As we enter the cold and flu season it's alarming to read that our colleagues might resent us for taking a day off, but that's exactly what will happen according to a BBC poll . The survey found that nine out of 10 workers were unhappy with their colleagues taking sickies, mainly because of the extra work they would have to take on in their absence. Women, it seems, are the less tolerant sex, with 92% expressing annoyance compared to 86% of men.
Perhaps this is because the poll was carried out in Scotland, which ranked among the regions with the highest absence rates last year. Employees there took an average of nine sick days - less than the 10 days taken by employees in the north-west of England, but considerably higher than the figure for Northern Ireland where workers averaged just 4.6 days off. Even in London the average was lower at 6.8 days.
Or perhaps it's because they suspect their colleagues of skiving – and why wouldn't they? A recent Bupa survey showed that one in five workers has made up an excuse to call in sick, with food poisoning or a cold top on the list of excuses.
The same survey revealed that only a third of managers believed staff who phoned in sick were genuinely ill, and that 65% thought that staff who were off work repeatedly should have their pay stopped. It's little wonder that a company called Employment Law Advisory Services think they can make money from a piece of software monitoring sick days and spotting emerging patterns.
So what's a sick worker to do? Stay at home and attempt to forget they face the wrath of their fellow workers and perhaps the suspicion of their boss in the morning, or haul themselves in although they don't feel up to the job? Shouldn't it be possible to take a day off to recover from illness without becoming unpopular with everyone else in the workplace?
