Source: Daily Telegraph

I’m not sure how many people will be reading this blog entry today, as 1 February is officially “National Sickie Day”. Well that’s according to research by the Employment Law Advisory Services that rekons up to 350,000 workers will have called in sick today. I bet the light dusting of snow this morning also added to that number, with many choosing to crawl back under the duvet.

Not only is this a pretty alarming statistic, but a great piece of PR for the Employment Law Advisory Service. This is a perfect example of a story that ticks all the boxes on what makes news - it has a clear human interest angle; it’s negative with businesses set to lose £30 million in lost productivity; it’s topical, due to the nature of the research and the snow today (!); and it’s a comprehensive survey with a high number of respondents, which in itself is a winner with the media.

As a result, the story is splashed over every national newspaper and trade magazine you could think of - with the findings having relevance for every industry and worker in the country. If only we could  devlop such compelling research for our clients!