A flexible approach to working is the key to ensuring the productivity of IT contractors and other employees, according to an online job site.

Employers must understand that giving time off to rest will encourage employees to work harder and take on extra responsibilities, according to Farhan Yashin, president of CareerBuilder.com.

His comments follow the release of a survey by the company, which found that 26 per cent of UK workers faked illness to avoid going in to work at least once last year, with seven per cent doing it three times or more.

Mr Yashin added that the results of the survey were "no surprise", as workers were being asked to work longer hours with fewer people to support them.

"In this [economic] environment it is important to find ways to allow employees to continue to work hard, but also find ways to give them additional days off to recharge their batteries," said Mr Yashin.

The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) recently claimed that embracing flexible working practices would help the public sector achieve cost savings, instead of simply cutting jobs to save money.