Besides having high-tech gyms, providing free breakfasts and holding weight-loss or quit-smoking programmes, the companies are also hiring masseurs to help staff get rid of back and shoulder pain.

Sweden has a workforce of around 4.34 million, including 65 per cent in the private sector. While most employees claim to be happy in their jobs, most often call in sick, backed up by strong collective labour agreements that protect employees' rights.

The number of people absent due to sickness remains the highest in the European Union, at 2.9 per cent compared with an average of 1.6 per cent - outdone only by non-EU member Norway at 3.4 per cent.

'During economic booms, unemployment has been low and sickness absence has been high,' said Mr Sisko Bergendorff, a spokesman for the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. He noted that Sweden employs a relatively high number of workers older than 55, who in turn take more sick leave.

He said sickness insurance was particularly generous and available for long periods in Sweden, though the current centre-right government has tightened legislation to curb abuses of the system.

Employers pay sickness benefits for the first 14 days, after which the social insurance system takes over. Benefits amount to 80 per cent of an employee's salary, with the monthly allowance capped at around 19,200 kronor (S$4,300).

'In Sweden, it is more accepted to say 'I'm suffering from fatigue' or some kind of mental illness or stress so I will take some days off,' said Professor Magnus Verke, who teaches psychology at Stockholm University.

Faced with such a scenario, Sweden's large multinational corporations like Scania, Ericsson and Volvo as well as hip sectors such as consultancies and IT companies do whatever they can to attract employees and keep them happy in the workplace.

A driving factor is that healthy and happy employees take fewer sick days and are therefore more productive.

But they are also taking advantage of a government incentive that offers employers generous tax breaks for efforts to keep employees healthy to reduce the burden on the health-care sector.

The tax break applies, for example, to gym memberships, yoga classes and weight-loss or quit-smoking programmes.

Scania, the world's leading heavy truck manufacturer, has studied the problem closely.

'Today, our absenteeism rate is below 5 per cent, which is very low for an engineering industry company,' said Scania spokesman Hans-Aake Danielsson.

'For a company of our size, every 1 per cent of absenteeism you can reduce represents a cost saving of about 75 million kronor,' he said.

Scania's 9,000 employees can keep trim for free at the company's Health-

care Centre, a vast sporting and recreation arena with gyms and pools. Their family members can have access to the facilities for just 300 kronor a year.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE