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Bosses braced for excuses on 'National Sickie Day'

06/02/2006

If your commute to work was less crowded than usual and your office is looking rather bare, the chances are that your colleagues are joining thousands of others in celebrating 'National Sickie Day'.

According to a poll of 4,000 workers conducted by TV channel Sky Travel, more workers will call in sick today than on any other day this year.

The study attributes this to the effects of the post-Christmas back to work blues, coupled with the long wait until the next bank holiday weekend.

"Early February is a very popular time for taking a 'sickie', the first bank holiday still seems a long way off, the days are gloomy and many people are still feeling the post-Christmas blues," said Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University, who led the research.

Barbara Gibbon, general manager of Sky Travel, added that financial concerns also drove people to opt for an extra day in bed.

"February 6th seems to be popular for a myriad of reasons, not least the fact that many people will be finding out that they are still in debt despite the fact that they have just been paid," she added.

Of those who regularly pull sickies, 28 per cent admit to coughing and spluttering down the phone to their boss in order to convince them that they are genuinely ill.

However, others are not so brave, with 17 per cent persuading a friend, relative or loved one to call in sick on their behalf, while one in five take the easy option and send a text message to their boss explaining that they will not be able to come into the office.

The poll also revealed that Liverpool is the UK's sick day hotspot, with Liverpudlians taking an average of 13 days off due to illness a year.

Londoners, by contrast, are failing to live up to their soft southern stereotype, taking just three sick days a year.

Nevertheless, while the study may spell bad news for bosses, those feigning illness today should watch out - five per cent of those polled admitted that they had been caught out while pulling a sickie, while others said that they had been rumbled by suspicious superiors after returning to work showing no signs of illness.

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