More than a third of all sick leave is taken on a Monday, says Mercer

More than a third of all sick leave is taken on a Monday, according to new sickness management research by Mercer.

January is the month with the highest level of sickness absence, with sick leave averaging half a day per person for the month. On 3 and 4 January, nearly 5% of the total employee population was absent on sick leave.

More than a third (35%) of all sick leave is taken on a Monday, with attendance on the remaining working days becoming higher as the week progresses. Fridays are least likely to be taken as sick leave, and account for only 3% of sickness absence during the working week.

Phiroze Bilimoria, a client manager at Mercer, said: “Companies with high absence rates carry an extra burden of costs that often drains organisational effectiveness and profitability. Direct costs can be measured through overtime payments and temporary contracts but hidden costs, reflected in reduced productivity, missed deadlines and litigation are generally much higher.

“Organisations that record and manage employee absence can reduce the toll on direct business costs and overall performance. Better coordination between line managers, occupational health teams and external healthcare providers can be particularly effective for managing long-term stress and musculo-skeletal conditions.”†

Mercer’s research is based on an analysis of sickness management records for 11,000 individual employees across a range of private sector organisations.

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