Workers shun sick days in new phenomenon

Workers afraid of losing their job or the chance for promotion are coming to work even when they're sick in a phenomenon experts have called "'presenteeism".
While workers pulling "sickies" has long been a problem for employers, workers afraid to take a sick day even when ill is becoming increasingly common.
Victoria University sociologist Professor Kevin Dew wrote about the problem in an editorial in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal.
He said there was "intense pressure" to work when sick, especially in jobs involving teaching or caring.
Workers who don't have any back-up while they're away - something which is becoming increasingly common as employers scale back on staff due to the economy - are at high risk of presenteeism.
"Other work-related factors that foster presenteeism include working in teams where expectations to be present are high, limited sick leave entitlements, high job demands, low levels of job satisfaction, fear of dismissal and concerns about promotion opportunities," Professor Dew wrote.
Mount Maunganui GP Tony Farrell said about 20 per cent of patients indicated they did not want to take time off work even if they were sick.
"They will say 'I want to keep going'. Often it's people in the lower socio-economic bracket who probably have less protection with contracts.
"There definitely are some people that do strive on and are worried about the organisation and their role in it rather than their recovery."
But failing to take time off work when you're sick could cause burn-out, he warned.
"I think it's an issue if it's happening too much for a person, because usually there's a reason why people have got sick.
"I think it's a sign that we are working harder as a society. We are having more emphasis on business rather than health."
Claudia Nelson, owner/operator of Tauranga-based recruitment agency The Right Staff, said many small and medium-sized businesses were under-resourced after a tough few years.
"People are working really hard. In medium-sized businesses where people are working 50-hour weeks, there probably wouldn't be the back-up.
"If they are sick it would fall back to them and they feel guilty and the work wouldn't get done."
Mrs Nelson said the risk of spreading illness to other staff was an issue and people should feel the freedom to look after themselves and stay home when ill.
"Many dedicated employees come to work if they can make it.
"I do feel that out there the general opinion is that if you can go to work, you go to work, even if you are not that well."
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Max Mason said presenteeism was happening in the Western Bay to a range of people and organisations.
The issue was exacerbated if there was "general stress" in the business about financial sustainability, he said.
"Sometimes they feel unreasonably guilty about their performance, even if they are doing okay. This is sometimes exploited by managers.
"However, a good manager will recognise it and make sure the person has a good work-life balance, because at the end of the day, they will be much more productive and healthy."
In a difficult economy, in which organisations might be letting go of staff, the problem was more evident as there was likely to be less back-up available - something Mr Mason said was a concern.
"Business owners and the self employed ... tend to be the people who work longer hours because they have to pick up the work that has not been done."
Productivity can be severely affected by presenteeism, Mr Mason said, particularly if an employee was coming to work with a contagious illness such as influenza.
"Sometimes teams who work closely together get very irate with colleagues who come in sick and pass on their bugs, with the consequence that the whole team gets sick and can't work."
The best way to stop it was honest communication within the team.
Companies should deal with the bigger issue of staff being overloaded with work, and discuss solutions and provide support while employees were well.
"If staff feel they are overloaded and come in sick, good managers will be aware of it on the day and send them home.
"Often, especially with parents who are torn between their work and family obligations, it is best to offer flexible working hours, or other forms of support.
"The ability to work from home on remote servers can be very helpful. Sometimes it is useful to have a part-timer who can come in when the workload is too much for the team."
And while presenteeism is a new buzz word in the workplace, old fashioned "sickies" continue to cause problems for businesses.
Workers taking unnecessary sick days happened a "fair amount' in the Western Bay, commonly when the person did not feel engaged with the company, Mr Mason said.
"It varies according to different industry sectors. A warning sign is when people call in sick on Mondays.
"Often it is an indicator of a deeper problem. Instead of just sweeping it under the carpet, it is well worth it to put in good HR systems to measure and manage the issue."