White collar staff more likely to
need time off

The CBI's latest study of absence at work, published today, reveals a new trend amongst white collar workers. The amount of time they are off sick has increased by almost a day, from an average 6.8 days off in 1997 to 7.6 in 1998.

In contrast, average absence rates amongst blue collar workers declined by more than a day over the same period.

For both groups, minor illness is by far the most common cause of absence from work. Stress is the second most common factor for white collar workers. In all, 200 million work days were lost in 1998, at a staggering cost to business of £10.2bn.

CBI director of human resources policy John Cridland says: "Employers need to benchmark themselves against others in their sector or region to ensure they are not facing unnecessarily high costs.

"Flexible working patterns and policies to deal with stress can help employers reduce absence problems and cut costs," he added.

Elliott Chase