Email a Friend
Print ArticleCold & Flu Health Center
This article is from the WebMD News Archive
Tired of Co-Workers Making You Sick?
March 8, 2006 -- Many U.S. workers refuse to call in sick even though this attitude risks infecting their co-workers and compromises productivity, according to a new national survey.
In fact, 35% of U.S. workers said they felt pressured to go to work when they are sick with the flu, even though this causes about half of them to get upset when a co-worker does the same thing. When asked why they feel pressured to show up, 60% of employees said they are concerned about their work not getting done, 48% said they feel guilty for missing work, and 25% said they don't get paid for sick days. Other reasons include fear their boss will be angry and concern about losing their job.
So-called "presenteeism," or workers' being on the job, but, because of illness or other medical conditions, not fully functioning, can have a serious impact in the workplace. In a typical year, the flu in the workplace may result in as much as $10 billion in lost productivity, according to estimates from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID).
"The phenomenon of presenteeism is very relevant with regard to influenza," says Susan J. Rehm, MD, NFID medical director and a doctor in the department of infectious disease at The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
"We hope that by discussing the topic and helping people to better understand the symptoms and prevention and treatment of the flu, they will be better able to handle workforce pressures and the pressure that they put on themselves to go to work even when they have the flu," she says.
"One of the objective ways that people can make a decision about staying home is the presence of fever," Rehm advises. "Most colds aren't associated with fever whereas the flu very commonly has fever associated with it and it's likely that fever will be seen along with others symptoms that will make the person think twice about whether they want to go to work," she says, adding that studies have proven that staying home for a day or two can boost productivity in the long term.
According to the survey, 58% of respondents said they have had co-workers come to work sick or with the flu this winter, and 30% said they have contracted the flu virus from a co-worker. What's more, 40% of people are annoyed and 46% are sympathetic when a co-worker comes to work with the flu.
Stay Home if You Have a Fever
But Neil Schachter, MD, medical director of respiratory care at Mount Sinai in New York City and the author of The Good Doctor's Guide to Colds and Flu, says the awful truth is that most people are actually contagious in the 24 to 48 hours before they come down with the full-blown flu. "You probably exposed most of your co-workers to the flu before it hits you," he says. "If it's Monday morning and you start to feel sick, stay home because you have not infected your co-workers yet."
Try and remember that "it doesn't help the company to spread the flu to everybody there, and even the most aggressive boss would not want you around if you are going to bring everyone else down," he says. "It is a good attitude to show up and do work and not let everything stop you, but you need to take winter respiratory infections seriously."
del.icio.us
Tackle Bathroom Germs
Bathroom hazards that might surprise you.
