Quarter of employees use sick days for mental health reasons, study finds

A growing number of workers are turning to sick days for reasons unrelated to physical illness, highlighting shifting attitudes towards health, rest and workplace pressures, a survey has found.

More than half (60 per cent) of workers have been using sick leave for non-physical reasons, including 28 per cent who had taken time off specifically for their mental health, a survey of 1,897 respondents globally by CV-building platform Kickresume revealed.

One in five (22 per cent) of respondents said they had taken a sick day because they needed a break and 10 per cent admitted using the time to catch up on personal errands.

Employees take average of two weeks off sick each year, survey finds 

Half of employers say increased sickness levels causing lower productivity, study finds

The dos and don’ts of contacting employees on sick leave

The findings show that organisations are not fully supporting employee wellbeing, according to Dr Lucy Shoolbred, co-founder of wellbeing consultancy Working Mindset. “The need for sick leave because of mental ill health – alongside the prevalence of working while on leave – reflects complex attitudes within organisations toward mental health and what it means to truly switch off from work,” she said.

Transatlantic differences in sick leave culture

The survey also highlighted differences between Europe and the US. While just over half of European workers (53 per cent) said they only take sick days when physically unwell, only 30 per cent of Americans reported the same. 

By contrast, 42 per cent of US employees have taken sick leave for mental health reasons, compared with 25 per cent in Europe. This may reflect cultural differences in how absence is reported, said Tracey Paxton, clinical director at employee benefits and rewards platform Perkbox.

She added that while US workers appear more open to citing mental health as the reason, in Europe many employees may still “disguise it as something physical”. “Elements of stigma remain and taking time out for psychological health still feels like something to justify in some sectors,” said Paxton. 

The survey also pointed to workplace regulations as a factor. Unlike their European counterparts, who are protected by laws such as the EU Working Time Directive – which caps the average working week at 48 hours and mandates rest breaks – US workers are not covered by such regulations and are often entitled to less paid leave.

This builds on earlier research by Kickresume, which found workers in the US were more likely to report stress at work.

Struggling to switch off

Yet, even when workers were officially on sick leave, most remained tied to their jobs, the study found. 

Only 11 per cent of respondents fully disconnected, with almost half (45 per cent) admitting they sometimes worked while off sick, 29 per cent doing so only for urgent tasks and 15 per cent reporting they worked every time they were absent.

Generational differences also emerged, with Gen Z the most likely to limit work activity to urgent matters (34 per cent), while millennials (16 per cent) and Gen X (17 per cent) were slightly more likely to continue working regardless.

This inability to disconnect carries risks, according to Steve Herbert, HR and employee benefits expert, who warned that blurred boundaries in the age of remote working may worsen the very issues that lead people to take sick leave in the first place.

With remote working now standard practice, he said it has become increasingly difficult for HR teams to enforce time to completely “switch off” when an employee is unwell.

“Such contact could potentially exacerbate a stress or mental health problem, and this in turn could lead to further absence or damage to engagement and productivity levels,” Herbert added. 

The need for clearer policies

To address this, employers should review their time off policies, advised Peter Ďuriš, CEO and co-founder of Kickresume. “It should be much easier, and less stressful, to take a day off work through annual leave than having to lie to your boss and call in sick,” he said.

Lisa Seagroatt, HR consultant and founder of HR Fit for Purpose, argued that companies needed to be explicit that absence means rest and recovery, without the pressure of checking emails or messages.

“It is possible that employers are not clear about what they expect their employees to do when they are off sick – sick leave is for rest and recovery. This means that there should be zero expectation around checking and responding to work calls or emails during a period of sickness absence.”

To do this, HR should encourage cultures where employees feel able to switch off during sick leave, according to Kezia Luckett, CEO of management consultancy CultureSight Global. 

Disconnection should be seen “not as abandonment”, she said, “but as essential preparation for returning as a fully engaged, positive contributor to team energy and collective success”.

For further insight, use the CIPD’s tool to review your approach to health and wellbeing at work