With the flu season in full effect, organizations are feeling the impact of employee absences on their bottom line. Does the risk of spreading illness warrant the time employees are taking off from work?
In the past, Employers have often been skeptical of employees when they called in sick. Are they telling the truth? Or are they using the day to recuperate from a night out? With the H1N1 pandemic, calling in sick no longer stirs up thoughts of delinquent employees who use sick days as a means to catch up on sleep. Illness has become a real threat.
HR departments are encouraging those who are remotely ill to stay home in an effort to prevent the germs from wiping out entire departments and contaminating work places. Hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes are mainstays in every cubicle. Hand shaking is quietly discouraged during the flu season. We are prepared to do what we have to do to keep the germs away.
The sound of nose blowing or a sneeze or let alone a cough can send shivers down every employees’ spine. Still employees are going in, unprotected and without diagnosis because they feel their absence will disappoint their team or superiors who have to pick up the slack or they feel the need to demonstrate their profound dedication to their job. The truth is they are putting those very people in danger. A sick employee at work may be unproductive but more importantly they may pose a threat to the health of the rest of the department. This can result in a number of employees falling ill with potential life threatening illnesses which will not only hamper the department’s ability to keep up with tasks at hand but ultimately effecting the organization as a whole.
Moral of the story…encourage employees who are feeling under the weather to do their coworkers a favour and stay home.