Your average full time public servant works closer to a 38 hr week than most in full time private sector jobs and hence should be able to find a couple of hours during the day each week for some of the smaller chores you mention like paying bills etc.
Most public sector employers allow flexitime in which worked overtime can be banked to allow 1-2 "extra" days off each month ... for the sorts of things you mention or for 3 day weekends etc ... most private sector employers dont allow flexitime.
Performance in a job is more closely monitored in the private sector than in the public sector.
So, all other things being equal, public sector absenteeism should be lower than in the private sector ... but based on your figures, on average, cleary it is not.
