British workers have reported the lowest level of sickness absence since records began almost a quarter of a century ago, according to official figures for last year.
About 137m working days were lost from illness and injury in 2016, said the Office for National Statistics, equivalent to 4.3 days per worker, the lowest rate since 1993, when it was 7.2 days.
Minor illnesses such as coughs and colds accounted for almost a quarter of the days lost due to sickness in 2016, at 34m. The second most common reason for not turning up to work was musculoskeletal problems including back pain, neck and upper limb problems, which accounted for 22.4% of days lost to sickness.
Mental health issues including stress, depression, anxiety and more serious conditions such as manic depression and schizophrenia resulted in 15.8m days being lost or 11.5%.
The total number of work days lost to sickness and injury peaked in the late 1990s at 185m. The figure reached a low of 132m in 2013 before rising again in 2014 and 2015, although this was down to a steep increase in the working population.
The TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, said the fall in the sickness rate showed that “it is a myth that UK workers are always throwing sickies”.
She said: “We are really a nation of mucus troopers, with people more likely to go to work when ill than stay at home when well.
“Sickness absence rates have fallen steadily over the past decade, and let’s not forget that working people put in billions of pounds’ worth of unpaid overtime each year.”
The ONS said the groups with the highest rates of sickness absence were women, older workers, those with long-term health conditions, smokers, public health sector workers and those working in the largest organisations.
“The groups that have seen the greatest reduction in sickness absence rates over the past two decades are workers with long-term health conditions, workers aged 50 to 64, and those in the public sector,” it said.
Wales and Scotland suffered the highest rates of sickness absence in the UK, at 2.6% and 2.5% respectively, while the lowest rate was found in London at 1.4%.
Employees lost 2.1% of the year to sickness compared with 1.4% for the self-employed and the public sector lost 2.9% compared with 1.7% for workers in private firms last year.
ONS statistician Brendan Freeman said: “Since 2003, there has been a fairly steady decline in the number of working days lost to sickness, especially during the economic downturn.
“In recent years, there has been a small rise in the number of days lost, but due to an increasing number of people entering the workforce, the rate per worker and overall sickness absence rate have stayed largely flat.”
