Pass it on: Coming to work sick can affect business productivity

Coughing attacks, sneezing fits and body aches are enough to make anyone feel miserable — but are they enough to keep a person home from work?

All too often, that’s not the case, and it’s co-workers who suffer. Feverish employees who head into the office because they’re insecure about their job or fear a loss of pay usually end up doing little more than spreading germs.

Employees who drag themselves to work when they’re sick bring “presenteeism” with them. They’re physically present at work, but they negatively impact productivity through reduced personal performance and by passing illness on to colleagues.

November generally marks the start of the annual flu season. Outbreaks of illness and presenteeism are just around the corner. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people with flu-like illness stay at home until at least 24 hours after the fever is gone, not everyone takes this advice.

Employers can minimize presenteeism by taking actions that encourage sick employees to stay home and keep their germs to themselves, notes Katie Loehrke, a subject matter expert on presenteeism at com- pliance resource firm J. J. Keller & Associates Inc. Employers should spread the word that taking a sick day when you’re truly ill is not a bad thing.

“If you have no reason to believe that an employee is misusing sick time, make sure he or she is not made to feel guilty about staying home,” she said.

Loehrke also warns of the potential pitfalls of a policy that requires employees to bring in a doctor’s note in order to take a sick day.

“A contagious illness won’t always necessitate a trip to the doctor,” she said. “Employees might choose coming in to work sick over the potential hassle and cost of visiting a doctor.”

To avoid an outbreak of presenteeism, employers should reassure their workers that they won’t be penalized for staying home when they’re sick.

Workplace culture also makes an impact. Johns noted that some employees feel obligated or pressured to go to work, even when they’re not feeling well. His study shows that those who viewed calling in sick as a legitimate option reported more sick days, but far fewer days of presenteeism.

Another study, done in the United Kingdom by University of Warwick researchers and published in the Human Resource Management Journal, noted that a multitude of factors can come into play when a sick employee is deciding whether or not to head to work.

Some workers believe that no one else can do their job, while others would lose money if they called in sick. A manager’s reaction to absences and his or her own decisions on whether to come to work when sick also made an impact.

Making sure that employees understand that they don’t have to be at work when they’re sick can pay off. The Warwick study noted that a higher level of employee well-being and commitment appeared in organizations that placed less pressure on absent employees.

On the other hand, having sick employees in the workplace can be costly. A German study showed that presenteeism costs the economy twice as much as absence because of sickness.

If an employee is obviously ill and a significant health threat to other workers, an employer can insist that the worker head home.