It is good news for employers that the number of sick days taken on average by workers over the last 2 decades has actually decreased significantly. The 2016 estimate for working days lost due to sickness or injury in the UK is 137.3 million, which works out to be an average of 4.3 days per worker. In 1993, the highest reference point for sickness rates showed an average of 7.2 days per worker, demonstrating a significant decrease over that period. (Office for National Statistics)

Much of this change is put down to an increase of workers into the labour market which brings the average down, but we wonder if there are other factors contributing to this change.

• Sickness has been decreasing since 1993 significantly, with small increases in the last few years
• Women have slightly higher sickness rates than men
• Companies with over 500 employees see higher sickness rates
• Coughs and colds are the main reason for sick days in most industries, compared with the MOD where mental health was a significant contributor.
• Sickness rates are higher in the public sector than in private sector

Nearly all of the statistics we looked at showed that minor illness, included coughs and colds, were the main reason for sickness absence during 2016 representing 24.8% of incidents and roughly 34 million days lost. This was followed closely by musco-skeletal problems such as back pain, neck pain and limb problems, representing 22.4% of sickness days, or 30.8 million days.

This varied slightly in certain industries, such as within the MOD where mental health and behavioural reasons were a leading contributor in most of their departments, particularly those in non-industrial positions. The MOD also had a significantly higher sickness rate at an average of 7.07 days in the year ending June 2017, although this was still a 4% decrease on the previous year.

In the broader labour market, mental health issues (including stress, depression, anxiety and serious conditions) was the fourth most common reason for sickness absence, resulting in 15.8 million days lost (11.5%).

Men vs Women

Whilst men and women both cite the same reasons for sickness, sickness rates have been consistently lower for men since 1993, although both gender groups have seen a decrease in the average number of sick days taken to 2016. In 2016, women lost 2.5% of their working days due to sickness, compared with men at 1.6%. Whilst both groups cite coughs & colds, back and neck pain and mental health as the most common reasons for sickness, 4.7% of female sickness was related to pregnancy or urine infections.

Size of the organisation

Statistics show that large organisations with over 500 people had a higher rate of sickness on average than companies with less than 25 employees, with sickness rates 36% higher in larger organisations.

The reason for this is unknown, but it could be down to the likeliness of spreading illnesses across larger groups, or lower employee engagement in larger organisations.

Age of worker

The average number of sick days across all age groups has decreased since 1993. The age group which has seen the most significant decrease in sickness are those aged 50-64, with the smallest change in those aged 65+. It is no surprise for those aged 65+ to see little change in their level of sick days; retirement age has been increasing and as more people stay in the labour market for longer, they are more prone to health problems.

Public Sector vs Private Sector

Workers in the public sector have taken 27% more sick days than those employed by the private sector. The number of sick days has been consistently higher in the public sector than in the private sector, although the reasons for illness were the same, so there is no data to suggest the reason for this.

However, the NHS in Wales seems to defy the average public sector sickness level of 2.9%, with an absence rate of 5.2% in the year ending March 2017. With the NHS employing such large volumes of people, it could be that the public and private sectors are actually closer together when you remove the skew from the NHS.

• 32.0% higher for women relative to men
• 42.0% lower for workers aged 16 to 24, 31.0% lower for workers aged 25 to 34 and 24.0% lower for workers aged 35 to 49, all relative to those aged 50 to State Pension age1
• 27.0% higher for workers in the public sector relative to workers in the private sector
• 36.0% higher for workers in organisations with 500 and over employees relative to workers in organisations with less than 25 employees
• 14.0% lower for managers and senior officials relative to those working in professional roles, but 80.0% higher for process plant and machine operative workers relative to professionals

This data from the national office for statistics is very informative when looking at the actual figures for sickness over the last couple of decades, but it doesn’t offer very much by way of insight into the potential reasons for these changes.

We do know there has been an increase in the number of people in the labour market which will naturally bring average numbers down, but we can’t help but feel as though there are other contributing factors which are harder to measure, but can impact employee health and happiness.

Job satisfaction and employee morale is a big contributor to sickness levels, with workers who feel less happy in their jobs being more likely to experience health problems and take sick leave.

On the whole, organisations in the UK have been better in recent years at being more aware of employee engagement levels, employee satisfaction and building stronger, happier teams.

There has also been a huge increase in flexible working, allowing people to fit more of their personal responsibilities in around their working life. This change alone has led to fewer sickness days, as people with child care duties or with disabilities now have greater flexibility and choice around their place of work and working hours.

Whilst we have to believe the data, we do think there have been a lot of positive changes occurring in the labour market over the last two decades that we shouldn’t dismiss. Flexible working seemed like a bit of a nuisance for business leaders when first introduced, but if sickness rates have dramatically dropped in line with increased employee satisfaction, we can immediately see the return on investment!