Women still sick more than men in SA workplace!

The focus on women in August has been further highlighted by the absenteeism rates of females in the business, the details of which were issued by CAM Solutions this week. The statistics generated by the absenteeism specialists have shown that women are taking more sick leave than their male counterparts in corporate South Africa. The sample in this study comprised over 60 South African companies, with more than 100 000 employees. The average absenteeism rate of females in this sample (calculated by dividing the number of days the employee took off by the number of days she should have been at work) was 2.65 in 2006, and for males it was 2.28. The absenteeism rate for women in 2005 was 2.61 and for males it was 2.08.

CEO of CAMS Solutions Johnny Johnson said that female absenteeism costs the economy about R 8 billion per year in direct costs. The associated indirect costs due to lost productivity in the workplace are calculated conservatively as two times the value of the direct costs.

Statistics show that the highest reason for female sick leave is influenza, which accounted for 11.55% of all sick leave taken in the female segment of the sample in the March 2006 – March 2007 cycle. The second highest reason for sick leave amongst women is acute bronchitis, which accounts for 4.82% of sick leave in this same time period. Back pain was the reason 4.72% of females took sick leave in the 2006 cycle and 4.43% of women in the workplace were absent due to gastroenteritis during this time.

Other reasons for female absenteeism include acute stress reaction (2.24%), anxiety disorder (1.8%) and pelvic inflammatory disease (2.04%). Just over one per cent of the sample took time off due to migraines, which account for just 0.5% of the male absenteeism during this time. Only 0.24% of women took time off due to being pregnant in this cycle and a minimal 0.07% of females took time off because they were nauseas or vomiting during their pregnancies.

The biggest difference in sick leave diagnosis between men and women is depressive disorder. While a mere 0.70% of men take sick leave because of depressive disorders, it accounts for 1.2% of sick leave taken by women.

Johnson said, “Whatever there reason, companies should take depressed staff seriously. Those women suffering from depression take an average 8.64 days off per depressive incidence. Counselling psychologist Robin Farrington explained, “Stress is part of life and is essentially reflected by the rate of wear and tear experienced by our bodies. Although we cannot avoid stress, we need to learn how to minimize its detrimental effects.

“In general, women are experiencing increased stress. This is related to the changing roles in society. More and more women are employed in a full-time capacity but yet simultaneously they are still fulfilling traditional mother and wife roles. The dual role that has become expected means that women are finding it increasingly difficult to fulfil their responsibility which in turn leads to increased stress. Despite the added role, women are still shouldering the major responsibility for child rearing and house-making.

Farrington said that just as each individual is responsible for their own physical well-being, they are also responsible for their own psychological wellness.

“It is incumbent for each individual to manage their stress load. Although it might be difficult for women to take time off work, they need to take time out to nurture themselves. This should include time for regular exercise. In addition, woman can reduce stress by identifying the sources of stress, living a more balanced life, managing time, accepting support from others, knowing when to say “no” and developing coping skills for stress relief.

“Attentive men and/or husbands can do much to reduce the stress experienced by women though becoming more involved in the domestic duties and sharing responsibilities in the home,” Farrington said.

Johnson added, “Because women are often more responsible for children than their male counterparts, they are the ones who take time off, disguised as sick leave, when their children are ill. This responsibility towards children needs to be addressed in the work place and if necessary, flexible working arrangements for women with sick children should be introduced in order to alleviate the need for women to abuse the system.”