Ill or working from home?

It is reported that millions of sick workers feeling pressured to work from home rather than take full absence leave when they are unwell. The new study found that pressure from line managers combined with the weight of work waiting for them on their return to the office is forcing four in 10 employees to take calls and respond to emails during a sick day away from the office. On average, employees who stay at home due to illness end up receiving or making three phone calls and dealing with nine emails from their sick bed.

It appears that workplace perceptions around illness are causing employees to work despite being ill, with 22% saying that calling in sick is frowned upon in their workplace, with over a quarter admitting to feeling guilty for having time off. One in four stated that their managers expect them to work through a sick day, with a third adding that their manager asked them to pick things up on a sick day.

Despite this, the average Brit has called in sick just twice in the past year, but there were at least four other times where they wanted to stay home, but felt like they couldn’t.