Stress not an excuse for a day off say majority of British workers

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New research has found that only 17 percent of people consider broader mental health issues as a reason to take days off sick.

Only 19 percent of British workers said that stress is an acceptable reason to have a day off work in the survey, conducted by mutual health and wellbeing provider Benenden.

Physical illnesses, coughs and sneezes, were deemed to be the most acceptable reasons for calling in sick, with vomiting (73 percent), diarrhoea (71 percent), and flu (59 percent) ranking highly on the list.

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Surprisingly, or not surprisingly, depending on where you work, almost half (48 percent) of respondents said that they felt their employer simply did not care about their physical or mental wellbeing, and 28 percent felt it necessary to book an entire day off work to see their doctor.

Robert joined the HRreview editorial team in October 2015. After graduating from the University of Salford in 2009 with a BA in Politics, Robert has spent several years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past he has been part of editorial teams at Flux Magazine, Mondo*Arc Magazine and The Marine Professional.

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