More than one-in-five employees aged between 18 and 34 think taking dishonest sick days is acceptable - compared to just 5% of those over 55.

That’s according to new research from the Compliance Institute.

HR Suite spokesperson Caroline Reidy told Newstalk Breakfast she was not surprised by the results.

“This generation - who really put mental health, physical health and wellbeing at the top of their priority list - make the decision that, 'If I don't feel well, I'm gonna make the decision to stay at home today',” she said.

“Rather than other generations who go, ‘Listen, I'm not that bad, I'll plod through’.”

Woman blowing her nose into paper handkerchief on the bus on a cold winter day. Image: Igor Stevanovic / Alamy

Ms Reidy said mental health and self-care are a huge priority for the younger generation.

“You have to remember too, this generation went through COVID-19, self-care, mental health and [value] being authentic,” she said.

"Making decisions about themselves is a lot more characteristic of this generation.

“As a consequence, we're seeing that play out in communication – in how they want to be rewarded, in terms of how they will stay in jobs much shorter periods.

“Another way that’s manifesting itself is people are feeling ‘well if I don’t feel okay, I shouldn’t need a doctor or someone else’.”

Online doctors

According to Ms Reidy, the increase in online doctors has given people easier access to sick notes.

“A lot of medical certs now are online and you're looking for an online cert,” she said.

“You just pay for it and basically you can be off sick for the day.

“So, that option is a very real, easy option for most people if they feel, 'You know what, I don't feel great, I kind of feel I could do with a duvet day and that would give me the boost I need to be flying after that’.”

Benefits

However, Ms Reidy said there are some benefits to this behaviour.

“They're not spreading the germs,” she said.

“If they do have the cold, they stay away earlier because we've remote and hybrid working now.

“That's definitely a factor as well – but lot of them, instead of working from home and taking that option, may say, 'You know what, I'm going to do the duvet day'.

“So, I think it's balanced – like most things.”

The study also found that one-in-five workers aged 18-34 are comfortable favouring family or friends when awarding contracts - compared to less than one-in-ten of those over the age of 55..

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