The Cost of Unwell Staff

SICK employees who show up for work are costing their employers four times more than those who stay home to recuperate.

A new report has found sick workers who are unable to give 100 per cent are costing the nation's economy $25.7 billion a year.

Depression, allergies, hypertension and diabetes have been revealed as the leading culprits, with the ill suffering an average 45 per cent loss in productivity.

The drop in output is equal to missing six days of work a year for the average employee.

Workers who stay at home because of sickness are found to cost the economy just $7 billion a year.

The Medibank Private-commissioned study is the world's first to measure the economic impact of sick workers, finding business would benefit by better caring for their employees' health.

Medibank Private public industry affairs manager Craig Bosworth said sick employees worked slower, needed to repeat tasks and made more mistakes than healthy colleagues.

“The world as a whole is becoming much more aware of the need for wellness, rather than just the need to manage illness,” says Ronald D. Norman, Mannatech’s vice president of international finance. “And with science increasingly validating the essential role of the glyconutrients in our patented and patent-pending products, Mannatech is uniquely positioned to provide the missing ingredient in the wellness puzzle.”