taking “sick days” did so due to their caring responsibilities outside of the office, with the annual CIPD/Simplyhealth Absence Management survey highlighting some of the issues faced by employees today. Taking care of elderly relatives and struggling to arrange childcare in the event of illness at school were two of the most popular reasons for workers to take a sick day, for example.
CIPD research adviser Dr Jill Miller believes that employers now have an increased responsibility to help workers with family responsibilities to balance their home and working lives.
She says; “Supporting those with caring responsibilities to balance their work and home lives, and therefore retaining our talent, is a key issue.
“Recent research has predicted that there will be four generations working side by side by 2030.
“As people have children later, and are looking after parents in the ageing baby boomer generation, they find themselves caring for both their children and their older relatives.”
And it seems that employers are responding to the needs of their workforce and are beginning to introduce initiatives designed to ease this burden.
Most commonly, 68 per cent of employers have begun to offer flexible working arrangements, allowing their employees to work from home or alternate their working hours as a means of retaining talent whilst offering support.
53 per cent of employers, meanwhile, allow staff members to take compassionate leave, while 48 per cent offer the ability to apply for either paid or unpaid carers’ leave. 42 per cent offer access to counselling services, and a further 30 per cent offer career break or sabbatical clauses in their contracts.
When broken down further, the CIPD found that there remains a discrepancy between sick leave in the public and private sectors. Public sector employees take an average of 7.9 days sick leave per year compared to just 5.5 days in the private sector, which the CIPD believes could be due to the high exposure of public sector workers, including teachers and nurses, to contagious illnesses whilst in contact with the public.
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