Costs of sickness absence in a service company in Colombia: case analysis by gender and occupation

INTRODUCTION: Sickness absence is a phenomenon that has an impact on productivity, costs, and the working environment. OBJECTIVES: To understand the patterns of sickness absence by gender, age, and occupation, as well as its association with cost in a service company. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study based on the sick leave data for 889 employees in one service company. The total number of sick leave notifications registered was 156. We performed a t-test for gender and a non-parametric test for the mean differences related to cost. RESULTS: We found that women registered more sick days than men, accounting for 68.59% of all sick days recorded. Absence due to sickness was more common in the age range of 35-50 years for both men and women. The mean number of days lost was 6, and the average cost was 313 U.S. dollars. Chronic disease was the main cause of sick leave, representing 66.02% of all absent days. There were no differences in the mean number of days of sick leave between men and women. CONCLUSIONS: There is no statistical difference in the number of days of sick leave between men and women. The costs of absence related to chronic disease are higher than those for other causes, so it is good practice to try developing health promotion programs in the workplace to prevent chronic disease in the working age population and reduce its associated costs.