MORE workers called in sick in 2020 than at any time in at least two decades, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal labor market data. An average of 1.5 million people a month missed work because of their own illness/injury/ medical problems – 45% more than normal over the past 20 years. Child care-related absences increased even more, soaring to 250% of the 20-year average. Roughly 67,000 people a month said child care problems made them miss work.

MEANWHILE, out of the 1,000 U.S. enterprise employees surveyed in the Nintex Workplace 2021 Study, more than a quarter (28%) of employees working remotely took less time off in 2020 compared to 2019. The report also cited Microsoft’s Work Trend Index, which found 31% of U.S. respondents reported increased burnout at work during the pandemic. To prompt employees to take days off, Nintex recommended employers consider company-wide well-being days, treated as holidays.

WORKING remotely has largely been embraced, according to Nintex. Seventy percent of employees said their experiences working remotely during Covid-19 have been better and more productive than they expected. When asked to describe their better-than-expected experiences, 56% of respondents pointed to more family time, 48% said they had more time for a hobby or to exercise, 47% cited no commute and 46% were pleased with not having a dress code.

SIXTY-SEVEN percent of respondents said they’re getting their work done in fewer hours per week since transitioning to full-time remote. Of those respondents, 41% — the largest group — said they’re getting their work done in far fewer hours now per week.

EVEN though 67% of employees reported they’re getting their work done more efficiently since transitioning to full-time remote, many feel their work life would further improve with better home-office equipment (58%), the ability to permanently work remotely (51%) and software solutions that help them automate manual and repetitive tasks (39%) to focus on more valuable work.