NEW YORK — Each company has its own days off policies and depending on a recent survey 50% of Americans, the majority between 21 and 34 years old, admitted that they pretended to be sick to ask for a day off work. Our region was not far behind and one of the states in the tri-state area was among the first five in the country that use this excuse.
The study conducted by Moneypenny He noted that New Jersey ranks number five in the nation in which its residents feign illness to avoid going to work. This is because 69% of the surveyed inhabitants of the Garden State agreed to have used this explanation to ask for a day.
Montana, Vermont, and Wyoming were the states most likely to fake sick days, with 100% of respondents admitting to doing so. North Dakota was fourth with 75%.
In total 2,000 people from different industries and states participated in the survey. 29% of those who confessed to feigning illness stated that their main reason was a family event, for example a party or a wedding. In addition, 26% indicated that mental health was their main reason, mainly 10% more in men than in women. At a lower level, they indicated that the reason was due to a holiday with 12% or an appointment, such as to go to the dentist, with 23%.
Moneypenny He stressed that on the subject of mental health, it has been suggested that it should be taken in the same way as physical health. For this reason, they noted, some companies have begun to introduce mental health or wellness days as an added benefit.
Looking at sectors, it was revealed that those working in the charity and voluntary industry are most likely to fake illness, with 74% of respondents admitting it, followed closely by the property and construction industries. and social assistance.
While half of Americans have admitted to faking a sick day, 48% have said they are taking fewer sick days since the rise of hybrid and remote working due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With the world of work changing and Americans having more flexible work options than ever before, we wanted to dig deeper into how this affects sick days,” said Eric Schurke, CEO of North America, Moneypenny, of the research. “Burnout is something that is currently well-documented in the media and our research plays into this, with 26% of Americans saying they fake illness due to poor mental health.”
