Throughout my last full time employed position, I am proud to say that I did not take one sick day in seven years. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no hero – I just don’t get sick that often. And the times that I did succumb to the lurgy, I just got on with the job at hand by either working from home or grinning and bearing it in the office if there was no other choice.
Surprisingly, research from independent job site, CV-Library finds that the average employee (66.4%) only takes between one to two sick days a year. (Not sure I quite believe that one…)
The study, which surveyed 1,300 UK workers, uncovered the following findings:
86.5% of workers feel much less productive at work when they are unwell
84% of employees believe they should not go into work when they’re sick
More than half (54.6%) report that their employer does not send them home when they’ve been unwell at work
A third (34.2%) of employees reveal that their managers even put pressure on them to return to work early
44.7% say their employer questions their sickness when they are ill
More than half (52.9%) of managers still contact their employees while they are off sick, adding extra pressure and not giving staff time and space, to relax and recover
Only half (55.9%) of companies offer sick pay, while 94.3% of workers believe that all businesses should continue to pay their employees when they are off sick
Unfortunately, it’s a fact of life that employees are going to become ill from time to time. Realistically, it’s more beneficial all round if these employees stay at home until they are well enough to return to work. Working whilst sick is likely to lead to poor productivity and the spreading of germs to their colleagues, resulting in more time off sick and a vicious circle becoming apparent.
Allowing your employee to undertake their normal duties from home whilst they are recovering is one way to tackle the situation, however, this does not give them a true opportunity to recover from their illness and get back to full health. Working whilst ill or returning to work too soon can also lead to their recovery being hampered, resulting in the requirement for more time off.
So if your business struggles when an employee is off sick, why not fill the gap with a Virtual Assistant? They can quickly take over any tasks which can be completed remotely and ensure that business continuity is not effected.
Virtual Assistants are usually self-employed, so if they’re feeling under the weather, you could pretty much guarantee that they will still be at their desks, willing and able to complete any tasks required of them. The simple matter is, if they don’t work, they don’t get paid.
Nothing like having bills to pay to give you the motivation to suck it up and just keep going!