Ok, it is a cheeky title to this post, but I recently read this Inc.com article – Big Surprise: Most Workers Faking Sick Days (see, Inc.com started it).  In case you had any doubt:

…most workers who call in sick at the last minute aren’t really sick.

…

The real reasons for employee absenteeism range from family issues to personal needs and stress. Indeed, a majority of workers tend to call in “sick” on Mondays or Fridays, with similar patterns appearing around major holidays, the survey found.

So no surprises here but there is a very good point made towards the end of the article (emphasis mine):

Still, Wolf doesn’t blame people for taking the odd day off. She said most workers are forced to juggle increasing demands from the workplace, family, or other commitments, creating what she calls a “tug of war” for their time.

Wolf said employers stand to gain by building a better partnership with employees through work-life balance programs. According to the survey, the five most effective programs for reducing absenteeism were alternative work arrangements, telecommuting, a compressed work week, leave for school functions, and flu-shot programs.

There is a sea change occurring in these benefit areas, but we still see some hesitancy in the old guard when it comes to initiating these types of programs.

Posted By Derrick Moe | Compensation,Trends | | Comments(0)