UK businesses could lose 4.75 days of productivity per employee with the allergies, per summer, research revealed today.
One thousand people with hayfever were surveyed on the average amount of time per work day they felt their productivity levels were significantly impacted by pollen allergies.
The average UK hay fever-suffering worker reports this happening for a total of 4.75 working days (35.6 hours) per summer.
More than a fifth (21%) admitted to having suffered so badly that they have either gone home early or not gone in at all once in the past three years as a result.
Meanwhile one in 10 have elected to work from home to cope with their symptoms.
Only 16% felt that their employer was sympathetic to their symptoms, with more than half (56%) reporting they got the impression that hayfever was ‘just one of those things you have to work through’.
More than one in three admit their symptoms have made them reluctant to leave their desks at lunchtime, for fear of aggravating them by heading outdoors.
