Absenteeism goes down due to less illness and disability

Statistics Canada has reported that the absenteeism figures for 2008 show no change in the long-term trend toward greater time lost from work. In 2008, the amount of time lost for personal reasons (illness, disability, personal and family responsibilities) was 10 days for the average employee (7.9 for illness and disability and 2.1 for responsibilities). This represents 4.0 per cent of total working time lost, 3.2 per cent due to illness and 0.9 per cent due to responsibilities.

However, there was less absenteeism in 2008 than in 2007 when the total was 10.2 days or 4.1 per cent of time. The improvement was in time lost for illness, which dropped from 8.1 days to 7.9 days, primarily because women were off work for fewer days last year than the year before.

Over the decade since 1998, total time lost has increased by 1.2 days from 7.8 to 10.0. Illness as a cause of lost time has seen the larger increase, from 6.6 days to 7.9 days, but the increase in responsibility time has been steeper, from 1.2 days to 2.1 days.

Women lost three more days per year than men. Time lost to personal and family responsibility, which began the decade at one day for men and 1.5 days for women, has drawn almost even at 2.1 for men and 2.2 for women. The difference between the sexes is in illness and disability: men lose 6.7 days per year and women 9.6.

Another factor in the upward trend is the age of the workforce. Total days lost per year increases in each age cohort — from 6.6 days between 15 and 19 to 11.4 days between 55 and 64. Time lost for responsibility peaks between 25 and 34, time lost for illness increases steadily.

The following table shows the levels of absenteeism in several sectors and industries:

Lost Days per Worker in 2008