A new survey by iSelect reveals that seven in ten Australians admit to faking a sick day despite being in good health.
This widespread practice is costing Australian businesses an estimated $7.3 billion annually due to lost productivity.
The fake sick days add up to approximately 24.6 million days off each year.
Even when excluding mental health days, 68% of respondents admitted to pretending to be unwell to take time off.
The most common reason for faking illness was lack of sleep, with one in three participants taking a sick day for that reason in the past year.
Other top reasons included needing to relax and recharge (27%) and taking a mental health day (23.1%).
Gender differences emerged, with women more likely than men to take mental health days (26.6% vs. 19.5%) and time off for family care (20.1% vs. 16.3%).
The trend was also more common among younger Australians, especially those aged 18–24, with 44.1% citing tiredness as a reason for calling in sick.
People aged 25–34 were the most likely to fake a sick day overall, with 84.5% admitting to doing so for non-illness-related reasons.
The study suggests that as people age, they are less likely to misuse sick leave, indicating a shift in work attitudes over time.
