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On the Job, But Out of It? CCH Survey Looks at Ill Effects of Sick Employees at Work

Friday, January 11, 2008 General News
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RIVERWOODS, Ill., Jan. 10 As flu season gets under way,employers are gearing up for more sick employees dragging themselves -- andtheir germs -- in to work. According to findings of the 2007 CCH UnscheduledAbsence Survey, 87 percent of employers report that sick employees who show upto work are suffering from short-term illnesses such as a cold or flu, whichcan be easily spread. CCH is a leading provider of human resources andemployment law information and services and a part of Wolters Kluwer Law &Business (http://www.hr.cch.com). The survey also found that just one in fourorganizations report they have a plan in place if a large percentage ofemployees become ill, indicating most organizations are less than wellprepared in the event of a pandemic.
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When sick employees show up for work, known as "presenteeism," there is asignificant and costly impact on an organization, not only in terms of riskingthe spread of disease, but also in terms of diminished productivity, qualityand attention to safety. Overall, the CCH Survey found that 38 percent ofemployers report presenteeism being a problem in their organizations.
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"We all know what it feels like to have the flu -- you're not operating at100 percent, you may not even be operating at 50 percent," said CCH EmploymentLaw Analyst Brett Gorovsky, JD. "When you start thinking about that in termsof what you're contributing to the workplace versus what risks you'reintroducing -- in terms of quality, safety and spreading germs -- the bottomline for most organizations is that it's in everyone's best interest for sickworkers to simply stay away."

According to the 2007 CCH Survey, sending sick employees home is thesingle most common approach employers take to reduce presenteeism, used by 54percent of organizations.

"Employers need to discourage both the 'hero employee' -- and even moreso, the 'hero boss' -- who show up for work sick, ready to muddle their waythrough the day," said Gorovsky. "Employees are in tune with the differencesbetween what management says and what it means, and when they see theirsupervisors coming in sick, they're convinced that's what's expected of themalso."

Other ways employers discourage presenteeism include educating employeeson the importance of staying home when sick, used by 40 percent oforganizations; 34 percent foster a culture that discourages employees fromcoming to work sick; and 30 percent of employers say they use telecommutingprograms as a way to deter presenteeism.

"Employers need to be cautious about encouraging employees to work, evenfrom home, while they're ill," noted Gorovsky. "But there can be instanceswhere allowing telecommuting as an option can keep a sick worker, perhapssomeone with a sprained ankle, in the loop without requiring them theadditional strain of coming into the office."

Employees Balance Rising Temperatures and Workloads

The 2007 CCH Survey found that the most common reason that employees cometo work sick, cited by 65 percent of respondents, was because they have toomuch work / deadlines. Fifty-six percent say there is no one available tocover workload; 55 percent don't want to use vacation time; 49 percent want tosave sick time for later in the year; and 49 percent report fear of disciplineas the reason sick workers are on the job.

"If you have too much work to do, there is no one to cover for you, andyou fear you're going to be disciplined, you have some very strong incentivesto show up for work no matter how sick you are," said Gorovsky. "As a result,employers have to examine their absence control and workplace policies to makecertain they are not causing unintended consequences."

Among the policies and programs Gorovsky recommends employers looking tocurb presenteeism review are:

"With the costs of health care continuing to rise and presenteeism addingto that cost,
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