A couple years ago, a friend who works in the security-industrial complex remarked that one of the biggest threats to national security is that so many contract employees report to work when they are sick, because otherwise they don’t get paid. In recent years, this threat has increased, because contract workers have replaced or supplemented employees subject to collective bargaining, who are entitled to sick and/or personal days.
The same thing threatens all businesses, because if someone comes to work when they are sick, fellow workers and customers can all get sick, too! Some customers will not return to a business office, restaurant, bar, store, etc. if they think they contracted an illness during a previous visit. Our volunteer fire department says we are to stay home if we are sick because reporting when ill threatens everybody if an illness spreads among the department and/or the community.
It may seem like a costly benefit to offer employees, but the consequences of encouraging employees (or even owners) to report to work when they are sick can be even more devastating in the long term. Thus, it is wise for organizations to have policies that encourage their employees to get flu shots and promote practices to minimize the risk of acquiring or passing along illnesses to co-workers or customers.
Jack Boak
Bremen
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