Stay at Home When You’re Sick: Three Reasons You Shouldn’t Show Up at Work

by | Jan 11, 2023 | Employee Wellness

stay home from work when you're sick.

There are many reasons we’re tempted to want to show up for work when we’re feeling sick:

  1. We want to save our vacation/sick time/paid time off. We all like using our days off when we feel great.
  2. We don’t have time to be sick – there’s too much to do.
  3. We don’t want our superiors to think we’re not working hard and providing value to the company.
  4. We don’t get paid to miss work.

But in reality, it’s critical that employees stay home when they’re under the weather. The main reason? A sick employee will infect, on average, four employees. Can you imagine the effect this would have on a small company with just a few employees? Your office could be shut down for days because one sick employee didn’t stay in bed. Crippling a business for several days is a much higher cost than one sick employee staying home and resting up for one or two days.

Why You Should Stay Home When You’re Sick

  1. Contagion to others at the office. As we mention above, you’re putting your fellow employees at risk and endangering the productivity of your company by showing up sick. In short, it costs your company money when employees show up sick.
  2. You need the down time in order to heal and recuperate. If you force yourself to work, you’re fighting the healing process. Just because you took over-the-counter pain killers and feel decent doesn’t mean you’re fit for work. You could be contagious, so you should stay home for at least 24 hours after being fever free.
  3. You won’t be at your best. You’ll be giving the company half-caliber work at most, and you’re likely to make mistakes and/or waste time. You’re better off laying low and recharging at home so you can give your company your best effort when you’re back to feeling better.

Remember that it’s not too late to get your flu shot. As you’ve probably heard on the news, the flu is rampant in many states. The good news is this year’s vaccine is proving very effective, so we strongly recommend getting a flu shot if you haven’t already done so.

Here’s to being healthy in 2023. But, in the unfortunate event that you start feeling under the weather, do your company and your colleagues a favor and stay away from the office until you’re well.