Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Opinion | Replace 'sick days' with 'wellness days'

Opinion | Replace 'sick days' with 'wellness days'

Sick days raise the question of whether someone is really ill or just shirking work. These can be used for whatever workers think will improve their wellbeing.

Texts from Egypt’s New Kingdom period suggest that even when workers were too sick to build the royal tombs, they were still paid. The pharaohs apparently calculated that allowing for health needs leads to better work. And that’s a society that literally treated many workers as slaves.

Some 5,000 years later, we need to modernize how we support worker health — though companies that have yet to offer even basic paid sick leave should finally catch up to the ancient Egyptians. Instead of merely continuing to compensate workers once they are ill, we need to rethink time off to keep employees healthy.

That’s why my company has renamed “sick days” as “wellness days.” The aim is twofold: to remove any stigma that comes from taking sick days — and, insidiously, discourages taking them — as well as to redefine time away from the office to boost employees’ well-being.

A 2019 study by the staffing company Robert Half found that 90 percent of workers have come into the office sick. And, unfortunately, employees are right to be worried about how their absences are viewed. A 2017 survey conducted for the job site CareerBuilder found that 38 percent of employers checked up on sick workers and 26 percent fired someone for using a fake excuse.

It’s therefore not surprising — though certainly highly troubling — that employees are even more reluctant to take days off if they’re related to mental health. A 2020 study by the health insurer Aetna International found, for example, that employees are nearly twice as likely (66 percent to 34 percent) to take a day off because of physical health than for mental health.

Part of the problem with the conventional concept of sick days is that you generally need to wait until you require medication, go to an emergency room or have a breakdown to take one. Many companies demand a doctor’s note for the absence. Others mandate at least a stated reason. New York state rules for companies, for example, require “a verbal or written request … For mental or physical illness, injury or health condition.”

That might seem fair enough to avoid people taking advantage of the system, but should people need to share with their employer (or anybody for that matter) why they need a sick day — especially when it comes to their mental health? That naturally would seem to stop some from taking them.

Then there’s the problem of who evaluates the legitimacy of the reason for the absence, with policies varying from company to company as to who needs to approve the time off (usually the person’s manager or a human resources officer) and what must be disclosed. Which employee would want to debate with an employer whether a meditation day retreat was or wasn’t a legitimate absence for mental health needs?

All of these obstacles are part of why my company has scrapped the term “sick day” in favor of “wellness day.” But we have also taken another step: With our five annual wellness days, we encourage people to stay out long before they become ill, no questions asked. If they do decide to share what they did, we love hearing how the concert, bike ride or time with their kids helped them recharge and feel even better.

There’s never the question that comes up with sick days of whether the person is really sick or just shirking work, precisely because the days are designed to be used for anything that workers believe will improve their wellness. (This is separate from regular annual vacation days, which, similar to other companies, are generally used by employees in chunks for trips and planned in advance.) Of course, if they’re dealing with a health challenge and need more time off, they’re able to take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave without pay as part of the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Our goal is simple: to encourage people to look after their physical and emotional health needs before they become “sick,” as well as after. Prevention can stop greater challenges in the future. This is another basic wisdom humans figured out long ago, with Benjamin Franklin famously advising (albeit about fires) that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Companies more tempted by the stick than by the carrot, meanwhile, should understand that a holistic approach to employee wellness improves business performance. McKinsey and LeanIn.Org’s 2021 Women in the Workplace report found that 42 percent of women and 35 percent of men reported being “often” or “almost always” burned out at work.

Such presenteeism — where employees show up but aren’t working at their full capability — is costly on two fronts. Employees experience depleted well-being, and employers forfeit an estimated $1,500 billion per year in lost productivity, according to a Global Corporate Challenge study. On the flip side, the consulting company Deloitte found high-performing companies are 11 times more likely to have a broad well-being program.

The need for a new sick leave policy has taken on added urgency amid the toll Covid-19 and social isolation have taken. At the same time, the resulting economic and societal shifts are empowering people to seek better work conditions while companies rethink their culture and wellness strategies.

As they do so, they’d do well to introduce “wellness days,” and finally relegate “sick days” and their associated stigma to the waste bin of history.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Hungary Ranked Among the World’s Safest Travel Destinations for 2025
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
×