The Conference Board of Canada released the new impact paper, Why Employees Choose Work Over Wellness: The Links Between Absence Policies, Attendance, and Mental Health.  The study analyzed the survey results of 977 employees and 135 organizations, as well as employer focus groups. The research examined absenteeism, presenteeism, and mental health in the workplace, including what factors are most likely to cause employees to engage in absenteeism or presenteeism. The results from the study explain the relationship between paid personal/flex or vacation days and employee psychological safety and job performance. According to the impact paper, two-thirds of employers surveyed offer paid or flex days each year. The research sought to determine how levels of absenteeism and presenteeism vary based on whether employees work fully in person, in a hybrid model, or fully remotely. The study found that on-site employees had higher absenteeism and presenteeism for physical health reasons than workers in fully remote or hybrid environments and higher presenteeism for mental health reasons than did remote workers.

To learn more about the link between absence policies, attendance, and mental health, read the impact paper.