Sick days are costing Irish companies more than half a million euro a year, a report has found.
But almost 65 per cent of the State's top employers do not add up the financial cost of absences, the report by Mercer HR Consulting said.
The survey has found that minor illnesses are recorded as the cause of the bulk of lost days at 33.2 per cent, with home responsibilities and back pain each accounting for 10 per cent.
Stress, accidents at woks, problems with management, and alcohol resulted in less than 9 per cent of all days off between them.
In total 72 companies, representing more than 100,000 Irish employees, were questioned for the survey.
It included the manufacturing, ICT, pharmaceutical and financial services sectors.
It revealed:
- 26 per cent of respondents estimate the cost of absence to be in excess of €500,000 per annum
- 65 per cent of organisations do not calculate the cost of absence to their business
- 90 per cent of companies surveyed revealed that recording of absence was the number one tool in combating absence levels
- 20 per cent of organisations reported absence levels of over 6 per cent per annum
- 45 per cent of managers with responsibility for managing absence receive no training in the area
- 41 per cent of managers with responsibility in the area have no formal targets
"Reporting and measurement of absence plays a very effective role in reducing absence levels, however many companies take a casual and sporadic approach to absence management and fail to actively manage a major cost driver," said Kevin Kinsella, of Mercer HR Consulting.
"The introduction of a range of simple measures such as; absence reporting, early interventions on health issues, the provision of health insurance and the provision of support and training for line managers, can however, dramatically reduce absenteeism levels."
He added while senior managers are aware absence management is an issue for their business, very few companies are taking an appropriate, strategic approach to reducing absenteeism in their businesses.