![\"Sick](\"http:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/sickness2.jpg\")
Every business has to face up to the fact its employees will get sick. You employ human beings, not robots, and they are susceptible to getting ill. But too much sickness can be a real drain on resources.<\/p>\nEvery business has to face up to the fact its employees will get sick. You employ human beings, not robots, and they are susceptible to getting ill. But too much sickness can be a real drain on resources.<\/p>\n
One study<\/a> reckoned that the average time spent off sick was 6.5 days per employee, costing a massive \u00a316 billion.<\/p>\n Some companies are relaxed about sickness. They understand that people get ill and don\u2019t want to hassle their employees about this so leave them alone to return to work when they\u2019re better.<\/p>\n Many, however, have a policy where an employee is \u2018allowed\u2019 to have a certain number of \u2018sick days\u2019 before questions are asked. Some will, say, tolerate two or three every six months, for example.<\/p>\n But that poses a risk. If an employee knows that they will face no recriminations if they take a day off sick, will it encourage them to stay off when they\u2019re feeling 50\/50? For some people, it will make a difference. In a quota system, some employees have even been known to tactically \u2018use up\u2019 their \u2018allowance\u2019 of sick days and treat them as bonus holidays when they fancy a long weekend or can\u2019t be bothered to throw back their duvet.<\/p>\n Should you get tough to stop being taken for a ride?<\/strong><\/p>\n So, how about ending the quotas? Would \u2018no more Mr Nice Guy\u2019 stop people taking liberties? While you clearly don\u2019t want to break the law you could, in theory, take a much more hands-on approach \u2013 quizzing employees at length, issuing forms that must be filled in and launching a formal process if unexplained absences tip over a certain point, with disciplinary action as the ultimate action.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s two things to consider here. Firstly, it\u2019s tough to run a happy workplace if you go too far in this direction. Employees won\u2019t be impressed by a hardline approach and, through word of mouth, your reputation could suffer.<\/p>\n Secondly, it doesn\u2019t pay to force people who are genuinely sick into work. Their performance will be far from its peak and all they\u2019re likely to achieve is infecting their colleagues and creating more sickness<\/a> to contend with.<\/p>\n Rewards\u2026 and the risk of rewards<\/strong><\/p>\n You could switch the emphasis from the people who are sick to the people who aren\u2019t. Many employers offer an incentive to their staff if they stay sick-free for a year, such as an extra day off or a cash bonus. This can be a nice way of giving something back but it\u2019s worth being careful. If the reward is too great you could end up with the problems we’ve outlined above \u2013 with people dragging themselves into work and spreading their germs just to make sure they get their bonus. You also don\u2019t want to punish people who have genuinely been ill.<\/p>\n