Doomsday, Snoop Dogg, and Barbenheimer: BrightHR reveal the staff absence trends that swept across Canada in 2023

TORONTO, Feb. 1, 2024 /CNW/ - What do doomsday, Snoop Dogg, and Barbenheimer all have in common? They're some of the headliner events of 2023 that saw bouts of absences, lateness, and sick days sweep the nations' workplaces. And from these findings, comes a number of lessons for business owners.

HR technology firm BrightHR delved into their software usage to see how the year's events and trends impacted 100,000+ businesses and their 1.3 million employees.

Alan Price, CEO at BrightHR, comments on the key results:

"Crunching the 2023 data we have gained valuable insights into the absence and tardiness habits of the nation.

"In a trend lingering from 2022, train delays continue to derail commuters' punctuality. In fact, we've seen cases of lateness surge by 76% since 2021. So not only are trains operating to a different schedule, but employees are too! In fact, the only thing that's on time is the ensuing frustration.

"2023 was a devastating year for wildfires, and employers were feeling the heat from a surge in sick daysas a result. Cases of sickness skyrocketed by 40% as reasons like "bad quality from wildfires" were given.

"Cast your mind back to August and September and you'll recall that provinces across Canada had record-breaking warm temperatures this year, reaching up to 41 degrees Celsius in some areas!
The balmy weather must have put employees in the mood for tropical climes, as vacation requests submitted on Monday 4 September surged, much like the mercury, by 25%.

"Of course, 2023 was another mammoth year for sports and saw Canada's women's team reach the final group game in the FIFA Women's World Cup on Monday 31 July, pitched against Australia. Though it wasn't to be a win, there was a 48% uptick in vacation taken on the Monday. Showing soccer fans skipped worked to watch the match. Unfortunately, commiserations were in order making the rise in vacation a bit optimistic in hindsight…

"Another stand-out discovery we made when delving into absence stats on our software is that 88 people called in sick with food poisoning after a wedding, giving 'in sickness and in health' a whole new meaning. Illness and nuptials are perhaps not the match made in heaven wedding-attending employees were expecting. We're not sure what wedding caterers have to say about this one…

"And remember Barbenheimer? It was the crossover no one saw coming yet was on everyone's lips on Friday 21 July. A blockbusting 70,198 employees took the day off to catch the premiere of Barbie, Oppenheimer, or for the real cinephiles, both. 2023 was also the year when chart-topping artists came to town. Headliner music events like Shambala, Veld, and Osheaga, were the reason for 978 absences, whilst 202 more took a day off to see Beyonce, 140 for Lewis Capaldi, 56 for Snoop Dogg, and 67 took time off to secure those elusive Taylor Swift tickets!

"And to finish off on a note of dread, Tuesday 24 January 2023, was marked by some conspiracy theorists as the day the world was supposed to end. Luckily the earth still spins, but apocalypse anxiety caused a 75% jump in sickness absences that day, compared with the average Tuesday in 2023. And perhaps more unexpectedly, we found multiple mentions of 'doomed' and 'doomsday' in our absence management software, and a particularly sombre 'we are all doomed!'  

"Even though some of these findings may appear light-hearted and humorous, they demonstrate the significance of effective people management in the workplace. In the long run, it can ensure employers stay on top of staffing levels, but it also enables any trends to be identified and explored.

"Having eyes on employees' whereabouts and their absence, sickness, and lateness patterns helps you as a manager, make better, more-informed decisions to support them, and to remain productive.

"And not only that, but the right people management software speeds up and streamlines entire processes, from hiring, to managing absences, to clocking in and out, saving significant time and HR burden and freeing up employers to concentrate on growing their business."

BrightHR is a leading HR and Health & Safety software service that is transforming people management for 7,000+ clients across Canada. In addition to our award-winning HR and Health & Safety software, BrightHR saves business owners time and money by offering an extensive library of 400+ templates/documents/policies, on-demand advice by local experts, a range of e-learning courses, a free marketplace to advertise or use discount offers, plus much more.

SOURCE BrightHR Canada

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