U.K. lost 137 million working days in 2016, most of them to coughs and colds
The United Kingdom has lost an estimated 137 million working days in 2016 due to sickness and injury. Most of lost days were caused by minor afflictions such as coughs and colds.
The United Kingdom has lost in 2016 some 137 million working days to illnesses and injuries. This is the equivalent of 4.3 days for every citizen employed. But while the number might seem high, the Office for National Statistics actually reports that this is the lowest recorded rate since the series began in 1993, when the number was 7.2 days per worker.
“Since 2003, there has been a fairly steady decline in the number of working days lost to sickness, especially during the economic downturn. In recent years, there has been a small rise in the number of days lost, but due to an increasing number of people entering the workforce, the rate per worker and overall sickness absence rate have stayed largely flat,” said ONS statistician Brendan Freeman.
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Most of the sick days were caused by minor affliction. Some 34 million days were taken off due to coughs and colds, the ONS reports saying that minor illnesses are followed by musculoskeletal problems which account for 22.4% of the sick days. 30.8 million working days were lost to issues such as back pains, neck and upper limb problems.
Mental health is the third largest cause when it comes to lost working days. Conditions such as stress, depression, anxiety, manic depression and schizophrenia account for 11.5% of all sick days.
With 137 million lost working days, U.K.’s sickness absence rate was at 1.9% , higher in Wales and Scotland where it reached 2.6% and 2.5% respectively.
People working in London has the fewest sick days with an absence rate at 1.4%, under the national average and the ONS points out that this could be due to a higher concentration of young workforce and also skilled jobs.
Correlating data, the ONS also points out that smokers have a higher absence rate than non-smokers and their rates have also increased since 2015, reaching 2.5%.
Also, employees tend to have a higher rate of sickness absence than the self-employed. While those that are self –employed had a rate of 1.4%, employees reached 2.1% in 2016.
Another difference is recorded between the public and the private sector where state employees have higher absence rates due to sickness or injury while the private sector registers fewer sick days being taken out. But according to new estimates, the gap between the two has been closing in and last year, the figures were 2.9% for the public sector and 1.7% for the private sector.
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