The UK is the 'sickie capital' of Europe

The UK may be the ‘sickie capital’ of Europe, with over a quarter (27%) of employees thinking it is acceptable to take a day off when they are not really ill, according to research from ADP.

The ‘People Unboxed’ study, which surveyed over 2,000 workers across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and the UK, found that the European average percent who think it is fine to pull a sickie is 21% - a full six percentage points lower than the UK’s.

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Jeff Phipps, Managing Director at ADP UK, explained that all too often this trend is linked to unhappy workers and employers have a vital role to play in reversing this worrying attitude. “In such a period of political, economic and technological flux, businesses need to have a stable, consistent and engaged workforce,” he said.

Over three quarters (80%) of UK employees have not wanted to go into work at least once over the last 12 months, again significantly higher than the European average of 74%. Almost one fifth consider quitting at least once a week (18%). This is unsurprising when you consider 40% of UK respondents said they don’t look forward to going to work at their current job.