Sick on the Job: How Worker Illness Can be Very Costly for Your Small Business

Lizzie Weakley

July 26, 2018

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Having a healthy work environment is extremely important. Employees who are constantly sick is problematic in multiple ways. For example, frequent employee illness can cost your business a great deal of money. However, the solution is certainly not to fire employees who are frequently ill. The solution is to create a work environment that promotes good health. Doing so boosts your employees, and it also helps you to avoid these costly mistakes.

No Sick Days

You might think that failing to provide your employees with sick days will reduce the amount of time that employees are out of work sick. According to the United States Department of Labor, federal law does not mandate sick days. However, if your employees are coming to work sick, as many of them likely cannot afford to take unpaid days, they are spreading the illness around the office. You may end up with a large portion of the staff being out sick, which will obvious reduce productivity.

Too Many Sick Days

Providing sick days for your employees is important, but you also want to make sure that they are not taking advantage of the plan. Separating sick days from vacation days, for example, is a useful idea. It can help employees to stay on track. Instead of using all of their time off for vacation, they can better budget their days so that they have sick days available if they are needed. Finding a balance when it comes to sick days is important for your business.

Poor Insurance or No Insurance

Insurance companies like Zuma Insurance reminds you having insurance for your business. For example, you may on occasion have employees that come to work sick. You also may have other employees that are very susceptible to illness. If it is serious enough, it can cause all sorts of problems for you as an employer leaving you liable. It could even possibly cause legal action. Having appropriate and full coverage is imperative. In the event that the current plan you offer does not allow employees to seek useful treatment, the diseases may continue to stay in the office.

Reduced Productivity

Think about how difficult it is for you to work when you are feeling sick. Now, imagine that a large percentage of your staff members are feeling extremely ill. They are unlikely to reach the highest levels of productivity. In fact, they may end up contaminating food or drinks that they sell to your customers. Both of these scenarios could lead to a negative perception of the business in the community and discourage customers from returning.

When workers are sick, problems begin to arise at the business, especially when the illnesses are frequent and widespread. Taking care of your employees is a way to combat this problem.