Public sector workers took a record number of sick days last year

https://www.macleans.ca/economy/economicanalysis/public-sector-workers-took-a-record-number-of-sick-days-last-year/

Is a health crisis ravaging Canada’s public sector workers?

One might wonder after looking at the latest stats on worker absenteeism in Canada. In 2016, civil servants missed a record number of workdays, according to annual job market statistics released last Friday by Statistics Canada. All told, the average public sector worker missed 13.5 days of work last year, the most ever. That compares with 8.3 days for workers in the private sector.

As a result, the inactivity rate of government employees—a measure of the number of hours lost as a share of the usual full-time work week—hit a record high last year.

The above figures reflect both sick days (for illness or disability) as well as days missed for personal or family reasons, though the former accounts for the vast majority of missed days.

The gap between public and private sector absenteeism has been widening for years. Last year that disparity hit an all-time high, as government workers took 5.2 more sick days than those in the private sector.