Average absence rate 8.9 days in 2015: Report

Unionized employees average 13.1 days

The average absence rate among Canadian organizations in 2015 was 8.9 days per full-time employee, according to a Conference Board of Canada report.

At 7.8 days, private sector organizations saw a lower level of work absence than the public sector (12.7 days).

Unionized employees had higher work absence rates than non-unionized employees — 13.1 days per year compared with seven days, respectively. The public sector is 75 per cent unionized.

The report, Addressing Employee Absences, quantified and analyzed work absence data from Statistics Canada, along with looking at the absence management programs and policies of 370 organizations. 

According to the Conference Board, organizations looking to address absenteeism should:

• understand organizational drivers and predictors of absences

• track absences

• have a formal absence management process

• focus on prevention.

• intervene early.

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