World Cup sickies for one in ten employees

Nearly one in ten (8%) employees would consider taking a sick day when they are not ill during the World Cup, according to new research.

The findings from Canada Life Group Insurance suggest up to 2.4 million employees could take time off, which could see a significant loss to productivity across the country should staff decide to take unnecessary sick leave. Men are also more than twice as likely as women to take sick leave (14% compared to six percent).

On average, employees would take a total of 1.8 days of sick leave when they’re not ill during the World Cup, although over a third (35%) would take two to three days off and 7% would take four to five. Dedicated football fans would even consider taking more than seven working days of unnecessary sick leave (4%) during the tournament.