April 3, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Employees who show up for work when they are obviously sick may feel
as though they are proving their dedication to the job, but could be
putting everyone they work with at risk," begins an article in today's Pittsbugh Post-Gazette which quotes Steve Langerud, director of
professional opportunities at DePauw University.
"Employees engage their colleagues in a 'how sick were you at work' contest," says Langerud, who has helped more than 15,000 people with workplace issues. "We all love being a champion. Even if it is only in being the one who can claim to have worked through the worst illness. But we are less quick to claim the number of colleagues, clients or customers we infected along the way."
Tim Grant reports, "Seventy-six percent of employees in a survey conducted by
Accountemps admitted to at least somewhat frequently coming to work
when under the 
weather. Another 34 percent of workers said that when a
colleague comes in sick, they worry most about being exposed to his or
her illness; and only 8 percent are impressed by their co-worker's
dedication ... Langerud said it was up to supervisors to model good sick behavior.
If supervisors stay home when they are sick, so will employees."
"The bottom line is that being sick at work hurts the bottom line," Langerud tells the newspaper. "When you are not well, you are not as productive; you don't recover; you miss more time after becoming really ill; and worse of all, you infect other workers who repeat the cycle. My advice: If you are sick, stay home -- period."
You'll find the complete text at the Post-Gazette's website.