Sick Days Costs Money, And Causes Stress, For Workers

Nobody likes to work when they are sick, which is why offices offer employees sick days, but too many folks just don’t take them, and it could be because they wind up being quite costly.

A new survey finds:

• The average sick day costs employees $227 thanks to lost income and out of pocket expenses.
• Why so much? Well, some of the top expenses of a sick day include:
  • Doctor’s visit ($63)
  • Lost income ($60)
  • Childcare ($53)
  • Transportation ($51)
• And not surprising, 45% of people say taking a sick day will be even more costly this year, as compared to before 2020.

And while you’d think people would be taking a sick day to relax and get better, apparently that day off is anything but relaxing.

• Lots of people describe taking a sick day as a stressful experience.
• 42% of people say taking a sick day was more stressful in 2020 than in previous years.
• As for what’s causing that stress:
  • 23% were fearful of getting an infection from a doctor’s visit.
  • 22% are worried about keeping up with their workload.
  • 21% were stressed about helping their kids with schoolwork during their sick day.
  • 16% were stressed by the loss of income.

And working remotely didn’t make taking a sick day any easier.

• In fact, 51% of remote workers felt more anxious about taking a sick day because they were working at home.
• And honestly, some of those working from home aren’t getting a real sick day, with half of workers saying their employers expect them to continue to do at least some work during their sick day.

Meanwhile all this stress actually may be the reason folks are taking sick days.

• 55% of people say that in 2020 they were more likely to take a sick day for mental health reasons than in previous years.
• 59% of men say they were likely to take a sick day for stress reasons, as compared to 51% of women.

Source:SWNS Digital