Washington Work and Family Coalition

The Cost of Not Taking a Sick Day

Your nose is running, your throat is scratchy, and your eyes are burning. But you drag yourself out of bed, dress, and head to the office anyway feeling virtuous and sick. Once there, you proceed to share your virus with your coworkers. But at least you showed up to get the job done, right?

Wrong, according to a new study. Presenteeism — attending work while ill — is not always a smart choice for individuals or the organizations for which they work. It is entirely possible that a worker who is ill may be present physically, but mentally he or she might as well be home in bed.

A flu or cold virus or other illness spreading among coworkers can mean the loss of more than one employee’s productivity. It can paralyze entire departments. The study found that certain organizational cultures tend to promote presenteeism, or at least discourage absenteeism.

For the study, Gary Johns, a management professor at Concordia’s John Molson School of Business surveyed 444 people, asking about their job requirements, work experience, the numbers of days they had been out sick (absenteeism), and the number of days they had come to work feeling ill (presenteeism).

Statewide Paid Sick Days bill to be introduced this week!

Mayor-Paid-Sick-03-sm — Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn signs the Paid Sick and Safe Leave ordinancePicture: Jen Nance

The upcoming 60-day legislative session will be a difficult one, but there’s something to look forward to: the introduction of a statewide paid sick days bill!

The Washington Family Leave Coalition been working with several legislators who want to build on the success of Seattle’s recent Paid Sick Days ordinance. They plan to introduce companion bills in the state House and Senate this week to ensure all workers in Washington can earn paid sick days while on the job.

We’ll post the bill numbers and key dates as soon as they’re made available – so check back in the coming days (or Like us on Facebook) for more information.

We need your help: Public hearings on the paid sick days bills will be held later in January, and we need people who can share personal testimony about importance of paid sick days for working people and families. If you’re interested, please contact Marilyn Watkins.

Should Paid Sick Days Be Required by Law?

Via Time: Ideas | By Adam Cohen

Connecticut just became the first state in the nation to require employers to provide workers with paid sick days. The new law — which also allows paid leave for a sick child or spouse — is controversial. Opponents attack it as big government run amok and say it will kill jobs. But it is the right thing to do, both as a matter of humane treatment of workers and public health. And while the law doesn’t cover everyone, it’s a step in the right direction and other states should follow Connecticut’s lead.

Millions of Americans work at jobs that do not offer them a paid day off when they get sick. In the private sector, nearly 40% of workers do not have paid sick leave. Not surprisingly, low-income workers are worst off. Among the bottom 25% of wage earners — those making $10.50 or less an hour — just 33% can take a paid day off when they are ailing.

That means that millions of Americans often have to go to work sick or in pain — a phenomenon known as presenteeism — or they may not be able to help family members who face medical emergencies. If they have no choice but to miss work, they risk being fired.

Advocates for paid sick leave point to the case of Hilda Pizarro. Pizzaro says she was suspended from her job cleaning houses for Merry Maids — which does not offer paid sick days — because she had to take her 2-year-old son to the hospital for emergency asthma treatment. While she was on suspension, she says, she was terminated.

Supporters of paid sick leave also argue that everyone benefits when sick people do not show up for work. Requiring paid sick leave “is good public policy and specifically good public health,” Governor Dan Malloy said when he signed Connecticut’s law last July. “Why would you want to eat food from a sick restaurant cook? Or have your children taken care of by a sick day-care worker? The simple answer is — you wouldn’t.”