by Jeffrey McKinney
January 21, 2024
Worryingly, three in ten managers believe that employees with severe colds should not take a day off.
Another type of abuse called “sick shaming” is reportedly becoming entrenched in the workplace.
Sick shaming, known as a method of pressuring employees while they are sick but then belittling them because they are unwell, has resurfaced as an office problem. The practice drives the sale of cold medicines and allegedly causes many people to take too much medication.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and compared to 2019, sales of over-the-counter medications for upper respiratory tract infections rose 23% to $11.8 billion last year, according to consumer intelligence firm NIQ the New York Post reported last December. It was found that the number of cold and flu medications increased at a faster rate, with a 30% increase.
A worrying three in 10 managers believe workers with severe colds shouldn't take a day off, new data from Resume Builder shows. About 24% of managers believe that employees who are sick often lie or exaggerate their illness. And 20% of them encourage employees suffering from bad weather to still come to work.
Resume Builder surveyed 1,000 managers this month to learn how they feel about employees calling in sick and whether they engage in sick-shaming. Other key findings showed that 27% of managers believe a culture that encourages sick employees to work is good for productivity. About 11% of bosses admit to being sick and shaming their employees.
Observers claim that sick shaming could harm employers' efforts to attract talent and retain employees, as well as overall productivity.
“A culture in which employees are required to work or are only expected to work when they are sick is bad for companies because it reinforces the view that companies only see you as a number and not as a human being,” said Julia Toothacre, resume and career strategist at Resume Builder.
She added: “It creates a culture that lacks empathy and ultimately does not care about the health, well-being or productivity of its employees.” Sick people make mistakes more often and are slower to understand. There is no point in encouraging sick people to work if they are not 100% ready to work.”
If you haven't heard of it, sick shaming is the act of a co-worker telling you to leave work with a cold, flu, and germs. Sometimes the message is conveyed subtly, with a colleague offering a bottle of hand sanitizer; In other cases it's much less subtle, like when the “neighbor” yells from his cube to “go home” after you've had a coughing fit.
Overall, 65% of managers say clearer sick leave policies are definitely (32%) or probably (33%) needed in their workplace.
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