Wellbeing | THIS is why staff lie about sick days

A third (35.8%) of employees have lied about their reasons for taking a sick day, new research has found.

The data, which was recently revealed in the report Employee Perceptions of Mental and Physical Health in the Workplace by Aetna International, found that most employees cited ‘feeling stressed’ as their reason for lying (32.1%).

Dr Hemal Desai, Global Medical Director at Aetna International, said that with so many staff feeling the need to conceal anxiety or stress as reasons for taking a sick day, “it’s clear that there is still a high degree of stigma around mental health in the workplace.

“While some of this will be cultural, there’s clearly more that needs to be done to help line managers and employees navigate mental health at work,” Desai added.