Generation Z employees are more likely to pull a sickie compared to workers aged over 55, a new poll has suggested.

The poll of 2,123 people showed just over four in five workers – 82 per cent – aged under 25 said they had taken a sick day in the past year when they had not been too unwell to work, compared to 43 per cent of staff aged between 55 and 64.

Carried out by Merlin Strategy for the centre-right think tank Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), the surveyors asked participants whether they told their employer they were too unwell to work when their symptoms were not, in fact, serious enough to prevent them from working.

The survey also found 39 per cent of under-25s reported taking sick days on at least five days in the past year compared to one in ten older workers.

Office for National Statistics published this year suggested sickness absence rates are overall higher in older working-age adults compared to under-25s.

The data, published in May, showed the sickness absence rate in 2025 was 1.3 per cent for those aged 16 to 24 years, compared to 1.6 per cent for those aged 25 to 34. 1.8 per cent for those aged 35 to 49 and 2.9 per cent for those aged 50 to 64.

The CIJ said the poll suggested a “striking” generational divide in the reasons workers use to pull a sickie. The poll found 79 per cent said being too tired had contributed to taking unnecessary time off work compared to 40 per cent of workers aged 55 to 64.

More than half of participants under 25 years old said attending a job interview or doing other work had played a part in their sickie, while 52 per cent cited social reasons such as a late night or hangover – compared to 12 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.

Other findings included 49 per cent saying they wanted to avoid work they did not want to do, against 15 per cent of older works. A total of 77 per cent cited burnout or needing a mental-health day, compared with 45 per cent of older workers.