Staff under 35 twice as likely to call in sick
07 January 2010
Employees under the age of 35 are twice as likely as their older colleagues to ring in sick for work in the winter due to feeling "under the weather", says Elemense.
Categories:
Health & wellbeing
By Nick Howard
Younger workers are also twice as likely to stay late at work because the dark, cold evenings put them off going out, research by the recruitment outsourcing firm revealed.
But most workers are against the idea of an autumn bank holiday to break up the long period between the summer and Christmas holidays, with 43% of workers in favour.
Keith Sammons, managing director at Elemense, said: "It's interesting that the under 35s who work longer to put off their journeys home in the darker nights are also more likely to be off work under the weather in winter."
Chris Wollen from office maintenance firm Ergro Group added that avoiding the winter blues is becoming a priority for businesses, with many considering lighting and better working conditions when planning winter modifications.
The problem is likely to be at its worst at this time of the year as research by Mercer suggests that January is the sickliest month of the year with most absences occurring at the beginning of the month.