Nearly half of U.S. workers were absent from work at least once in the past six months, but a trend of greater concern was the number of ill or otherwise distracted workers going to work and not being able to perform up to expectations, according to a recent survey by CIGNA Corp.
On average, surveyed individuals admitted to spending between two-and-a-half and five hours per week resolving personal issues at work, CIGNA found. Further, 61% of the respondents said they went to work even though they were sick or dealing with a family or personal issue that had negative effects on their productivity.
CIGNA’s survey on absenteeism and presenteeism—when employees go to work but are unable to perform their duties at full capacity—consisted of telephone interviews with 1,149 part-time and full-time employees. Participants’ employment ranged from white-collar jobs to service workers.
Of those who missed work, 47% said it was due to sickness, while 22% said they missed work for a family-related issue, according to the survey. Among those who reported showing up to work when they were not at their peak performance level, 25% said they came in because they needed money, while 38% cited a sense of duty to their company.
For the full survey and results, go tohttp://newsroom.cigna.com/images/56/AP Findings-A.ppt