TNS study into sick leave reveals British employees afraid “what the boss might think” if they call in sick
29 April 2008, London, UK – Today TNS, the global market insight provider, launched part one of its ‘Britain at work’ study – which examines UK employee’s attitudes to work. The first study looks at what the nation thinks about ‘sick leave’ and whether we are under too much pressure to show up for work, when really we should be home in bed?
Overall it reveals that 67% of British employees come into work when they are ill because they worry ‘what the boss might think’ if they stayed home. Three quarters (73%) say they come into work when sick because they have too much work to do, and more than half (54%) believe it restricts their promotional prospects to take days off work through illness.
If we break this down regionally, we can see that people in the Midlands are the most concerned about what their manager thinks of them being ill, and the most likely to come in to work because they have too much work to do. However, it is the Scottish who are the most concerned about their promotional prospects with nearly two-thirds saying they are worried about how being sick may affect this. Wales and the South East have the least reservations about calling in sick when they are actually poorly, with the lowest score overall.
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I would sometimes come into work when I am actually sick because (% who agreed)……
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I’m worried about what my colleagues/boss will think of me?
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Because I have too much work to do…
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It restricts my promotional prospects…
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Nationally
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67
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73
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54
|
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The Midlands
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79
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80
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54
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North West
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71
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76
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58
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Scotland
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65
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75
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60
|
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Greater London
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67
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73
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54
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North East
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67
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67
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56
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|
Wales & West
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65
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70
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52
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South East/East Anglia
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62
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75
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48
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“This sends an alarming message to employers around working cultures and the pressure they are putting on their employees”, says Gemma Camp, Head of Stakeholder Management at TNS. “If staff are so concerned about what their boss might think, that they don’t dare to take time off when they’re sick, they risk not only their and their colleagues’ physical health, but also their own mental health. These results show that there is a wide-spread fear among British employees to be seen as ‘slacking off’, even though we know that the British work the longest hours in Europe and have the fewest days of annual leave”.
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Note to editor
TNS surveyed a sample of 1,000 people aged 16-24, representative of the British population, between 22nd and 24th April 2008.
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