If you are looking around the office today and see only empty desks, you are not alone. Monday, that Everest to climb before the gentle slope to the next weekend, is by far the most common day to take sick leave. More than a third of all absenteeism occurs on a Monday.
Women take about 24 per cent more sick leave than men, according to a study by Mercer, the consultancy. Female colleagues are more than twice as likely as men to take days off for stress-related illness, exhaustion and depression.
By contrast, men are much more likely to offer macho injuries such as muscle sprains, fractures and other physical injuries as a reason to take the day off.
Come January, watch for fellow workers to be stricken by the post-Christmas back-to-work blues. That is easily the month with the highest level of sickness absence.
Last January 3 and 4, nearly 5 per cent of the workforce went sick, and 13 of the 20 most common days for sickness last year occurred in the first month.
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Musculo-skeletal problems, such as strain or injury to bones and muscles, are the most common reason to take a day off and account for nearly a quarter of all sick leave.