The Sickening State of Paid Sick Leave

By Rebeldad Brian Reid

I know it's March, and the crocuses are beginning to pop through the ground, but it seems like we're nowhere near the end of the cold-and-flu season. I continue to live with the fear that I'll wake up feverish or that my kids will wake up vomiting.

But I don't have any worry that a few days of the flu will wreck the family budget. My employer offers me five paid sick days a year, putting me in the lucky 52 percent of the private-sector workforce that has an option to take a day or two to recuperate (or help a little one recuperate) without putting myself in any kind of fiscal jeopardy. The flip side of this, of course, is that 48 percent of private-sector workers aren't as lucky. And low-wage workers are even less likely to be able to afford a day of recovery.

Of all the work-life proposals floating around out there, mandating sick leave seems like it should be one of the most straightforward, which is why I'm thrilled that the National Partnership for Women and Families has launched an online rally to try to push Congress to pass legislation mandating paid sick leave. They're collecting stories, so if you've been stymied by a restrictive employer, let them know.

This is not just a matter of giving a measure of relief to anyone who has been up all night with a vomiting kid or who wakes up with a 102-degree fever. Anything that would encourage sick people to actually stay the heck away from their cubicles -- and their colleagues -- when they feel like dirt is likely to actually help businesses. A Cornell study from a few years ago found that "presenteeism" -- showing up at work when you're actually sick -- demolishes productivity, completely wiping out the cost of spending the day under the covers with a tin of zinc lozenges.

And don't even get me started on the agony of sitting around the conference table with the sneezy Sudafed poppers. Day-care centers and schools have written policies that basically bar sick kids from walking in the door for the protection of everyone else at the school. But a huge number of employers not only tolerate it when people come to work with a raging illness, they encourage it through their sick leave policies (or lack thereof).

So, though I'm celebrating the emergence of spring, I'm hoping that by the time we hit the next flu season, everyone will have one less thing to fear. How about you: What risks do you run if you take a sick day?

Brian Reid writes about parenting and work-family balance. You can read his blog at rebeldad.com.

By Brian Reid |  March 6, 2008; 7:00 AM ET  | Category:  Conflicts
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