At a time when the UK is grappling with economic recession, many employees seem to feel that taking too many leaves could affect their jobs, says a survey.
According to a report by Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the average level of employee absence has fallen to 7.4 days per employee a year in 2008 from eight days per employee per year in the previous year.
"Almost four in 10 organisations have increased their focus on reducing absence levels and costs as a result of the recession.
"This might partly explain the drop in the average level of employee absence to 7.4 days per employee per year, which is the lowest level recorded by the CIPD's absence management survey since it began in 2000, the report said.
The survey noted that another reason for the fall in the average level of absence might be increased employee concern over job security.
A majority of employers think that staff concern over job security has led to the decrease in average level of absence, it added.
The Absence Management Survey by CIPD is based on responses from 642 employers in organisations employing a total of over 1.9 million employees. "The absence data is from the year January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008," the report said.
Going by the survey, the report said minor illnesses such as colds, flu and stomach upsets are the main cause of short-term absence for workers.
However, the average level of absence remains highest in the public sector at 9.7 days per employee per year, a very slight drop from the 2007 figure of 9.8 days per employee per year.
In comparison, private sector services organisations also took an average level of 6.4 days time off last year, down from 7.2 days in 2007.
The CIPD estimated that it cost public sector companies 784 pounds each employee per year in 2008, while private firms in the manufacturing and production sector it cost 754 pounds per year for each worker who is ill.
