The bar chart given compares five different reasons based on the results of three surveys on absenteeism in a particular European country between 2000 and 2010, at 5-year intervals.
Looking at the illustration, it is immediately evident that illness recorded the highest figure in all years, whereas the opposite was true for stress and unexpected. Additionally, most reasons surveyed showed an overall upward trend, except for illness and family responsibilities.
In 2000, the reason for absence was illness dominated the chart at approximately 45%, which was roughly 17% than that of family responsibilities. Personal needs, such as appointments, ranked third at 15%, while unexpected problems, such as transport or weather issues, and stress, came in last at approximately 10% and 7%, respectively.
By the year of 2005, illness remained the leading cause of absenteeism, though its proportion had slightly declined to around 40%. Meanwhile, other reasons such as personal needs, unexpected problems, and stress began to increase, narrowing the gap between illness and the remaining categories.
In 2010, despite dramatic drops, illness continued to be the most common reason for absenteeism, though it had dropped significantly to around 35%. Other reasons, such as personal needs, unexpected problems, and stress, rose noticeably, making the distribution of causes more balanced compared to previous years.