The Most Common Causes of Workplace Sick Leave Revealed

Have you ever wondered what the most common causes of workplace sick leave are, or if you’ve ever used these excuses to stay home from work? If so, keep reading for a short list of the many common reasons why people call out of work sick.

Back Pain

Debilitating back pain is one of the main reasons why people choose to take it easy and stay home from work. In fact, back pain is one of the most common causes of workplace sick leave both on a short-term and long-term basis. The pain could be caused by sitting for too many hours at a desk, having poor posture, having scoliosis, or being injured in an accident or during an athletic event. If you suffer from back pain and it’s causing you to call in sick at work, consider chiropractic care to naturally treat your pain.

Mental Stress

Being under a lot of stress will deplete your immune system and put you at risk of becoming physically ill, but one in every six workers will also experience anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems that are related to stress. This will cause them to call out from work. Mental stress could be the result of having a poor work-life balance, having poor relationships with co-workers and managers, having poor job security, and having extreme workloads and demands to meet.  

Illness and Medical Appointments

Another one of the many common causes of workplace sick leave is simply being ill with the cold or flu. Getting hurt and having to attend medical appointments will also cause a person to call out sick. There’s a spike in the number of people absent from work during cold and flu season, in particular, and it includes both part-time and full-time employees at a variety of jobs.

Harassment and Bullying at Work

When employees have to deal with co-workers or managers who harass them and bully them every day, they’re far more likely to call out sick more often just to get a day away from the negativity that they always have to face. They may pretend to be sick in order to get the time off, but they’re actually suffering from a high amount of mental and emotional stress.

Hunting for Another Job

Many employees will actually pretend that they’re sick so they can take a day off when they’re busy trying to hunt down a better job opportunity. They may use the day to go on a job interview, to work on their resume and to submit their information to job listings, or to work with a head hunter or job placement agency.

How many of the reasons above have you had to use to call out sick from work? By taking care of yourself physically and mentally, you can reduce the number of days that you will have to be absent from work, so make it a point to eat right, take nutritional supplements, and exercise regularly while keeping your stress levels as low as possible.