Sickness

The BBC coverage on announcement that public sector should 'get to grips' with sick leave.
Being a public sector worker, it caught my eye. I do reaslise that there is a problem with this - a quote from Sean Lock's excellent from 15 storeys high rings more than true -"[what's the point in phoning the council? they'll] write your name on a piece of paper, put a cup of coffee on top of it, and then go on maternity leave for six months" (apologies for my poor quote memory).
My own experience is a lot more positive; since leaving the private sector and coming to work for a public owned, "arm's length" company (it's 100% owned by the local council), my illness levels have dropped dramatically. At the last place, I reckon I had about 15 to 20 days off a year due to sickness. In this job, last year I think I had two sick days.
Why? Well, for a start, I now work flexi-time, which helps a whole lot. Rather than having to plan my life around work, I plan work around my life (to a degree, at least).
Also, I don't have as much pressure to get things done quickly; meaning I can concentrate on doing things right. This has the effect that I'm a lot more stressed at work.
My Boss is someone I get on with, and who I socialise with. He's a great bloke, who understands the work I do (he does the same work), and is willing to defend the decisions I make, and stand up for me too.
Generally, I've found working in public sector much less stressful, which has resulted in me needing more time off work..