Presenteeism Doesn’t Pay - should you go to work if you are sick?

In the current economic environment, we'd be forgiven for thinking that we should be at our desks at any cost. But a new campaign aims to change the negative perceptions we have about taking a day off and shows that, for an infectious illness, it makes better medical and business sense to spend a day at home working at getting better. A survey of 1,000 UK employers conducted by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) for the makers of Benylin has found that almost three quarters of UK bosses (73%) feel that workers should stay at home and recover when sick this winter, rather than spending an unproductive day in the office.

Take a Benylin Day

The people behind the survey, Benylin, are now launching a campaign to encourage employees to work at getting better when ill this winter, and "Take a Benylin Day". A dedicated campaign website has been launched - www.takeabenylinday.com - where people can go for advice on the etiquette of calling in sick, ideas on what to do when resting at home, and also tips on what you can do to help bring about a speedy recovery when suffering from cold and flu this winter.

Taking time off to recover is more productive

The survey found that four out of five employers (82%) believe that employees who practice 'presenteeism' are actually less productive, and almost three out of five (59%) think employees contribute more to the bottom line when they take a day off to recover. Even in the current economic climate, the message to sick employees is loud and clear: stay at home.

But the advice has yet to get through to UK workers, who now seem more hesitant than ever to take a sick day. A separate poll of UK employees found that two fifths (42%) have taken one or less sick days in the past twelve months, significantly less than the European yearly average of 4.6. Indeed, over half of UK employees (57%) would have to be severely ill before taking a sick day.

Bankers and people working in the banking sector have taken amongst the lowest average number of sick days in the past 12 months (1.92) , followed by people working in the hotel and restaurant industry (2.42) . It seems that guilt is largely to blame, with an overwhelming majority (82%) admitting to sometimes or always feeling guilty when phoning in sick.

Chris Hannant, BCC Policy Director, said: "In the current economic environment employees may feel the need more than ever to go beyond the call of duty and work through an infectious illness. But this is not the way to make a positive impression. Given the gap between employer and employee views, the findings suggest that there needs to be a bit more common sense about taking sick leave when you’re ill and maybe employers need to spell this out more clearly."

The domino effect

It seems that UK bosses are also concerned about the spread of infectious illness within the office, which could have an even greater impact on the bottom line. Over half (53%) say they have experienced a 'domino effect' with two or more employees succumbing to the same illness. As such, employers consider suffering from an infectious illness, such as cold and flu, to be the most acceptable reason for taking a sick day, with four out of five (84%) viewing it as a good reason for an employee to stay at home.

"When it comes to infectious illnesses such as cold and flu, listen to your boss - rest and recover really is the best policy", says GP Dr Rob Hicks. "What many don’t realise is that one day at home - where you can rest and avoid contaminating others – is key to breaking the sickness cycle. You’re likely to be considerably more productive when you return to work. Some employees may also find that by taking one day off to recover fully, they are less likely to take more days off later in the cold and flu season when they become even more run down."

Across the country, most bosses echoed this sentiment, especially in the South West, where 87% of bosses agree that employees should take a day off to recover when sick . Employers in the East of England came a close second with 84% , followed by London with 82%. Estate agency bosses are amongst the most likely to act on this sentiment, with three out of four (76%) often sending a sick employee home to recover, preventing them from infecting clients.

This article was published on Mon 24 November 2008