Workers Taking Sickies To Deal With (Traffic) Congestion: NRMA

A new study by the NRMA has found that traffic congestion problems are contributing to the number of sick days taken by employees.

The 2013 NRMA Business Wise Congestion Survey polled almost 1000 New South Wales businesses on the impact of traffic congestion on their operations. Almost ten percent of respondents said congestion is causing staff to call in sick.

Of the businesses surveyed, 37 percent reported an increase in employee fatigue as a result of traffic congestion whilst the number of businesses reporting lost productivity was also 37 percent.

Traffic congestion was also blamed for rising business costs, with 59 percent of respondents claiming it had increased their fuel bills and 32 percent saying it was responsible for staff being late to work.

Businesses also claim that company vehicles are spending an extra 40 minutes in traffic each day, increasing operating costs by as much as $5,000 each year.

NRMA Motoring & Services CEO, Tony Stuart, called for government action to address traffic congestion in Sydney.

"Traffic congestion is no longer just a peak hour problem, it's an everyday problem and it's getting progressively worse across Sydney," Mr Stuart said.

"We need Federal and State Governments to work together to manage Sydney's congestion, it's affecting productivity, it's affecting health and it's putting even more pressure on the bottom line of small businesses."

The NRMA plans to release a “congestion busting plan”, aimed at persuading the winner of the upcoming federal election to implement traffic improvements.