Are more of your coworkers showing up for work with contagious sniffles and sneezes? A tight job market could be to blame. Since the 1990s, a growing number of studies have looked at presenteeism - employees who come to work despite being too sick to be very productive or too contagious to be around other people. For some employees, the reluctance to take a sick day may be rooted in worries about job security.
Indisposed and Insecure
A new study by Gary Johns, professor of management at Concordia University, highlights this point. In the study, 444 business school grads in a variety of jobs responded to a web-based survey. Overall, participants said they went to work when they should have called in sick an average of three times during the past six months. But the number of presenteeism days varied from person to person. Those who felt greater job insecurity were more likely to drag themselves to work while under the weather.
It makes sense: When people are worried about their jobs, they may feel compelled to show up and show off what troopers they are. But they might not be doing anyone a favor. If they don't have enough chance to rest and heal, they may take longer to get well. If they're contagious, they may spread germs to coworkers. In the long run, the output of the whole workplace can suffer, because most people aren't very productive with a head that feels three times its normal size.
Stressed Out Over Colds
Ironically, the same work pressures that drive your coworker to show up with a cold may increase your susceptibility to catching it. Several studies have shown a link between stress and reduced resistance to infectious diseases, including colds. For example, in a study involving over 1,200 South Korean workers, men who reported being under job stress were more likely to come down with a cold in the next six months.
So what should you do if a coworker's cold catches up to you? Ideally, stay home from work, school, and errands while you're sick. That's especially important when your symptoms suggest more than just a cold. If you have a fever, body aches, extreme tiredness, or a dry cough, you might have the flu instead. CDC guidelines state that flu sufferers should stay home, except for seeing a doctor, until their fever has been gone for at least 24 hours. (That means gone without the use of fever-reducing medicine.) When in doubt about what to do, ask your doctor.
If you have only a mild cold and must go to work, at least keep your distance from others as much as possible. Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze. Keep your fingers off your face. Wash your hands well and often. And remember that you may be more prone to accidents and mistakes when you're operating at 50% power.
Linda Wasmer Andrews writes about health and medicine for websites and magazines. Follow her on Twitter. Find her on Facebook. Visit her online.
