The generation most likely to pull a sick day

A survey by Merlin Strategy for the Centre for Social Justice reveals 82 per cent of workers under 25 have taken a sick day when not genuinely ill over the past year, compared to 43 per cent of 55 to 64-year-olds.
Thirty-nine per cent of Generation Z employees reported pulling a sickie at least five times in the last year, compared to just one in ten older workers.
Younger staff frequently cited burnout, tiredness, hangovers, avoiding tasks, and attending job interviews as reasons for taking unnecessary time off.
Despite these findings on pulling sickies, official Office for National Statistics data shows overall sickness absence rates remain higher among older workers.
The Centre for Social Justice highlighted a striking generational divide in attitudes towards taking unauthorised leave from work.