Britain’s workers are feeling unloved by their employers, a survey has found. Over half (54%) of full-time employees feel their employer doesn’t care about their health and wellbeing, as long as they get the job done.
Of those who stated their employer doesn’t care about their health and wellbeing, half (48%) say it has led to them feeling less motivated, with a third stating they have considered looking for a new job as a result. What’s more, over one in ten (13%) admitted they don’t work as hard, and a further 15% said they actually resent their employer.
The survey also provides a warning to employers who don’t invest in staff wellbeing, with more than one in five workers having ‘pulled a sickie’ in the last year, and more than one in twenty (6%) doing so more than five times.
While most sickness absence is genuine, those who described themselves as unhappy in their role are more likely to take ‘sickies’ compared with those who described themselves as happy, with almost three in 10 (27%) of unhappy workers having embellished the truth about being ill to take a day off on at least one occasion in the last year, compared with 20% of contented employees.
Looking at genuine sickness absence among workers, 46% of employees have taken at least a day off work in the last year due to a cold, flu or a stomach bug.
Other reasons for taking a sick day included suffering from a physical injury (21%) and a recurring condition such as a migraine (20%).
With eight out of ten (80%) people saying they would feel more positive towards their employer if they offered better health and wellbeing benefits, the research suggests that by improving some simple health and wellbeing practices, businesses could reduce the number of ‘sickies’ taken by staff.