More than 50% of staff took less than two days sick leave last year, according to data released by Water Wellpoint.

The data also revealed that 85% off staff said that they would not even consider calling in sick this year unless they were seriously unwell, highlighting the fears that many employees have regarding their job security.

While small business owners will no doubt welcome their staff being more conscientious, they have been warned that the bottom line of their business will suffer if staff work too hard.

"Whilst commitment to attendance will be immensely encouraging for employers, they do need to take note of the fact that a third of respondents also said they feel their work impacts negatively on their health. Tiredness was cited as the main symptom for 50% of workers and nearly 1 in 4 also said they put problems sleeping down to stress from work," said Rory Murphy of Water Wellpoint.