Employees missed an average of 9.1 days in 2010
Canadians stayed home from work less in 2010 than they did in 2009, according to data from Statistics Canada.
Full-time employees lost an average of 9.1 days in 2010 for personal reasons, compared with 9.5 days in 2009.
These numbers are up from a decade ago. In 2000, full-time employees missed an average of eight days.
Women on maternity leave and men on parental leave were not included in the figures.
Full-time employees were absent 7.4 days because of their own illness or disability, down from 7.8 days in 2009. In 2010, 1.7 days were lost for personal or family demands, unchanged from 2009, according to Statistics Canada.
Full-time employees lost an estimated 100 million work days in 2010 for these reasons.
Women lost more time than men did. Women were away from work 11 days compared with 7.6 days for their male counterparts. Workers with preschool-age children lost 3.1 days for personal or family responsibilities compared to 1.4 days for those in families without children.
Public sector employees, who are more likely unionized or female, missed 11.8 days of work time in 2010 for personal reasons, compared with 8.2 days in the private sector.
“Contributing factors to work absence rates include the nature and demands of the job, the male-female composition of the workforce, and union representation,” the study said.
Full-time workers who were unionized or covered by collective agreements missed an average of 12.9 work days for personal reasons in 2010, while those who weren’t unionized missed 7.3 days.
Full time employees in the health care and social assistance industry lost the most days at 13.4 days off. Public administration employees lost an average of 11.8 days. The lowest averages were recorded by those in professional, scientific and technical services with 5.4 days and primary industries with seven days.
