Sick days disappear in the remote working world

[morris]

by Erica Pandey

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Before the pandemic, if you woke up with a runny nose or a tickle in your throat, it was a simple enough decision to stay home and avoid infecting your co-workers. Now, as more Americans work from home, sick days are disappearing.

Why it matters: Working through sickness and fatigue makes it harder for people to recover quickly and completely, prolonging the harm to their health and productivity.

• It also leads to an epidemic of "presenteeism" — showing up for work when you're not feeling up to it, and not doing your best job.

The big picture: The lack of definition around sick days has long been a problem for America's workers.

• The problem was exacerbated by the pandemic and the recession — especially for those in frontline, low-wage jobs at e-commerce warehouses and fast food joints who feared they'd lose their jobs if they took sick days.
• And the pandemic has muddied sick days for teleworkers too.

What's happening: Remote work means you can't get colleagues sick, which has raised the bar for how sick is sick enough to take a day off.

Plus, parents who telework may feel less comfortable taking time off to care for sick kids because they feel it would be possible — if stressful — to work from home while tending to their child's needs.

• In a survey conducted by OnePoll, two in three Americans say they feel less inclined to take time off for sore throats and stuffy noses when working from home. And 70% say they've worked while sick during the pandemic.
• On top of that, half of respondents in the same survey say COVID-19 has made other illnesses seem "minor" in comparison.

The stakes: "Presenteeism" costs the U.S. $226 billion in lost productivity per year, according to the American Productivity Audit. Look for that number to rise as working while sick becomes more common.

• Logging on while sick can slow down workers' recovery and make an illness drag on longer than it would have.
• All this contributes to the U.S.' far-reaching burnout problem that's leading workers to quit their jobs in every state and industry.

Companies can fix this problem by actively encouraging workers to take paid vacation and sick time, says Dan Schawbel, an author and managing partner at the human resources research and consulting firm Workplace Intelligence.

• "It's part policy, and it's part cultural," he says. "And people don't really talk about the cultural part."
• Firms can't just dole out paid sick time and expect employees to feel comfortable taking it, he says. It's up to executives and managers to push employees to use that time — and to publicize when they take it themselves to set an example.

The bottom line: Managing remote workforces is starkly different from managing in-person ones. And companies will have to be creative about everything from time off to meeting structures to make it work.

 

[Objection]

I take my leave and not give two fukks what the boss thinks. I'm not going to kill myself for some a$$hole who feels I need to be working . They'll have a new employee the second I die. Health is wealth and taking days off is all a part of healthy living.

 

[Doobie Doo]

Unlimited PTO for me.

 

[morris]

I take my leave and not give two fukks what the boss thinks. I'm not going to kill myself for some a$$hole who feels I need to be working . They'll have a new employee the second I die. Health is wealth and taking days off is all a part of healthy living.

I forgot where I read this but an ad for your position will be posted quicker than your obituary.

 

[kdslittlebro]

Imagine thinking I’m getting outta bed to work if I’m sick regardless of location if I’m working on my own shyt sure. I treat my PTO exactly the same as I did before, other than taking less vacay time

 

[Json]

I told y’all they are coming for those remote workers.

What health expenses should they be paying for vs someone coming into the office….

 

[Hater Eraser]

 

[Legal]

I'm fortunate enough that not working on the petri dish that is the office has helped me avoid getting sick over thia stretch, but best believe that if I DID? fukk every single BIT of logging on. I'mma walk right past my desk, plop down on my couch, and nap through the day like any other sane person would.

Now what we NEED to talk about is this slick shyt they do with having your sick time and vacation as a single PTO bucket. Y'all motherfukkers ain't slick. That's just another way to force people to hoard their PTO.

 

[Rekkapryde]

I take my leave and not give two fukks what the boss thinks. I'm not going to kill myself for some a$$hole who feels I need to be working . They'll have a new employee the second I die. Health is wealth and taking days off is all a part of healthy living.

and nowadays, you can bounce and get another job asap. Employers know this too (smart ones anyway).

 

[Pyrexcup]

Unlimited PTO for me.

unlimited pto is lowkey a scam

 

[Dallas' 4 Eva]

Sounds like a good trade off to me. You get to stay and work at home, no more paid sick days. Don't see what the problem is here.

 

[Samori Toure]

Well you can't have everything. Remote work v. Sick time off? Split the difference. Work through minor illnesses and take time off for major illnesses.

 

[The Realist Perspective]

Sounds like a good trade off to me. You get to stay and work at home, no more paid sick days. Don't see what the problem is here.

I'm curious why people think this way. This will fukk over the little people. Americans in general need much more generous time off. I was reading a Reddit thread where people in other countries were stunned Americans get anything less than 5 weeks off a year. People are lucky to get 2 weeks. And you have to stay YEARS with a company to be seeing 5 weeks. Sickening.

 

[Pazzy]

I take my leave and not give two fukks what the boss thinks. I'm not going to kill myself for some a$$hole who feels I need to be working . They'll have a new employee the second I die. Health is wealth and taking days off is all a part of healthy living.

Thank you. Never take your job home with you. Leave your job at your job. You can always have another job but you cant get another life. Covid brought that home to a lot of people.

My goal is be self employed monetarizing my passion and eventually be able to do whatever i feel like doing while having residues lined up. To be able to make money without having to work and oversee the operation, business and etc. Thats what i want. Of course until i get to that goal, i need my dayjob. I dont get why some people think that theyre going to stay at a job forever. You will leave your job. Just do what you need to do, gain what you need to gain and decide what you want to do from there.

Its about how bad and ambitious you are. Me personally i cant be unemployed sitting at home doing absolutely nothing or just chilling out all day just getting by. I have a lot of ambitions and contributions to make and a lot of things to do. So when im chilling hard, best believe i worked to get that way even if you didnt see me. I dont play if i dont work and am about handling business. Like what my maternal grandmother (RIP) told me all the time-THINK BUSINESS! It makes me laugh when people say that i look tired. Duh. Plus i dont get proper sleep like most working people do. Im not the only tired person. I just dont lie to people about it.

 

[Biblical Goon]

Sounds like a good trade off to me. You get to stay and work at home, no more paid sick days. Don't see what the problem is here.

This that hater shyt