UK 
United States
As remote work continues to be the norm for employees across the world, it seems that less and less are choosing to take a sick day when they are unwell.
Thanks to the comfort of our homes, if an employee gets a cold, they can easily manage their symptoms without infecting their colleagues while working from home, meaning many are now more reluctant to take a sick day.
Back in 2018, the ONS reported that UK workers were taking record low numbers of sick days. It found that staff members took on average 4.1 sickness days in 2017, compared with 7.2 days in 1993. However, since the pandemic took hold this year, experts and studies have indicated that employees taking sick leave has continued to decrease.
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A study carried out by HR consultants Acerta discovered that the number of cases of short-term sick leave fell by 16% following the lockdown in March, compared with the same period last year. While this study took place in Belgium, it identified that sick leave was higher during the initial stages of the pandemic during March and April, but that by May this had relaxed.
