Poll: Do you feel under pressure to go to work when you're ill?
People going to work when they are ill costs the UK economy more than £15 billion a year, according to research.
High job demands, understaffing, financial difficulties and insecurity are some of the main reasons why some struggle in even if they are sick, the study by the University of East Anglia found.
While the findings might sound like good news to employers, the behaviour, known as presenteeism, has been linked to errors, lower performance and exacerbating health problems leading to more productivity loss.
The Centre for Mental Health estimates it costs the UK economy £15.1 billion a year from mental ill health issues alone.
Dr Mariella Miraglia, who led the report at UEA, said: "Working while ill can compound the effects of the initial illness and result in negative job attitudes and withdrawal from work.
"However, the possible negative consequences of being absent can prompt employees to show up ill or to return to work when not totally recovered.
"Organisations may want to carefully review attendance policies for features which could decrease absence at the cost of increased presenteeism."
The research analysed data from 61 previous studies involving more than 175,960 participants, including the European Working Conditions Survey which sampled employees from 34 countries.
