Career Advice - Taking Sick Days

How Sick Do You Need to Be to Take a Sick Day?

By
Relationship Advice Expert April Masini

Q: Dear April Masini,

I manage a group of people at my company, and one recently complained that people were coming to work sick and spreading germs everywhere. "How sick is too sick to come in?" she asked me.

It's a good question, and I don't know the answer. Some people appear to drag themselves in when they're practically on their deathbed while others will stay home at the slightest sniffle. What's the answer?

Sincerely,

Healthy Higher-Up 

A:

Dear Healthy Higher-Up,

When an employee is sick, the question that tempers everything else is: Just how sick is he? An employee with a bad cold who's got a crucial report due on a particular day would be advised by me to take some cold medicine, go to work and finish the task, then go home early or take a sick day the following day to recuperate.

If an employee is so sick that he or she is not productive, it does no one any good to have that employee in the office. In fact, they may start spreading the germs, and before you know it, an entire department is sick and down for the count. Talk about bad office productivity!

The best way to deal with sick days is to:

1. Know that they happen. Even the healthiest  people get sick now and then. So make plans and policies for sick days.

2. Promote health in the office every day. If health is promoted, there is truly less chance of sick days and productivity slumps.

Telecommuting can help fill in the gaps

For those who don't telecommute, making sure your home computer, phone and fax are all in great working order can really save the day at the office if you can't make it in. Being able to access your work from home and telecommute it to your office or meetings can be a real lifesaver, stress buster, and productivity enhancer.

Allow personal days to eliminate sick days

It's not realistic to expect employees at 9 to 5 jobs to be able to do everything that needs to be done to maintain a healthy home, without taking "personal" days -- days off from work that are used for personal matters rather than sick time off from work.

If employers understood that by taking care of their employees by granting a certain number of personal days a year, employees will be more productive.

In addition, employees will not lie when they take sick days for personal business because they just don't have enough time to do everything. The lying creates a mistrust in the workplace because not only are the employers lied to, but employees may consider that they are not the only ones lying and that other people around them are lying, too. It's not a great atmosphere for being productive and creative.

April Masini -- nicknamed "the new millennium's Dear Abby" by the media, is author of the best-selling books Date Out Of Your League and Think & Date Like A Man, the two (just released) step-by-step dating and relationship manuals, Ideas for a Fun Date and Romantic Date Ideas, and the critically acclaimed dating and relationship online magazine www.AskApril.com.

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