A recent survey has found that an alarming number of office managers would rather their employees come in for their shifts even if they are sick.
The poll, conducted by ResumeBuilder, examined how office managers view their employees’ access to sick leave, according to Julia Toothacre, a career strategist at the company.
“Twenty percent of managers said they’ve encouraged workers who weren’t feeling well to still come into the office — 20%! That blew my mind,” Toothacre said.
The survey also found that 25% of managers think their employees abuse sick days by exaggerating or lying about their condition.
“A lot of managers felt like employees were exaggerating their sick time. That is not for them to judge. If someone is sick, they are sick. But it is also when you minimize someone’s illness. When you assume that they can still show up and do their job or have the capacity to do that, and essentially force them. Because if you start questioning them, then they think they have to do this,” Toothacre said.
Nearly a third of managers also said that they often ask for medical documentation as proof of illness for workers who request the use of their sick time.
This action is not illegal, but it is illegal discrimination to use a medical diagnosis against an employee, according to the pollsters.
After COVID-19 saw the world shut down and move to remote work, the poll found that managers are now asking those who would have otherwise taken a sick day to work from home instead.
“‘Well, you are sick, but you can work from home.’ Because there are certain positions that have the ability to work from home, and they’ve done it, that may be what managers recommend. It is like, ‘How sick are you?’ ‘Can you do your job from home?’ Really, you’re not even supposed to ask that,” Toothacre said.
Overall, 65% of managers said they think more clear leave policies are definitely or probably needed in their workplace.
The poll included responses from more than 1,000 managers across the country.