Line blurs between sick days and work at home
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to many changes, including how we treat going to work while sick.
While a tickle in your throat used to lead to the attitude ‘‘soldier on’’ and saw people coughing away at their desks, now the expectation is clear: keep your germs at home. But, with more people able to work from home there was a risk people were continuing to work even if they were unwell, Auckland University of Technology Professor of human resources Jarrod Haar said.
With up to 50% of the population now able to work from home, the lines between life and work were becoming increasingly blurry, he said.
‘‘The more days you work from home, the more those boundaries between work and home and life meld into one.’’
Before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, people called in sick and were out of the office until they were well but now there was a temptation – both for managers and employees – to log on and work, he said.
‘‘It is a blurring of boundaries now and can work against some employees.’’
It was particularly prevalent with business being hit by the winter illnesses and Covid-19 in the community, with many businesses struggling with a lack of staff.
But employers had to accept that staff sickness was inevitable and adjust expectations, resisting the temptation to ask staff to complete work at home, he said. The onus was also on employees to be firm about not working when they were ill. ‘‘We have to take a bit more control of our health and probably just communicate that a bit more clearly to our managers.’’
That was particularly important as productivity and attention to detail were likely to suffer when somebody was ill – which could lead to sub-par work or mistakes.
‘‘We have got to realise that when I am the healthiest is when I am the most use to everybody,’’ Haar said.
Taking a sick day was a right which employees should use – which was reflected by the Government when the minimum of sick days was increased from five to 10, he said.
Nelson GPs spokesperson Dr Graham
Loveridge said it was important for employers and employees to communicate, and that people did not feel pressured to work if they were unwell.
‘‘The person’s health is the priority but many of those people they don’t like to let people down.’’
But for people who had mild symptoms but felt capable of working, then working at home was a good compromise, he said.
‘‘They can make that assessment but the critical thing is they should not feel under pressure.’’
The ability of staff to continue working at home, doing paperwork or phone consultations, had been a lifeline for his practice as the community struggled through winter, he said.
BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope said last year’s Southern Cross BusinessNZ workplace wellness survey showed that while about 90% of businesses surveyed had made it clear staff should stay home when they were sick, 62% also reported staff who were sick were ‘‘soldiering on’’, continuing to work while at home, he said.
‘‘The trend of working from home has increased and it is possible there has also been an increase in people working from home while sick, without taking sick leave.’’
That could be difficult for employers to manage, he said.
‘‘BusinessNZ suggests that employers should ensure they maintain good communication with staff who are working from home and reinforce the message that people should take sick leave when they are sick, regardless of whether they are working at home or not.’’
Haar said hybrid working was a positive shift to come out of the pandemic but managing issues like sick leave was part of the adjustment to the new way of working – with employers understanding people being sick did not mean squeezing in a few hours work, and employees switching off and focusing on getting well.
‘‘We have to respect the boundaries.’’
‘‘The more days you work from home, the more those boundaries between work and home and life meld into one.’’
Jarrod Haar
Professor of human resources