Despite workers’ experiences during COVID-19, most continue to “push through” work while they’re feeling sick, according to a recent study conducted by BambooHR. According to the survey of 1,500 U.S. knowledge workers, 89% still show up to work when they’re under the weather, and 45% do so because they don’t want to use one of their limited paid sick days.
Furthermore, two-thirds experience stress, guilt, fear, or anxiety when calling in sick—and it’s hard to blame them, given that 80% of managers admitted to being skeptical of sick day requests.
“There’s some level of real guilt and paranoia around requesting time off,” says Anita Grantham, BambooHR’s head of human resources. “Despite going through COVID, people still feel reluctant to care for themselves, and it seems like even after we went through this pandemic not a lot has changed.”
Why You Should Take that Sick Day
U.S. workers’ hesitation to take a sick day has many causes, but the result is the same. Whether due to a limited number of paid sick days, a workplace culture of suspicion, or fear of falling behind, going to work sick slows recovery, puts others at risk, and weighs down the healthcare system. Furthermore, those potential costs come with little upside, as most aren’t very productive when battling an illness.
“It’s too ingrained in the American workplace culture that not only are you expected to work through illness, but that it’s taboo to call in sick,” says Dr. Michael Daignault, an ER doctor and medical contributor for Fox11 Los Angeles.
Dr. Daignault calls taking a sick day “pure common courtesy,” explaining that “you don’t know if one of your coworkers is immunocompromised or has elderly relatives at home that they care for.” He adds that those who work while sick aren’t doing themselves any favors by powering through, either.
“Our bodies are prioritizing the fight against the infection when we are sick; for most people, they can’t handle the additional stress of work or exercise as well and that just prolongs the illness and recovery,” he says. “COVID was an extreme example—I saw many patients who attempted to rush back to the office or to the gym after they tested negative on rapid tests and then saw an acute exacerbation of extreme fatigue, weakness, and shortness of breath.”
The Double-Edged Sword of Remote Work
Dr. Daignault suggests that COVID-19 did little to change U.S. employers’ approach to sick days. “I had hoped that the hybrid work schedule for office workers would become a permanent fixture because it gives people the flexibility to work from home if sick,” he says. “[But] most companies now are enforcing their return to office policy and becoming less flexible.”
While remote work can help reduce the spread of illnesses, having the option to work from home also raises the bar for what warrants a day off and encourages many to work when they should be resting.
“[Remote work] definitely increased the probability that we’ll work when we’re sick,” says Grantham of BambooHR. “It’s like, ‘hey, you’re away from people, you can’t contaminate me, you might as well be on the call.’”
Leading By Example
Though a pandemic did little to change the culture around sick days, Grantham says there is one simple step organizational leaders can take to reduce the taboo and improve the health and wellbeing of their workforce: lead by example. She explains that far too often leaders treat powering through as a badge of honor but suggests this “hustle culture” is making everyone sicker.
“Especially if you’re a leader of people, you have to show that you prioritize self-care,” Ms. Grantham says. “We should be more consistent, and if you’re a CEO and you’re sick you shouldn’t come in.”
She adds that many organizations preach a culture of supporting employee well-being and suggests this is a prime opportunity to demonstrate that commitment.
An (Almost) Uniquely American Problem
The U.S. is behind when it comes to guaranteeing paid leave of any kind—such as parental leave—and its approach to illness is no different. In fact, it’s one of four out of the U.N.’s 193 member states that does not guarantee any form of paid sick leave.
“America is unusually bad in this respect compared to similar economies,” says Molly Weston Williamson, a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress. “Folks who don’t have paid sick time are much more likely to go to work sick, which means they’re less productive, they’re not taking the time to recover or get treatment, and they’re getting others sick.”
In the absence of federal policy 18 states, the District of Columbia, and a patchwork of municipalities and private sector employers have enacted paid sick leave policies of their own, but nearly one in four Americans remain without access to paid sick days. Williamson adds that those who are most in need of paid time off are ironically also least likely to get it.
“Folks who may be working hourly or part time, who are working in industries like retail or food service—public-facing industries—are much less likely to have that access, because they’re in lower income jobs,” she says. “Someone who is living paycheck to paycheck, losing a couple days’ income could be the difference between a full fridge and an empty one; it could be the difference between making rent and an eviction notice.”
Ms. Williamson adds that when lower income workers can’t afford to take a day off when they’re sick it affects everyone.
“We know that pushing through is bad economics,” she says. “If we can change the policy and change the culture, employees are certainly going to benefit, but employers are going to benefit, our economy is going to benefit, and public health is going to benefit, too.”
