Forbes Business points out that many people go to work sick, especially if they “just have a cold”. But it also notes that only 57% of private industry workers have the option to stay home and take a paid sick day, despite the low cost of doing so: just 23 cents per hour!
The upshot? Workers with a fever or more serious illness are more likely to show up to work, even if they shouldn’t — and that costs businesses money:
Yes, there’s a financial price to coming to work ill. It’s called presenteeism, and it costs employers $180 billion annually, according to a 2007 study by the Society for Human Resources Management. That’s more than employers shell out for employee absenteeism, which costs only $118 billion a year.
Sick employees don’t just affect their own work; they infect co-workers who then need to take time off themselves. (Or who come in sick and spread the germs further.)
Read more from Forbes: When Should you Call in Sick?
More To Read
September 24, 2024
Oregon and Washington: Different Tax Codes and Very Different Ballot Fights about Taxes this November
Structural differences in Oregon and Washington’s tax codes create the backdrop for very different conversations about taxes and fairness this fall
September 10, 2024
Big Corporations Merge. Patients Pay The Bill
An old story with predictable results.
September 6, 2024
Tax Loopholes for Big Tech Are Costing Washington Families
Subsidies for big corporations in our tax code come at a cost for college students and their families