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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • In flu outbreak, asthmatics need a plan, not panic 4/30/09   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Don't go to work sick? Yeah, sure By Julie Muhlstein, Herald Columnist There's nothing funny about a swine flu outbreak, but I have to laugh -- a sick laugh -- at some of the advice we're getting. Among tips sent out Monday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was this: "If you get sick, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them." Sick? Stay home? For many American workers, that reasonable conclusion doesn't necessarily follow. Whether we wake up with common colds and nasty coughs or muddle into the office after minor surgeries, too many of us work sick. I doubt even swine flu could keep some workers off the job, and that's if they knew they had it. At times during winter cold and flu season, it seems half the people within sneezing distance of my desk are battling some malady. I'm guilty, too. My desk drawer is often stocked with over-the-counter remedies, for fevers, coughs or headaches. In part, we have our own work ethic to blame. In a time of downsized staffs, any absence is a hardship on co-workers. The longer we're gone, the higher the pile of tasks when we return. But I know personally that changes in employee benefits since my career began in the late 1970s have also played into our increasingly-sick-at-work syndrome. At risk of biting the hand that feeds -- and I do need this job -- there's no better time than the dawn of a new swine flu scare to question the wisdom of how employers handle illness. Sick days, remember those? If you're my age or older, you likely do. When I started at The Herald in 1981, if I was sick I called in sick. Vacation was intact. At least since 2001, though, my employer has used a paid-time-off system that bundles days allowed for vacation, illness of workers or family members, medical and other appointments, emergencies - even weather that prevents a person from getting to work. After 28 years here, I get a generous enough number of PTO days, 25 of them. In my head, I calculate that as four weeks vacation plus five sick days. There's also a short-term disability benefit and an extended illness account. Absences of five consecutive working days or less, though, must be covered by PTO if you have those days available. Remember, PTO equals vacation in most workers' minds. So what if you get swine flu? You wouldn't want to burn through that summer trip you promised the kids. Our company no longer allows us to carry PTO days over into the following year. If we've used them all, we're allowed to borrow a few from next year -- as if in 2010 no vacation will be needed. It's only human nature --if we can possibly do it, we'll work sick as dogs to save vacation days. The last time I spent a full day in bed was Oct. 24, 1998, the day my youngest child was born. I was in the hospital. On average, I'm guessing I stay home one sick day per year for me and two a year for my child. I have no super-human immune system, just a drawer full of medicine and a powerful incentive to get to work -- those precious vacation days. Any Google search of "PTO" and "sick days" will find a half-dozen discussions of the pluses and minuses of bundling vacation and sick time. Generally, human resources Web sites say PTO policies provide flexibility and curb absenteeism, but also encourage people to work when they're ill. Yep, trust me, we do it. I've never lied to stay home sick when I'm really fine. I have put the health of co-workers at risk by being on the job when I'm under the weather. Cost-effective and flexible? To me it looks like corporate America has bet to win with PTO plans. Is it a smart public-health gamble? In this new age of swine flu, I hardly think so. Bring back vacation, bring back sick days, or bring a nice cup of TheraFlu by my desk. Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460, muhlstein@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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