Fight the Flu & Avoid Presenteeism
“If I’m going to feel lousy, I may as well go into the office and get some work done.”
“I’ve got so much to do; I can’t afford not to go in.”
“It’s just a little cough.”
At one time or another, probably all of us have uttered these sentences in defense of dragging our sneezing, wheezing, coughing, flu- and cold-ridden selves out of our sickbeds and into the office.
Equally true, we’ve all heard the phrase, “I’m not that sick,” uttered from a co-worker or client’s lips — only to find ourselves down and out for a week with their illness a few days later. Going to work when sick has become such a growing trend that it’s earned its own moniker — presenteeism.
Wikipedia defines presenteeism as “the opposite of absenteeism. In contrast to absenteeism, when employees are absent from work, presenteeism discusses the problems faced when employees come to work in spite of illness, which can have similar negative repercussions on business performance.”
Of course, many web workers don’t actually head into an office, so don’t need to worry about infecting co-workers. But working while ill can have other repercussions, too. An October 2004 Harvard Business Review article titled “Presenteeism: At Work — But Out of It”, highlighted a study commissioned by Lockheed Martin to assess the impact of 28 medical conditions (including migraines, asthma and the flu) on workers’ productivity.
Researchers from Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston found that even employees with less severe conditions had impaired on-the-job performance and that, in total, employees who came to work with these 28 conditions cost the company approximately $34 million a year.
So if coming to work when sick is bad for the patient’s health, and equally as detrimental to the business’s bottom line, why do we continue to do it?
According to the findings of the Unscheduled Absence Survey by CCH, a part of Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, 66 percent of those surveyed said that having too much work and fear of missing deadlines were the most common reasons they came to work when sick. Another 56 percent cited lack of anyone to cover their workload as the reason, and 36 percent are showing up out of company loyalty.
And while a strong work ethic and company loyalty are to be admired, they may not be reason enough to leave the house when you’re sick. This flu season has not only begun with a wallop, but on June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization declared that a global pandemic of H1N1 flu is underway. With all these nasty beasties floating about, but a pressure to be productive lurking, it’s hard to know what to do, when to stay home and when you’re clear to go out.
Of course, good old-fashioned common sense (and mom’s advice) dictates for most of us how to handle the situation: Wash our hands, cover our mouths, don’t go to work with a fever etc. But hey, why take my, or mom’s, word for it? According to the CDC web site flu.gov, here’re their recommendations for keeping the cruddy stuff from spreading.
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
- Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.
- If you must have close contact with a sick person (for example, hold a sick infant), try to wear a facemask or N95 disposable respirator.
As for the time required to be away from your fellow citizens, flu.gov says stay home if you are sick until at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever (100°F or 37.8°C) or signs of a fever, without the use of a fever-reducing medicine. For more details, check out http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance/exclusion.htm.
Oh, and just in case you’re wondering, I’m writing this column on my laptop from the comfort of my bed, which I have been confined to for the past four days since coming down with a whopper of a cold I picked up at a play. I guess all the hand washing in the world couldn’t make up for the guy in the row behind me hacking away at the back of my head all night.
Do you suffer from presenteesim, and struggle to work even when you’re ill?
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After living in Asia for the past eight years, I see there is absolutely no need for handkerchiefs anymore. They are disgusting if you sneeze or blow your nose into them and then put it back in your pocket. In Asia, everyone carries around little packets of tissue. Use it once and then throw it away. Much more hygienic.
I see these kind of stories frequently in the fall/winter months – stay home if you’re sick! But what these stories always neglect to mention is that many businesses define a set number of sick days per employee. What do you do if you’re sniffly and are out of sick days? Call in sick and take the resulting dock in pay? Not all companies let people work at home, either, so that’s not always a viable option.
Cover your mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze (or cough into your shoulder or elbow), wash hands after blowing your nose… It’s good advice—and, as you say, it’s also just common sense—and there are signs more or less everywhere all the time urging us to take these precautions, but people still don’t. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen someone sneeze right into his hand and then go right on touching things as if everything were fine.
I bet we could even afford for people to go in sick occasionally if they didn’t insist on smearing pathogens all over the computers and doorknobs and everything else that the rest of us have to touch.
Yet another fear monger riding the Swine Flu wave.
If you’re not in the hospital within days of showing symptoms, and I mean the ICU, you don’t have swine flu.
While your advice is fine, I’m tired of people like you and the media trying to make a buck off of people getting worried about it.
Here’s a freebie for you idiots: Anti Swine Flu Tissues…
Swine flu doesn’t necessarily put you in the ICU – that’s only if you have pre-existing medical conditions that would be further compromised by a flu. Other people might show weaker symptoms than they would if they had the seasonal flu.
So while yes, the media may be blowing it out of proportion, I say ease up a little, @Fear Monger[er] because even if you do catch it, it’s good to be careful… no one knows how their body might react.
I think the best thing that is happening in Ohio is they are immunizing school children. The people I work with who have school age children are toxic during the fall and winter flu season. If their kids stay well, we all have a better chance of staying well. North Coast Muse @ http://sally1029.wordpress.com
I know we should stay home but it’s hard to do that when you work 30 hours and don’t get sicktime. It isn’t fair to force me to not work when I can’t afford to miss a day of work. I’d probably feel a lot worse since I would be stressed knowing I won’t be getting enough to cover my bills. Thankfully I’m usually a pretty healthy person but if I wasn’t I wouldn’t be able to afford living expenses. I think in times like this employers should have some sicktime available providing you hand in a note from the doctor.
Companies who have staff working 30+ at the office each week should be able to offer a home version of their computer systems so employees can work from home when sick.
http://twitter.com/lindsaylorusso
I wish all bosses would read this wonderfully written fact-based blog!!! I am 23 year old work-aholic that is deathly afraid to call out sick! I have only called out sick maybe 3 or 4 times my whole working life (since i was 15) and it scares the crap out of me! My current boss gives attitude when people call out, and I always feel like im a huge slacker if I do! I only call out if im vomiting or have a fever, and I feel as though even if I feel like crap, I better go into work or I am screwing my co-workers. I feel like it is a huge no-no to call out of work unless you are deathly sick. I love this article, but I think many people are driven to go into work out of fear. I know I am.