Sick of It

Though companies are keen to cut costs, many fail to manage employee absentee rates, argues Mercer, an HR consultancy. After surveying nearly 800 companies across Europe, it found that while most can cite data on the number of days employees have been absent, less than half are able to identify the cause or the cost of these absences. Around 20% report that the average number of sick days per employee has risen over the past three years, nearly double the percentage that say it has decreased.