Nonprofit HR’s Blog

What does it say about employers and their employees when new research has found that workers are feeling more pressured to attend work when unwell than they used to? Recently two independent studies on two different continents confirmed this negative workplace culture.

From Workplace Savings & Benefits monthly magazine:

Results from Capita Employee Benefits’ study reinforce those from a similar survey published last week by insurer Canada Life.

This most recent research found that over two thirds (70%) of workers said it was becoming increasingly common for people to attend work while unwell while (59%) added that they personally felt more pressure to go to work while ill than they used to.

However, as with the previous study, the majority of respondents (78%) recognised that colleagues who were genuinely sick should stay at home until they got better for the benefit of both themselves and those around them.

The survey of over 3,000 individuals in full or part-time employment also found that 63% of people went to work the last time they were ill, while almost half (47%) were worried what their employer would think of them if they took time off to visit their doctor or dentist.

We all should take a moment and think about our own workplace. It should be understood that when an employee is sick they need to stay home. Employees are not efficient when they work while ill and more prone to errors. Plus, they risk getting more staff ill which then starts to effect the efficiency and quality of the entire organization.

Offer your employees a fair number of sick days annually and them make sure they use them. It’s good for everyone.