New Survey Finds 54 Percent of Canadians Admit to Playing Hooky From Work: Feeling Burned or Stressed Out Cited as Key Reason
MISSISSAUGA, ON, May 15, 2013 /CNW/ - A new survey titled "Sick or Tired?" found that 54 per cent of employed Canadians readily admit that they have called into work sick when they actually were not sick. And of those who said that they have faked being under the weather to avoid working, the majority - 65 percent - stated that they have done so because they felt stressed or burned out.
News Facts
- The survey, conducted on behalf of Kronos Incorporated by the Angus Reid Forum, found that while a large percentage of Canadians admit to playing hooky from work, there are marked differences in responses across the provinces. While 60 per cent from Ontario who are currently employed admitted that they have faked calling in sick, 49 per cent of respondents from Quebec and 49 per cent from western Canada (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan) admitted to doing the same.
- Respondents from Ontario were most likely to blame taking a fake sick day on feeling stressed or burned out (78 percent). While 69 per cent of respondents in western Canada agreed to the same, only 40 per cent from Quebec stated stress or burn-out as a reason for calling in sick when actually not being sick.
- Other leading reasons that working Canadians across all provinces cited for calling in sick when they actually were not include:
- Need to care for a sick child (35 per cent)
- Workload that is too heavy (13 per cent)
- Insufficient paid vacation days (12 per cent)
- Less common reasons stated were workload that is too light; having tickets to a sporting or entertainment event that took place during working hours; bad weather; caring for a sick pet; and simply having better things to do.
Supporting Quote
- Spiros Paleologos, vice president of operations, Kronos Canada
"The Kronos "Sick or Tired?" survey demonstrates an alarming trend, as unplanned absences impact the business bottom line. When lost productivity and other operational expenses tied to employee absences are considered, the cost of absenteeism can impact as much as one-third of overall payroll costs. Canadian organizations representing all sectors need to urgently adopt techniques to more effectively manage unplanned employee absences."
Supporting Resources
- About Angus Reid.
- See how absenteeism can cost an organization: The Absence Cost Calculator.
- Connect with Kronos via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
- Subscribe to our workforce management blogs.
- Take a look at the lighter side of workforce management in our Time Well Spent cartoons.
Survey Methodology
From April18 to April 19, 2013 an online survey was conducted among 766 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists who are currently employed, including 416 who have called in to work sick. For those employed, the margin of error — which measures sampling variability — is +/- 3.5%, 19 times out of 20, and is +/- 4.8%, 19 times out of 20 for those who have called in sick. The results have been statistically weighted according to education, age, gender, and region (and in Quebec language) Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
About Kronos Incorporated
Kronos is the global leader in delivering workforce management solutions in the cloud. Tens of thousands of organizations in more than 100 countries — including more than half of the Fortune 1000® — use Kronos to control labor costs, minimize compliance risk, and improve workforce productivity. Learn more about Kronos industry-specific time and attendance, scheduling, absence management, HR and payroll, hiring, and labor analytics applications at www.kronos.com. Kronos: Workforce Innovation That Works™.
© 2013 Kronos Incorporated. All rights reserved. Kronos is a registered trademark of Kronos Incorporated or a related company. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
SOURCE: Kronos Inc.
Contact
Indrani Ray-Ghosal
Kronos Incorporated
+1 978.947.3042
[email protected]
Leily Shafaee
Argyle Communications
+1 416.968.7311, ext. 236
[email protected]
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