You're supposed to stay at home and take some rest if you're sick, but many Americans still go to work regardless. The reasons are many - because they're afraid of getting a backlog of work, losing their wages, or worried about the reaction from their boss.
The NSF International, a Michigan-based developer of public health standards and certification programs, has reported that 26 percent of American workers still show up at work while sick. The report is based on a telephone survey conducted on more than 1,000 adults in the U.S. which was completed Jan. 23-26 this year.
The group said that many Americans still report at work despite being sick because of the workload as 42 percent of the respondents said they are worried they will have plenty of work to make up if they take a leave from work.
Money is also an issue. Thirty-seven percent of the respondents said they needed the money and could not afford to miss work. Employer's attitudes are also a vital factor, with some 25 percent of the respondents said they still report to work while sick because their boss expects them to work despite illness.
"Although there are many reasons that people don't stay home when they don't feel well, a majority of Americans indicate the major reason is because of workload," NSF said in a statement. "Many have deadlines or are afraid they will have too much work to make up if they take a sick day (42 percent), while nearly as many (37 percent) say that can't afford to be sick and miss work."
Surprisingly, most Americans do not have negative feelings towards fellow workers who come in sick. More than half of those surveyed even think of their co-workers who report sick as hard workers albeit 57 percent would advise a co-worker to go home if he looks too sick to work.
"Two-thirds (67 percent) of those surveyed consider sick co-workers to be hard workers, and only 16 percent feel that their colleagues who come to work sick are selfish or don't care about the well-being of their co-workers," NSF reported. "Most Americans appear to be very transparent and honest about how they feel around sick colleagues. A majority (57 percent) would tell a sick co-worker to go home if they thought they were too sick to be at work."
The NSF also advised workers to eat healthy and take vitamins, disinfect surfaces, not to work when they have contagious illness, and not to use common areas when they are sick to prevent the spread of disease.
