Man Flu Vs. Woman Flu

With winter approaching there is little doubt that bouts of illnesses will be on the increase. This could be much to the annoyance of the fairer sex, as men struggle to come to terms with the spread of the dreaded Man-flu. But what impact does this all have on the sexes in the workplace?

Well surprisingly, surveys and reports have revealed that it is in fact men that are less likely than women to take time off work due to illness. One survey by the Office of National Statistics, revealed that up to the age of forty men are off work sick for just 2% of their working lives, around half of the rate for women. A further report by the leading mutual healthcare organisation Benenden Healthcare Society found that the average adult takes three and a half days off work a year because of illness – or 141 during their working life - with men taking 140 and women, 189. So have men been given an unjust hard time over the dreaded Man Flu?

Judging by the statistics it would appear so. However, if we delve a little deeper into the research we can see men may still deserve the reputation they get for being unable to deal with a little sniffle. The representative study of 1,000 men and 1,000 women also quizzed participants on their attitudes and behaviours towards feeling ill, having to take time off work, and it is from this that gender comparisons can be made.

Results revealed that men fared much worse when it came to their dedication in making it into work. The headlines – Effort from the guys to make it into to work pales in comparison to the girls with men feeling more of an entitlement to take time off work. Results also illustrated that women came to work more often when they should have stayed at home.

The report also revealed men will ring in sick for more minor ‘illnesses’ such as hayfever, sore throats and headaches, while women stay in bed with symptoms such as vomiting, flu and high temperature. It has to also be remembered that women are usually the principle carers for children, so when a child is sick they may take time off “sick” to be at home. The findings corresponded with this idea, as one in four women admitted to faking an illness to get a day off work for this reason.

So maybe it’s not quite time for men to be able to refute the claims put their way by the opposite sex. But to make all the men out there feel better we can reveal that Man-flu and its existence has been scientifically proven! Australian researchers have found that female volunteers had a “much stronger immune response” to rhinoviruses – the bugs that usually cause the common cold – than men. This would help explain why men are much more likely to fall ill when they get infected. Prof John Upham, of the University of Queensland, said: “It makes sense from a biological point of view because women are more likely to ensure the survival of the species.” So next time your taking a verbal bashing from the other half, explain to them that it all makes biological sense.

To finish, we thought we’d share some tongue-in-cheek facts about Man-flu:

• Man-Flu is more painful than childbirth. This is an irrefutable scientific fact*. *(Based on a survey of over 100,000 men.)

• Men do not “moan” when they have Man-Flu. They emit involuntary groans of agony that are entirely in proportion to the unbearable pain they are in.

• Men suffering from Man-Flu want nothing more than to get out of bed and go to work, but they are too selfless to risk spreading this awful condition amongst their friends and colleagues. In this sense, they could be considered as heroes.

• Man-Flu germs are more powerful than He-Man, The Thundercats and The A-Team combined. They are too strong for weak, nasty tasting “lady medicines” like Lemsip, so don’t bother trying to force them on a victim of Man-Flu.

• Full recovery from Man-Flu will take place much quicker if simple requests for care, sympathy and regular cups of tea are met.