Sickies

Article From: CareerOne.com.au
Most Aussies go to work when they are sick. Picture: Getty Images.
By: Staff writers

The famous Australian “sickie” appears to be in doubt with a new survey revealing people are more likely to work when they are sick than take a day off when they are well.

CareerOne.com.au ran an online survey on the topic and found 98 per cent of respondents admitted to coming to work when they were sick so they could attend an important meeting or meet a critical deadline.

The survey conducted by CareerOne.com.au in partnership with CoreData also found:

  • Over half of respondents (57 per cent) also admitted to checking their work email, taking work calls and working while at home on sick leave.
  • 90 per cent of respondents claimed to have caught a bug off someone at work.
  • More than two thirds of respondents have taken sick leave even though they weren’t physically sick although 48 per cent of these respondents said it was
    • because mentally, they just needed a day off.
  • Just over one third of employees said that their employers didn’t offer free flu vaccines.
  • 73 per cent of respondents suspect foul play when co-workers take a Friday or Monday off sick.
  • Only 37 per cent of people said they were expected to produce a doctor’s certificate if they were away two or more days and 17.2 per cent were expected to
    • produce a certificate only if they were away three or more days.

Of those surveyed, nearly a third said they actively avoided taking sick days while 7.6 per cent admitted to taking as many as they could.

Men were more reluctant than women to take a sick day and were more likely to suspect a colleague of “chucking a sickie” if they were sick on a Friday or Monday.

“CareerOne.com.au ran the same survey one year ago and found that most people went to work when sick,” said Kate Southam, Editor of CareerOne.com.au

“Now a year later with a lot more job security a whopping 98 per cent of people go to work when sick and nearly 60 per cent work from home when off sick,” she said.

“The problem is that without proper rest and recovery time, people will not get well and could even be setting themselves up for a more serious health issue.”

“Executive management and HR have some work to do if people feel so insecure that they work from home while off sick or come to work when they are sick. That is not a good work culture – particularly as germs are so easily spread through the workplace air-conditioning system.

“Workplaces who have recently laid off staff have to be particularly careful not to burn out the staff they have retained as they take on bigger workloads,” Ms Southam advised.