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Too
Busy To Be Sick
I had a job interview a few weeks ago, and
one of the questions kind of bugged me. The interviewer asked me what I would do if I was sick. Would I still come into work? The answer she was looking for was for me to
say yes, of course I would be into work unless I was on my death bed, but a
mere cold, or if I was simply throwing up, or course I would be there spreading
my germs to everyone!!
Is this the answer that bosses want to
hear? Wouldn’t it be better if you took
a day off to recuperate? I always worry
about spreading those nasty germs around to my fellow co-workers
According
to an article in USA Today “Employee absences have become such an epidemic that
companies are going on the defensive. More than 70% of employers rated
controlling costs in their disability absence programs as the top priority,
according to a survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.”
I
also know that if you own your own business, you can’t take off sick days. But if you work for someone, why is that
number so high? Why do people take
their jobs for granted like that?
In
my last job, I remember this time when I was pretty sick, but if I didn’t go to
work, stuff just wouldn’t get done (I worked in a one person office, me being
the one person). I went in for a few
hours each day and did what I had to do, then went home early to rest. I guess I just find it hard to believe that
people mess with the system so much. Am
I naïve? Guess I am..
Larger
companies are combating the sick day problem by trying tactics such as giving
staffers $100 dollars for every unused sick day at the end of the year. Other companies are giving them vacation
days to match their unused sick days. Some companies are flat out telling (heavily suggesting) that their
employees not take any sick time at all. But, perhaps I am wondering, couldn’t this backfire in the end for both
the company and employees? I do
understand, however that these companies need to play hardball, but isn’t there
another way to combat this problem?
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