Employees in Canada are more likely than their global counterparts to call in sick if they feel stressed, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive for The Workforce Institute at Kronos Inc.
According to the survey, employees in China lead the way when it comes to calling in sick when they’re not actually feeling ill, with 71% of respondents in that country admitting to doing so. Among Canadians, 52% admit to calling in sick when they’re not. France had the smallest number with only 16%.
When asked about the reasons behind calling in sick when they weren’t, 71% of Canadians said they did so due to feeling stressed or just needing a day off work; this was also the top response given in every region surveyed, with 62% of respondents in the U.S. citing it as their main reason for calling in sick, 60% in China, 57% in the U.K., 53% in France, 51% in Australia, 46% in Mexico and 44% in India. Other reasons given included needing to take care of a sick child, having too heavy a workload and not having enough paid leave.
When asked what their employers could do to deter employees from taking a sick day when they don’t really need it, the top response in every region but France was to offer employees the opportunity to work flexible hours. In France, employees said that being offered the opportunity to take Fridays off in the summer and make them up during the week would be the best deterrent. Being given the opportunity to work from home and the opportunity to take unpaid leave also rated high among employees around the world.
In China, 45% also felt that providing more paid time off to employees would make a difference, followed by Canada at 38%.
“It is interesting to see both the many similarities between regions and the marked differences also. Employers everywhere can learn from this survey—about the problem of absenteeism and the possible fixes—from providing more flexible work arrangements, where possible, to enabling employees to work from home,” said Joyce Maroney, director of The Workforce Institute.
According to a recent survey conducted by Mercer on behalf of Kronos, unscheduled employee absences cost organizations 8.7% of payroll annually.