Survey says 62 pc Indian workers playing hooky

CHELMSFORD, USA: A significant number of employees in India admit to calling in sick to work when they were not actually sick, reveals a survey.

The study conducted by Harris Interactive says that employees in Australia, Canada, China, France, Great Britain, India, Mexico, and the U.S have played hooky, with China leading with 71 per cent, while France has the smallest number with only 16 per cent.

The Kronos Global Absence survey looks at which regions have the highest rates of absenteeism, how the rest of the workforce is affected when employees call in sick, and what employers can do to better manage the problem.

Other countries polled included Australia with 58 per cent, Canada with 52 per cent, the U.S. with 52 per cent, Great Britain with 43 per cent, and Mexico with 38 per cent.

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When asked why they have ever called in sick when they were not actually sick, the overwhelming response in every region was that employees felt stressed/needed a day off: 71 per cent in Canada, 62 per cent in the U.S., 60 per cent in China, 57 per cent in Great Britain, 53 per cent in France, 51 per cent in Australia, 46 per cent in Mexico, and 44 per cent in India.

Other reasons selected included needing to take care of a sick child, having too heavy a workload, and not having enough paid leave.

So, how did they spend their day off? The top two activities in every region except India and Mexico were staying home and watching TV or staying in bed. In India and Mexico, staying home and watching TV was the top choice, but meeting up with friends and relatives was next on the list.

When asked what their employers could do to prevent them from calling in sick to work when they weren’t actually sick, the top response in every region but France was to offer employees the opportunity to work flexible hours.

In France, employees said that summer Fridays — being offered the opportunity to take Fridays in the summer off and make them up during the week — would make the biggest impact. Being given the opportunity to work from home, and the opportunity to take unpaid leave, also rated high among employees around the world.

A high percentage of employees in China — 45 per cent — also felt that providing more paid time off to employees would make a difference — this was higher than in any other region: 38 per cent in Canada, 34 per cent in the U.S., 32 per cent in Great Britain, 25 per cent in Australia, 24 per cent in India, 15 per cent in France, and 12 per cent in Mexico.

The majority of employees in all regions said that they were negatively impacted when co-workers called in sick, with the top reason being that they had to take on the work or shift of the missing employee.

The second reason in every region except Mexico and France was an increase in stress. Employees in Mexico and France don’t get stressed as much, but they do worry about things getting overlooked or forgotten.

When asked whether or not their employers used an automated system to keep track of absences, only in Canada, China, and India did the majority — 53 per cent, 56 per cent, and 53 per cent respectively — of employees say yes. In all other regions the majority said no or that they didn’t know.

Unscheduled absences, like when an employee calls in sick at the last minute, cost organizations 8.7 per cent of payroll each year as discussed in a recent survey conducted by Mercer and sponsored by Kronos.

Says James Thomas, country manager, India operations, Kronos, “The survey provides interesting insights into ‘Employee Absences’ - a relatively poorly tracked and measured operational HR area which has a very high impact on employee productivity and payroll inflation.”

He adds, “The survey also brings out that some of these workforce behavior’s are universal like calling in sick when one is not, though the reasons and solutions to it may vary from country to country. We are seeing this as a game changer in India for organizations with possibilities of significant cost savings and productivity improvements if tracked and managed pro-actively.”

Joyce Maroney, director of The Workforce Institute, Kronos, says, “This survey provides a fascinating look at the issue of absenteeism around the world. It is interesting to see both the many similarities between regions and the marked differences also. Employers everywhere can learn from this survey — about the problem of absenteeism and the possible fixes — from providing more flexible work arrangements, where possible, to enabling employees to work from home.”