Only 53% of respondents to the Quality of Working Life survey felt management treated employees sympathetically if they took sick leave, and one in three said there was a culture of not taking time off for illness in their organisations. Just 9% of those suffering from stress took time off from work, despite 30% reporting that they had experienced symptoms in the last year.

Two-thirds of those questioned said their productivity was reduced by ill health and nearly three-quarters (71%) said ill health reduced enjoyment of their jobs.

The most common forms of health support in organisations were flexible working (61%), progressive return to work after absence (58%) and counselling (57%). But while there was some evidence that absence was lower in organisations with absence and stress management policies, the differences were not marked, suggesting some of these policies were not as effective as they could have been.

Despite a perceived "work while you're sick" culture, sickness absence rose from an average of 3.19 days per manager in 2005 to 3.46 days in 2007. And 42% of respondents claimed illness rates in their organisations had gone up over the last 12 months.

The report concludes that, on top of increasing absence levels, there is "a high degree of unreported ill health that does not necessarily translate into days off but appears to be affecting motivation levels ... [M]any managers experience debilitating symptoms such as tiredness, insomnia and muscular aches and pains."

Jo Causon, the CMI's director of marketing and corporate affairs, said while many employers "bemoan the cost of absence to their organisations, they fail to see the damage done by creating a culture where illness is seen as a weakness."