It seems more and more managers are ignoring the sounds of sniffling and sneezing outside of their offices as their team comes to work sick. It is a sign that many managers may be out of touch with what is going on with their employees.
The reasons for employees toughing it out and coming in while under the weather range from reluctance to use time off, or no sick leave offered by their company, to a fear of not being visible on the job. In today’s economy, there is a great deal more pressure to show up no matter what.
But this practice actually causes more harm than good. According to Corporate Wellness, Inc., a workplace health services provider, working sick costs businesses more than paying out for sick leave. People tend to make more mistakes when they are under the weather, and can take twice as long to complete an assignment. Thus, productivity decreases, costing American businesses more than $150 billion dollars a year.
What can you do as a manager? First, lead by example. If you are sick, do not come into work. Clarify your absenteeism policy with the staff and encourage those who are sick to stay at home. Also, think about instituting a telecommuting policy so those at home who feel up to it can still contribute by checking emails, etc. without exposing other members of the team to their illness.