Marvin OnumonuStaff in England are taking more sick days than at any point in the last decade, with an average of 9.4 days a year, recent analysis from Protecting.co.uk found.
Health and safety experts at Protecting.co.uk linked workplace injury and illness to an estimated £861.6m a year in statutory sick pay.
Nearly £764m of that was down to illness, while injury-related absences made up £98.1m.
Women lost 16.6 million days to work-related illness, around 500,000 more than men.
Women also lost more days to stress, with 536,000 cases compared to 350,000 among men.
Men lost 2.8 million days to injury, double the total lost by women.
Injury at work was nearly 20 times more likely to be fatal for men, who also lost twice as many days to injury.
Per 100,000 workers, 5,770 women reported work-related ill health, compared with 4,680 men.
Stress, depression, or anxiety affected 3,220 women per 100,000, compared to 1,980 men.
Musculoskeletal disorders were higher among men, at 1,570 per 100,000, while 1,400 women reported the same.
Mark Hall, managing director at Protecting.co.uk, said: “When workplace accidents make the news, it’s usually because of serious accidents.
“While those are obviously critical, when you look at the numbers, the bigger financial impact comes from day-to-day sickness absence.
“As the analysis shows, illness-related sickness could contribute to substantial sickness pay costs.”
Hall added: “Stress-related conditions, in particular, are leading to sustained time away from work, and that cost builds up quietly over time.
“For employers, reducing accidents will always be an essential focus.
“But if the goal is to lower absence and manage costs, more attention also needs to be paid to workload pressures and various other factors that are contributing to longer-term illness.”
