If you’re genuinely ill, you won’t have a choice about when you take a sick day, but the not-exactly-ill ‘sickie’ remains a prominent element of Australian workplace culture. Research by one absence management firm (yeah, that’s a thing) suggests that the most common day we take off sick is a Tuesday.
Alarm clock picture from Shutterstock
Business Insider reports that analysis of data from Direct Health Solutions shows that Tuesday is the most frequent sick day, followed by Monday. Fridays are the least popular choice, apparently because they’re a sociable day in the office. On average, staff tracked by DHS take 8.93 days of sick or carers leave a year.
Chucking a sickie on a Monday or Friday is a straightforward way to achieve a long weekend, though some workplaces will count all three days if you do that. Do you have a sickie management strategy? Share it in the comments.
Most Australians Take Sick Leave On A Tuesday [Business Insider]
Comments
5 responses to “Tuesday Is The Most Popular Sick Day In Australia”
sickies cost Australian Businesses millions of dollars a year.
How much did the Absence management firm charge for this study?
Nothing — they charge for the tracking services for employers that use them, the data comes from that.
mainly because most places require a certificate on days before or after the weekend, and those mid-week don’t, for sick pay to be given
exactly what i was about to comment, i remember my old employer made it very clear about having mondays off, will require a med cert and was frowned apon. So no surprise that people take the road of least resistance ( taking tuesday off instead)
I suspect that Tuesday is the most popular for the other side of sickies – people coming in when they are not well. In many companies it’s the policy if you are sick on a Monday or Friday or before or after a long weekend – you have to have a doctor’s certificate – which can be a royal pain to get. So as it’s commonly assumed that if you take off Monday you are bludging – the sick person comes in on Monday – and verifies to themselves and everyone else – yes they are sick. Wake up on Tuesday – still sick – so take the day off.