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November 15, 2013

Could flexible working halt rising absenteeism?

Could flexible working halt rising absenteeism?

The average employee absence level has gone up to 7.6 days per year, and employers are increasingly making changes to working patterns in order to reduce long-term absenteeism, according to findings from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

The annual CIPD/Simplyhealth Absence Management survey reveals that after a small decrease last year, absence is back up to the levels observed in 2011 and 2010, at an average of 7.6 days per employee. Absence levels are highest in the public services sector (8.7 days per employee per year) and lowest in the manufacturing and production sector (6 days per employee per year).

A quarter (26%) of organisations say "pulling a sickie" is still a common cause of short-term absence, an increase on last year's figure of 17%.

As a result, employers are increasingly making changes to working patterns in order to manage long-term absence levels. The survey found that 85% of employers reported that they'd adjusted working patterns this year, compared to 65% in 2012. In addition, over 70% report that introducing flexible working opportunities in the past year has had a positive impact on absence levels.

Overall, two-thirds of working time lost to absence is accounted for by short-term absences of up to seven days. A fifth is attributed to long-term absences (four weeks or more). There are, however, significant sector differences. Just under half of absence in the public sector is short term, compared with over three-quarters in the private sector. Smaller firms attribute a higher proportion of their absence to short-term leave compared with larger organisations.

Dr Jill Miller, CIPD research adviser and co-author of the report said: "It's really important for businesses to recognise new ways of working to support a diverse workforce and to retain talent. Hopefully employees will now be able to better balance their work and home demands."

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