Sick days rise 41 percent over last three years as business productivity falls post-pandemic

Sick days have surged by 41 percent over the past three years as employers continue to struggle with declining levels of productivity. The latest Hiring Trends Index by Totaljobs, surveying 1000 UK HR decision-makers, highlights how this rise in absenteeism is perpetuating a cycle of poor business performance affecting both employers and employees.

The productivity puzzle

The research claims that 59 percent of HR leaders link this spike in sick days toto a deterioration of workplace culture and employee satisfaction. Over half (55 percent) also report a decline in employee performance,) as employers struggle to fill skills gaps in the wake of absenteeism.

Businesses attribute declining productivity to five key factors: greater workload (30 percent), difficulty attracting staff (24 percent), reliance on temporary staff (23 percent), low morale (23 percent), and increased absenteeism (23 percent).

These productivity setbacks are, in turn, impacting staff retention. Organisations report that stress, burnout, or other mental health conditions accounted for 25 percent of employee turnover in the past twelve months. Health-related issues were the third most common reason for resignations (19 percent), following career changes (32 percent) and finding better opportunities elsewhere (29 percent).

Barriers to productivity

HR leaders identified three main solutions to combat this productivity slump: offering flexible working options (where possible) to promote a better work-life balance (28 percent), increasing employee training and development (27 percent), and improving communication and clarity from leadership (27 percent).

Despite these solutions, significant barriers remain. Over half (53 percent) of HR leaders cited a lack of suitable candidates for open roles and inadequate budgets to address the gaps left by increased sickness and declining productivity. Additionally, half of the respondents (50 percent) argued that a lack of leadership or clear communication from business leaders was negatively impacting efforts to resolve this growing issue.

“The cycle of low productivity repeats when employers can’t fill skills gaps or find the right talent”

Natalie Matalon, Chief People Officer at The Stepstone Group, said: “The cycle of low productivity repeats when employers can’t fill skills gaps or find the right talent. This creates a ripple effect, undermining business performance, diminishing efficiency, otherwise circular logic, lowering employee morale, and weakening workplace culture. The resulting strain on employees leads to increased sick leave, further exacerbating the issue.

The pandemic has fundamentally challenged the way we approach work; to overcome these challenges, many organisations are turning to flexible working arrangements as a key solution. However, solutions vary by job role and industry. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, but organisations can start with a clear, transparent strategy, driven and communicated by strong business leadership.”

Q3 hiring trends and Q4 outlook

Despite ongoing recruitment activity, with 89 percent of UK business still hiring, hiring volumes have slightly declined compared to last year. Fewer companies are increasing hiring efforts this quarter — 28 percent compared to 38 percent the start of the year.

As a result, businesses are now focusing on hiring skilled talent, with the most sought-after skills being customer service (26 percent), technical expertise (25 percent) and soft skills (25 percent). However, in this skills-driven market, recruiters are reporting significant challenges, particularly with finding the candidates with the right skills (64 percent), as well as time pressures (55 percent) and the time it takes to fill roles (55 percent).

Looking ahead, hiring confidence has dipped, decreasing to 68 percent in Q3 from 77 percent in Q2.

Julius Probst, Labour Market Economist at Totaljobs (part of The Stepstone Group) said: “The UK labour market has been loosening due to the decline in vacancy numbers and more joiners to the workforce. Meanwhile, the competition between candidates has increased but businesses are still struggling to find skilled talent. With more people out of work due to sickness and sick leave numbers on the rise, it’s never been more vital for employers to create workplaces that support employee wellbeing.”