Fearful Brits battle to work

[The Hat]

If a new report is to be believed, British workers are more likely to continue to work when unwell, at the risk of compounding the problem or causing risk to other employees.

According to the research released by SCA, one of the world’s leading hygiene companies, one in five Brits never considers taking a day off sick even when genuinely ill.

The main reason behind this, says the ‘Health Matters’ report, is a fear of losing management confidence. Findings show 19% of respondents believe taking time off to recuperate is not an option, citing colleague and managers reactions as concerns.

Employment expert John Lees comments: “People worry about phoning in sick as they feel it can be misinterpreted as a lack of loyalty of commitment to the job. It is important, however, that when employees really are sick, that they consider what the effects could be on other staff members and ultimately their employer, by spreading germs amongst the workforce.”

 

[Bagpuss]

It might help if some companies didn't have such stupid and unrealistic sickness systems....where i used to work it was a 12 month revolving system...basically any more than 3 separate sickness occasions in a 12 month period resulted in a disciplinary ... it didn't matter if you had a sick not from the doctor or hospital stay, you still got a disciplinary, their argument was..."we don't want sick people working for us"...:lol:.....how can you stop yourself from being sick..?

I once had no time off at all for 3 years.....then got a really bad chest infection..then flu..then the chest infection came back...all in 3 months...and i got a disciplinary because it all happened in 12 months !!

So the pressure we are put under to work when sick is often IMO put upon us by the company terms and not by ourselves....meaning if sickness is spread about the workforce its the companies fault and not the employees.

They should take each case as a separate consideration....(based on previous and current sick rates...and general reliability) instead of treating ever one the same.

 

[catsaremad]

we are allowed 5 sick days a year at full pay, anything over and above that you dont get paid unless you fall into the SSP bracket.............

 

[brown_eyes]

my boss comes to work when she is ill, it really irritates me, (and the other 3 women in our office!) She comes to work when she has diarrhea! I think that's just taking the biscuit. She needs to stop at home when it's THAT bad! Sometimes I feel guilty for having a few days off with a cold - so i solider to work, but working in an office environment, you get sla**ed off for having a few days off "just for a cold". But some cold ARE bad!

 

[sax'd_out]

I've always been self employed, so don't work = don't get paid = don't get to eat this month sad but true!

 

[bexster]

this is too true.. ive only had 1 day off sick in my whole working life not for my bosses but for my customers i feel if i have a sick day then i`d be letting them down.. and yeah im that busy, that to fit them in i`d have to go in on my day off... and that isnt happening

 

[kylieb]

This is one of the main reasons i left my salon job! We wasn't allowed to be ill. I had a chest infection for 6 weeks, ended up in hospital on oxygen and still had a call from my boss to say will you be in tomorrow. If I didnt go in I wouldnt have been paid and he would have made my life hell for two weeks. Either that or wouldnt speak to me.
So I don't think it's a case of not caring about making others ill!

 

[Zingara]

I've always been self employed, so don't work = don't get paid = don't get to eat this month sad but true!

Very true, I'm technically 'laid up' post surgery for 6 weeks now, and I have not been able to get one straight answer from the benefits people as to whether I can get any sickness pay, so am already booking clients back in for as soon as I think I'll be able.

And in a job like ours, very few other people realise the ongoing impact, of time off....it's not like I will be back to 100% earning the day I go back. It will take time to rebuild.