Stress absence takes its toll in public sector - Grid

As the public sector braces itself for cuts and the welfare reform agenda gathers pace, a survey of 500 employers by Group risk Development (Grid) has uncovered a significant discrepancy in absence trends between the public and private sectors. The most commonly cited reasons for absences of over four weeks are home and family issues (16.8%), stress (15%) and acute medical conditions such as heart attacks and cancer (14.8%). However, these figures differ significantly between the sectors. Stress is by far the biggest cause of long-term absence in the public sector, with 37.5% of pu...