In June 2010 the New Zealand public Service had 44,554 employees (full time equivalents). Of these 18,938 were male, 25,605 were female and there was 1 of unknown gender (only one - my we are backward).
According to the PSA there is "little difference" in statistics between male and females in terms of sick days. That being 6.8 sick days on average for males per annum compared to 8.4 days for females.
Therefore, stay with me here, there would have been 6.8* 18,938=128,778 days lost through male ill health in the public service last year or 352 man years of lost productivity.
And for females there would have been 8.6*25,605= 220,203 days lost through female ill health or 603 women years of lost productivity.
As an exercise for the reader we leave the calculation of how much smaller the Public Service could be if it only employed males.
Aint numbers fun.
Postscript: I'm sure it would be ridiculously easy to find a female public servant who had had no time off last year and a male public servant who had had many days.
That's the thing about statistics they tell you nothing about individuals on an individual basis. But people fling them about with gay abandon if they advance their agendas - you know things like unnecessary and intrusive amendments to laws to address a supposed "gender gap" in salaries.
According to the PSA there is "little difference" in statistics between male and females in terms of sick days. That being 6.8 sick days on average for males per annum compared to 8.4 days for females.
Therefore, stay with me here, there would have been 6.8* 18,938=128,778 days lost through male ill health in the public service last year or 352 man years of lost productivity.
And for females there would have been 8.6*25,605= 220,203 days lost through female ill health or 603 women years of lost productivity.
As an exercise for the reader we leave the calculation of how much smaller the Public Service could be if it only employed males.
Aint numbers fun.
Postscript: I'm sure it would be ridiculously easy to find a female public servant who had had no time off last year and a male public servant who had had many days.
That's the thing about statistics they tell you nothing about individuals on an individual basis. But people fling them about with gay abandon if they advance their agendas - you know things like unnecessary and intrusive amendments to laws to address a supposed "gender gap" in salaries.