Americans go to work sick to avoid work buildup

A recent NSF International survey revealed that many Americans go to work sick either to avoid an excessive workload the following day or due to a lack of paid sick leaves.

The surveyors based their findings on telephone interviews conducted with more than 1,003 individuals, 502 of whom were men.

While people listed a variety of reasons for going in sick, the majority - 42 percent - cited not wanting to become overburdened with piled up work the next day. Thirty-seven percent, meanwhile, said they couldn't afford missing work as none of their sick leaves are paid.

Twenty-five percent of Americans said they go to work despite being sick because their employer expects them to show up irrespective of how sick they are. At 33 percent, men were twice as likely to clock in regardless of their health condition, compared to 17 percent of women. Thirteen percent said they go to office sick as they don't trust their co-workers to perform the job on their behalf.

Attitudes toward those who worked despite their health were recorded as well, with 67 percent of the Americans saying they considered their coworkers to be hardworking when they came to the office sick, while 16 percent said they considered it a selfish act. Fifty-seven percent said they would ask their coworkers to get some rest if appeared to be too sick.

Measures adopted to prevent sickness:

• Eighty-seven percent of the workers said they try to prevent sickness, with the most common precautionary measure being washing one's hands. Sixty-eight percent said they used hand sanitizers.

• While 54 percent admitted avoiding sick workers, 44 percent advised using disinfectants in the workplace.

• Thirty-nine percent of the employees suggested taking vitamin supplements and 32 percent avoiding common eating areas.