Sick at work? The Case for Doing Less When You’re Ill: Work Less, Recover Faster
We can put a man on the moon (supposedly – conspiracy theorists unite!) and we put a woman around the moon, Skynet is about to take over (AI conspiracy theorists unite again!), and yet the common cold has existed for over 5,000 years. Written descriptions of cold-like illnesses appear in ancient texts as early as 1550 BCE – Ancient Egypt. It’s here to stay, it is safe to say, and if we are not going to cure the darn thing, then let’s start accepting it (It has been a few years!) and begin approaching colds at work differently.
When I was in corporate, it was a badge of honour to still come into work with a cold. Eyes redder than John in accounts who’s been on a bender all night, tissues in hand, sniffing, dribbling, and as irritable as the host of ‘The Weakest Link’. Mark in sales to Dawn in NPD, ‘Yeah, I had a cold like that last week. Came into the office. Could barely open my eyes, but sharing is caring. What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger, as my Mum used to say’.
We’re slightly more sensible nowadays because we can work from home and no one wants your sharing, so yes, you can stay at home. We’ve solved the first part of the problem of having a cold at work by tackling the spread. That badge of honour has largely been laid to rest. At a cost of over $200bn those ever-so-well-travelled molecules have had their passports put on hold. Now we need to move on to door number two – working whilst we’re unwell. The second badge of honour.
Dawn to Mark, ‘Too much to do. <Cough> <Teams on silent> <Mark watches Dawn coughs up a small lung> Busy, busy, busy. You know h-h-h-h-h-h-how it is’. Dawn works from home. Her usual 10-hour day, with back-to-back meetings, calls, and a to-do list that Sir Ranulph Fiennes would struggle to summit. There’s no point in telling Dawn to take it easy, to do what she can do, because, as with anyone who cares about their work, they’ll carry on regardless. But here’s the rub, Dawn carries on regardless, and she makes mistakes, damages relationships because she is very irritable, and ultimately, her cold takes much longer to get over because she is rundown.
We don’t need science to tell us that this is what happens because we all know it. The challenge is that we’re changing nowt about it. By my reckoning, it took about 5,000 years for the first badge of honour to be laid to rest, so we should crack this second one in about the year 7026. Here’s an alternative so that we can claw back some of the $200bn, look after everyone’s well-being and make a sensible decision that gets people back from a cold at work quicker, happier, and healthier…
1.2.3.
One cold I have.
Two days of restricted duty, working only 10am to 2pm.
Three days of unproductive work saved.
The research proves it – ‘High quality occupational health reviews and research show that working while sick, e.g. with a cold, equates to several additional days of illness compared to working on a reduced workload’.
Let’s not wait until 7026 to change how we handle colds at work. Instead, we need to face into the problem, accept it, and normalise restricted duties. For two reasons, it’s good for people, and it’s good for business. Plus, the army does this, and they know a thing or two about efficiency.
This article was written by Darren A. Smith for The Grocer. View the original article.
