A third of UK employees working while unwell

New research by Canada Life has explored the impact lockdown is having on presenteeism among UK employees.

The recent survey of 2000 Brits with a job found that almost half are feeling the strain of remote working, with 16% working through sickness because of redundancy fears.

It also found that one in three (35%) have continued to work while unwell during the coronavirus crisis, a trend that is potentially more so affecting younger, more junior staff members. Forty-one percent of 26-34 year olds admitted to working while they were sick as did 33% of 18-25 year olds - compared to just 20% of over 50s.

Meanwhile, 21% said they have ‘pulled a sickie' during lockdown despite feeling fine, something that is more common among male employees (26%) compared to 12% of women.

Reasons for continuing to work while ill 

A quarter (24%) of workers said they felt the need to prove that they were working each day, 22% are checking in with their colleagues or managers more often, and one in five (21%) are checking their emails more regularly outside of working hours, the research found.

Nearly a fifth (18%) have been working longer hours, 15% are taking fewer breaks during the day, and over one in 10 (12%) are taking no breaks at all. Further to this, a quarter of employees are starting work earlier; 24% are juggling their hours around childcare, and more than one in five (22%) are finding working from home more stressful than being in the physical office.

Just over 40% SME decision makers also said they more pressure to be present and available for employees during lockdown. And, although 28% think their company had an issue with presenteeism before the coronavirus pandemic, 21% feel like it is worse since everyone has been working from home.

Encouragingly, however, the survey indicated that 41% of employers have introduced measures to support workers struggling with presenteeism and 25% are actively encouraging them to not work if they're not feeling well.

'Always on'

Paul Avis, Canada Life group insurance marketing director said: "The ‘always on' work culture we've adopted over the last decade has come to a head; lockdown is making it worse and employees feel like they can't switch off. As the physical and mental wellbeing of UK employees is stretched to the limit, productivity could be significantly hit. But with so many people frightened they might lose their jobs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, it's no surprise they're working through sickness and worried about the implications of taking time off.

"Employers have an active role to play in encouraging their staff to take the time they need to recover from illness, mental or physical, and it's encouraging that 41% have introduced measures to support struggling workers. Remember group protection policies come with a range of support services, too."

Avis added that virtual support services covering physical health, mental health and wellbeing support are available through group protection policies. "It's through services like this that we're able to catch illness early, prevent conditions from worsening, and enable employees to return to work when it is safe for them to do so, while reinforcing the message that employers are serious about the wellbeing of their staff," he said.