TUC poll reveals 75% of ill workers struggle on

A TUC poll has indicated that three in four staff have struggled into work when feeling ill.

The poll revealed that as many as one in five said they have been to work when too ill in the last month alone, and nearly half said they have done so in the last year. The TUC are concerned that too many people may now be going to work when they would be better off recovering at home, rather than infecting their colleagues.

Among the commonest reason the 1000 people polled gave for going to work when too ill was that people depended on the job they did, and they didn’t want to let them down. Though a significant number claimed that they went to work because they "would have lost pay, and couldn’t afford it".

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "We are not the nation of malingerers that some paint, in fact we struggle into work even when we are too ill to do so because we don’t want to let people down. It’s all part of our long hours culture. Indeed long hours, stress and increasing workloads make people sick.

'Ads that one minute tell us we will lose out at work if we admit we’re ill, and the next encourage us to take a ‘sickie’ don’t help. Of course, employers will want to deal with malingerers, but they should also make sure that people who are genuinely ill stay at home. The rest of us don’t want to do extra work for those pulling a ‘sickie’, but nor do we want to pick up germs from colleagues or those with whom we share overcrowded public transport. The TUC’s message is don’t be a mucus trooper. Look after yourself properly."

The poll found that white collar workers and workers in the West Midlands were among the most likely to struggle to work when ill.

Further questions and answers on employment related topics may be found at www.worksmart.org.uk .

(SP)