A new report from the U.K. details the hidden costs of workplace sickness and cites “presenteeism” as a leading factor.

“The hidden cost of rising workplace sickness in the UK has increased to more than £100bn a year, largely caused by a loss of productivity amid ’staggering’ levels of presenteeism, a report warns,” as reported in The Guardian. “Analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows the cost of staff sickness has grown by £30bn a year to £103bn in 2023. The annual bill was £73bn in 2018, its study found.”

The article also reported that “employees now lose the equivalent of 44 days of productivity on average because of working through sickness, up from 35 days in 2018, according to the IPPR. Staff lose a further 6.7 days taking sick leave, up from 3.7 days in 2018, the report says. Workers in the UK are among the least likely to take sick days, especially compared with other OECD and European countries, experts said. They are more likely to turn up at work while sick.”

The article noted that companies can improve results by offering mental wellness training.