Absenteeism – the facts
Headline stats. You’ll often read that employee absenteeism costs UK businesses £X billion per month or £Y billion per year. All very interesting on a macro level but what should you look out for at your level? According to AHP, which has one of the largest pools of absence data in the country, around 1.5 million people fail to show up for work every day, women are the worst offenders, the average length of absence spell is 4.8 working days, Monday is the most popular day for absenteeism, those aged under 25 are most likely to call in sick (those aged 40-50 are the least likely), when major sporting events occur absenteeism rises by an average of 20%.
Got the stomach for it? What are the most popular reasons given for the absence? Check your sickness records to see if the reasons shown in the table below look familiar.
| Reason for absence | Percentage of total |
| Aches and pains (back and neck) | 17.9 |
| Stomach problems | 13.3 |
| Mental health | 12.7 |
| Infection | 11.2 |
| Non-medical | 7.1 |
| Eyes, nose, throat | 6.7 |
| Injuries and poisoning | 5 |
Create your profile to unlock this advice and many more.