1 in 4 men have pulled a ‘sickie’ to play videogames

Thursday, 14 January 2010

Research by ‘shopper’s revenge’ website MyVoucherCodes.co.uk has found that 24% of men have called in sick in order to play a videogame. The same research has found that a significant number of women, 19%, have pulled a sickie in order to shop with their friends.

A study of 1,920 employees in the UK has revealed that the number one reason men skive off of work is to spend some quality time with their games console, with a third of all sick days, genuine or not, resulting in time spent playing videogames.

The UK’s leading discount voucher code website, www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk has surveyed nearly 2000 British workers and found that across the board; just 46% of sick days in the UK are legitimate, where the person believed they physically couldn’t perform their work duties.

Men top the polls of taking days off sick unnecessarily, with 74% of men agreeing that they’d ‘pulled a sickie’ in recent years without actually being ill, compared to 65% of women who admitted the same.

When asked by MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, “Have you ever taken time off work to play videogames?” 24% of men said yes, compared to just 5% of women.

Videogame release days are the time most people will make the call to inform their boss they’re ‘too ill to work’, with 14% of men admitting they had no qualms calling in sick in order to play high profile releases such as Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto on the day they are released.

The top five reasons men have time off work other than illness according to the survey are as follows:

1. To play videogames – 24%

2. To attend an appointment – 16%

3. To visit friends and family – 13%

4. To do DIY around the house – 10%

5. To catch up on sleep – 7%

According to Bupa, last year, sickness absence cost companies an average of £666 per employee and cost the UK economy £13.2 billion. Judging by the 54% of false sick days which are taken each year, £7.1 billion is lost to people having time off when they are physically capable of performing their duties – which equates to a cost of just over £1 billion for people simply skiving in order to lay videogames.

Women aren’t immune to the lure of a day off work on full pay either, with 1 in 5 admitting that they’d feigned illness in order to shop with friends. Half of the women who took time off to shop said they’d shop in other cities so as not to be seen by people they may know. A third of the women who admitted to skiving in order to shop said they’d shopped online to ensure they weren’t rumbled.

Mark Pearson, retail expert and managing director of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk had the following to say: “The sickie is a time-honoured employment tradition, and although employers, including myself, wouldn’t be happy to know that our workers are faking a cold in order to play the latest PS3 or Xbox 360 hit, you’ve got to admire their dedication to their interest!

“Whatever the reason people decide not to go into work despite being fully capable, sickies cost the UK economy a shedload of money. Perhaps the Government could look to recoup lost revenue from games developers and fashion outlets?”

Tell us your news:

If you have industry related software news that you would like to have published, please use this submission service to have your news considered for publication