OTTAWA — Federal public servants were less likely to call in sick to work during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, new government data shows.

The figures shared by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat indicate that in 2020-21, when the pandemic had most office employees working entirely remotely, the average number of sick days for the public service was 5.9.

That number grew to 8.1 in 2021-22, 8.8 in 2022-23 and 9.2 days in 2023-24.

Most office workers stayed home to work during the pandemic for much of 2020 and 2021. While some federal office employees returned to in-person work in 2022, it was only in the first few months of 2023 that all public servants were gradually ordered back to the office for at least two or three days a week.

Before then, the data shows that public se

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