The amount of working days lost worldwide by businesses as a direct consequence of sick days taken by employees is absolutely staggering. Looking at figures by country we can see the average time taken off by workers.

Whilst the figure for Japan remains relatively low when compared to other nations it certainly does not mean that it is OK to be complacent as companies in Japan are still seeing profits slip as a direct consequence to sick leave. A good sickness and absence policy can make an important difference in determining whether yours is a thriving company or one that is destined to struggle.

On average, workers in Japan take nine days off every year from their sick day entitlement. This is relatively not at all bad, especially when you consider that the days off workers were entitled to was far in excess of this figure. It is, however, important to bear in mind that this figure is greatly reduced by the large number of employees who never get sick at all, meaning that some workers are indeed a significant drain on a business’ resources, and not always for legitimate reasons (graph below) .

All is not doom and gloom as there are two simple things you can do to improve the way in which sick leave is managed, thus enabling you to cut down on the days taken if by those few workers who are taking advantage of the system and at the same time offer your full support to those with genuine sicknesses.

Reporting Days Off

It is absolutely essential to have a clear and well outlined policy regarding sickness; a procedure that everyone understands and is able to adhere to if they are ever absent from work due to any sickness.
An employee taking a day off due to illness should have to call in by telephone and speak to a manager (or someone of equal authority) and not leave a message or send in an e-mail, they should be told to call in as soon as possible and to advise when they will be able to return to work.

Requiring an employee to provide a note from their Doctor is of limited value for shorter periods of sickness and even then, given the relatively easy way in which they are dispensed with, they are of limited value.

Perhaps of more value would be to require that all employees fill out an ‘absence statement’ detailing when and why they were off – this statement can then be kept on record in the workers file.

Return to Work Interviews

Whilst a return to work interview is often seen as being an needless and time consuming task for management it is without doubt a real deterrent for those who are considering faking days off work or even those who are perhaps are a little under the weather but otherwise able to come in to work, having decided that the prospect of an interview with their supervisor is more scrutiny and hassle than taking a day off is work

Whereas those with genuine sickness will be more than pleased that their company and its’ management are taking a genuine interest in their health and well-being. Those pulling sickies on the other hand, may decide that the scrutiny of an interview makes taking unauthorized sick leave far more hassle than it’s worth.