Coming to work sick hurts business

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When sick workers come in, sometimes simply to ensure the boss sees they are "present," business suffers: more than $180 billion is lost per year due to lessened productivity in the United States.

But for some, skipping work might equal having to skip meals: nearly half of all private-sector workers don't have any paid sick days, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The people most affected are low-income employees who cannot afford to skip work, either due to income needs or because, simply, taking time off is not allowed. In the latter situation, not coming to work because you're sick could mean you won't have a job when you come back.

The advocacy group 9to5, a national working women's group, reports that many low-income women forgo caring for their families or themselves – including while pregnant -- because they are not allotted sick leave, and will be fired if they don't come in. The jobs with the most paid sick days are white collar positions and jobs backed with a union.

To avoid being docked for absenteeism, workers come in sick, infect other workers and disrupt the workday. That's why more human resources managers are paying attention to "presenteeism" – the antithetical term for "absenteeism" -- coined for people who come in when they shouldn't, just to appear present.

The business research firm CCH says that 56 percent of HR executives see presenteeism as a problem, up from 39 percent just two years ago.

In 2004 and 2005, legislation proposed in both the U.S. House and Senate, respectively, would have mandated that almost all employees who work 30 hours or more each week would receive 7 days of paid sick leave. The legislation, called the Healthy Families Act, did not get off the ground far, though, and nothing new has happened with it in either legislative body since 2005.

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