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The Cost of Sick Days to Employers

As a business owner and company leader, helping to protect your employees’ overall health and general wellness is vital to your daily operations. Energetic employees who feel good mentally and physically are able to perform better and produce higher-quality work. On the flip side, employees who feel unwell, fatigued, or otherwise ill are less efficient and more prone to making mistakes. How much does your team members’ health impact your bottom lines? What does it mean for you when they call in sick — or show up sick? Let’s explore!

Absenteeism is Expensive

While the numbers vary, some estimates say that losses of productivity due to absenteeism cost employers in the United States about $225.8 billion every year, which comes out to about $1,685 per employee (although some estimates place this number closer to $3,900 per employee). Furthermore, absences that are due to illness — and thus lead to lost productivity — might be adding up to nearly 1.5 billion days each year.

Some Employees are Working Through Sickness

Not everyone takes a sick day when they’re not feeling well. Plenty of employees continue working even when they’re sick, and some estimates say that this costs employers about $150 billion to $250 billion — which comes out to about 60% of the total cost of worker illness. Factor in chronic disease, stress, fatigue, depression, and a quickly aging workforce, and businesses have a big (and pricey) problem on their hands.

What are the trends showing us over time? Well, in some ways, things are getting better. In other ways, they’re getting worse. Some research found that between 2015 and 2019, there was a 2% increase in lost workdays per employee. Short-term disability also increased by 50%. And long-term disability rose by 10%. However, lost days due to workers’ compensation decreased by a dramatic 44%.

The Work-from-Home Culture May Have Blurred the Lines

The COVID-19 pandemic had many companies switch to a work-from-home setup. In the post-pandemic days, many companies stayed remote while others switched to something more hybrid, and others required their employees to once again return to the office full-time.

man working from home at table on laptop

Professionals who work remotely at least part of the time may or may not be taking their wellness seriously. When you work from home, the boundaries between your personal life and professional life become a little blurry. It might be easier to justify working when you’re sick since you’re already home in the first place.

However, as we’ve already established, employees who are under the weather aren’t in the position to do the best work they can. Even if they work from home, a sick day should still be spent like a sick day: logged off, clocked out, and resting.

How Can Employers Protect Their Staff and Their Bottom Line?

All of this has to start with employee wellness. If you put your team first and truly look after their mental and physical health, then everybody wins.

First, consider what kind of health screening services you might want to offer your employees. For example, eNational offers panels for both men’s health and women’s health. There are also specific employment screening services that include blood titers (to check immunity), drug testing, and the Quantiferon (TB) blood test.

Additionally, you should make clear to your staff what’s available to them as a result of their employment. Does your company offer health insurance? What do the various plans cover? Is mental health included?

Furthermore, what does your sick leave look like? Do you give your team members paid sick days? How many? What happens if they exceed them? What about short-term leave for extended illness?

If you haven’t already, think about starting an employee wellness program, too. Wellness programs can give employees premium discounts on gym memberships and classes, cash rewards, and other types of incentives for when they make healthy choices. Some also include individual programs to help employees quick smoking, lose weight, manage their diabetes, and get more serious about preventative health.

woman exercising in the gym with a barbell

Finally, and I can’t stress this enough, communication is key. Some professionals are hesitant — scared, even — to take sick days because they’re worried it’ll be a poor reflection of their work ethic. In our culture, we almost wear it as a badge of honor when we’re willing to push ourselves through illness and not stop working.

Reassure your staff that it’s perfectly acceptable (even preferred) for them to take time off when they’re not feeling well. When we’re sick and don’t listen to and respect our bodies, it only makes things worse and prolongs recovery. Plus, employees who show up to the office will risk exposing their coworkers to the same germs and bacteria. Encourage your team to stay home and recover if they’re not feeling well. If you do so, everybody wins. They get much-needed rest; you protect the rest of your team; and you eliminate the risk of that employee producing less-than-stellar work or making errors.

Take Care of Your Team

Your employees devote eight or more hours a day to helping your company survive and thrive. Employers should be considerate of their mental and physical wellness. Offer screening and testing, try running an employee wellness program, and always keep an open line of communication. These three things are key to maintaining a healthy, happy, and productive work environment!

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Jonathan Baktari MD

Jonathan Baktari, MD brings over 20 years of clinical, administrative and entrepreneurial experience to lead the current e7 Health team. He has been a triple board-certified physician with specialties in internal medicine, pulmonary and critical care medicine. He has been the Medical Director of The Valley Health Systems, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Culinary Health Fund and currently is the CEO of two healthcare companies.
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