Mercer has produced a report on Absence and Healthcare benefits for 2008. I am a bit cheap and haven’t purchased the 2008 survey but looking at the 2007. One of the most interesting facts for me is that 80% of business managers surveyed know the rate of absence (eg the percentage) but only half of that number know the reasons and even less know the cost of the absence.

No surprises, but how can you tackle absence if you don’t know the reasons (you could have an institutional problem you don’t even know about) and why would a business manager but motivated to do anything if they dont know the cost effect?