70 Percent of Americans Admit to Going into Work Sick

The only thing worse than an employee with no motivation? An employee with too much motivation! As the title of this article suggests, an estimated 70 percent of the American workforce has gone into work sick at one point or another. More specifically, about 80% of the blue collar workforce and about 40% of the white collar workforce admit to this practice, according to a study published in Alternet.org.

And although business owners certainly appreciate the dedication, this is simply not an appropriate way of showing work ethic or dedication to the company. In this article, we will discuss a few of the most important reasons why going into work sick is bad for business — and we will propose a few strategies that employers can utilize to prevent this from happening at all.

The negative impact of employees coming into work sick.
1. A sick employee can be distracting to the rest of your workforce.
2. A sick employee poses a health danger to all of your employees and customers.
3. A widespread breakout of illness will harm your bottom line, impact your brand image, and cost you big in insurance premiums.
4. Allowing employees to come in ill may violate company policy and/or ethics.

How to prevent employees from coming in sick.
1. Set clear company policies, stressed from the beginning of the employee-training process, that encourage employees to stay home when sick.
2. Provide an adequate number of sick and personal days so that employees are not worried about passing their limit too early in the year.
3. Consider instituting a company wellness program that promotes fitness, provides healthy snacks, etc. in order to protect against the threat of illness altogether.

For more tips on managing your workforce, promoting employee health, providing well-rounded training, and enforcing company policy, visit the Precise Payroll HR support page online today!