Employees should keep their germs to themselves
Employees should keep their germs to themselves
Coming to work sick can affect entire workforce
Employees come to work with a cough, cold, or flu for many reasons. Some may not think their illness is that serious; others may wish to play the martyr; while still others may fear for their jobs. But the bottom line is, employees who come to work sick are likely to extend their recovery time and infect many of their co-workers as well.
The seriousness of this issue is underscored in a recent survey conducted for the Omaha, NE-Based Wellness Councils of America (WELCOA) by Leflein Associates of Fort Lee, NJ, with an educational grant from New York City-based Pfizer Inc.
According to the survey:
• 84% of employees admit they have come to work coughing or sneezing;
• The typical employee has daily contact with an average of 41 co-workers who wish the ill employee had stayed home.
• Respiratory illnesses are the major reason for absenteeism from work.
• 56% of those surveyed forgot to take scheduled medication at work (managers were at greater risk of forgetting).
Findings surprising
Some of the findings were a big surprise to Thomas C. Quinn, MD, Msc, professor of medicine and an attending staff physician at the Division of Infectious Diseases at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.
"The first surprising finding is the large percentage of individuals [51%] who felt they had acquired their illness in the workplace," says Quinn. "The second startling statistic was that once they got sick, 84% said they went to work. That’s huge!"
Of those employees who went to work voluntarily, Quinn notes, 40% said they felt guilty about not being home, but 51% felt their bosses wanted them at work, even though they were sick. However, notes Quinn, "What most corporations want are healthy employees, so that reflects a perception that may not be based on total reality."
Employees who come to work sick or employers who pressure their workers to do so, ultimately pay a much higher price in terms of employee health than they would if the employee simply took a couple of days off when they first got sick, says Quinn.
"A respiratory illness is only going to spread, which can lead to huge absenteeism and not much work getting done," he points out. "I’d rather see the employee stay home for a day or two to get their cold or flu under better control," says Quinn.
Theoretically, when an employee stays home, he will get rest, follow a good diet, and start on medications. "Then, hopefully, when he returns to work, he will be better able to handle the stress," Quinn observes. In addition, Quinn notes, after the first two days, the initial illness usually declares itself as either a minor ailment or a more serious one.
Forcing yourself to work can increase the likelihood of a more serious illness, says Quinn. "If you’re running a fever, that reflects a systemic infection," he notes. "If the employee’s temperature is 100 degrees or higher, they should definitely not be at work; they should be seeing their health care provider."
Lois Jackson, RN, COHN, wellness health coordinator at MEMC Electronics in St. Peters, MO, agrees with Quinn. "If they have over a 100 degrees temperature, our medical department sends them home," she says.
"You don’t want [the respiratory infection] to progress into pneumonia and there’s always that potential if the fever persists for more than 48 hours," Quinn explains. "If you come to work, you will definitely exacerbate your illness it could even become more severe, and you will weaken and be more susceptible to stress-related health problems."
Even if the employee is fortunate enough not to develop serious complications, "he might be sick for three weeks, when he could have beaten it in two days if he had done it right. This would have resulted in much more productivity in the workplace."
It’s not too late in the season to worry about the spread of respiratory infections, says Quinn. "Flu season doesn’t end until March or April, and besides, you can get respiratory infections at any time," he notes.
What can employers do to reduce the spread of respiratory infections? "They should provide flu vaccines to employees at no cost," Quinn recommends. "If an employee is sick, make it clear that you don’t expect them to come to work that you will support them this will help alleviate any concerns they may have."
(To find out what employees can do on their own to protect their health and that of their co-workers, see "Workplace winter wellness tips," p. 9.)
"Our company physician issued a memo to all employees about the flu vaccine and who should get it, drawn from CDC guidelines," says Jackson, who claims that education is her greatest weapon against respiratory illnesses. "We have fax machines in all our departments and seven TVs in our cafeterias to show our educational materials," she says.
[Editor’s Note: For more information, Contact: Thomas Quinn, MD, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Ross 1159, 720 Rutland Ave., Baltimore, MD 21205. Telephone: (410) 955-7635.]
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