The reality of being legitimately ill has now become as obscure as taking a genuine vacation for many employees, notes Ann Francke, the CEO of the Chartered Management Institute. She notes this change is a result of the alliance of Covid-19 and the normalisation of remote work; it has ushered in a new realm of uncertainty regarding the guidelines for how and when we should be performing our work duties.
A burning question has emerged from this new reality: when is a person considered too ill to work or adequately well to continue? Who makes this decision?
As Covid cases surged in the summer, employees found themselves grappling with these issues for the first time in months. Similar doubts plagued their supervisors who were uncertain about when and how their teams should be carrying on with work amidst managing sickness, holiday breaks and familial responsibilities.
This ambiguity is further enhanced by the new normal of remote work, making the rules cloudy for employees battling symptoms associated with Covid and other viral illnesses. These symptoms are often mild enough to cause self doubt in the individuals, a confusion intensified by the absence of routine testing. Unsurprisingly, mandated testing for suspected Covid cases is no longer standard procedure in many workplaces.
This situation has HR experts concerned, about the lack of clarity on when a person should take sick leave especially since most desk jobs can be performed just as well from home, with the comfort of a bed nearby.
A manager from a sizeable finance business coined a term for this dilemma, referring to staffers as feeling “ill-ish”, that is being unwell enough to avoid commuting to the office but not quite ill enough to refrain from work completely.
She is of the opinion that such individuals who continue to work, albeit reluctantly, may potentially take longer to recuperate or may even risk feeling worse.
Research by the CIPD, the professional association for HR and personnel development, highlighted this quandary in a survey of over 5,000 employees last year, noting that over half of these employees had sacrificed their health to complete work tasks. Intriguingly, the motivation to push on was self-induced rather than being forced by the management.
Amanda Arrowsmith, the director of People and Transformation at CIPD, now fears that this uncertainty may result in people being ‘sicker for longer’ due to confusion about taking sick leaves.
An underlying problem is that the management is often oblivious to the employees’ wellbeing, as the current work from home trend means there is minimal opportunity to observe or understand how the staff are doing or what they might be feeling.
Francke from CMI observes that the work from home arrangement has led to a shift in focus from employees’ needs to organisational demands and erases the demarcation between work hours and sickness. She notes that workplace measures to curb disease spread are not necessarily about individual wellbeing.
The pandemic saw a significant increase in Covid cases in the UK during summer, with hospitalisations in June nearly double than in April. Although the figures may not accurately represent the current infection rate due to decreased testing and lesser severe symptoms, companies report an uptick in staff cases post Euro Football Tournament celebrations and summer events, including music festivals.
It’s not just Covid, other ailments like whooping cough – requiring weeks to recover, and general colds and sore throats have also seen an uptick. The nation’s workplace health authority, the Health and Safety Executive, mandates that Covid-stricken workers should aim to self-isolate, but now no longer imposes businesses to account the potential Covid risks or implement specific protective measures. There is a prevailing uncertainty regarding additional protocols for Covid compared to the common cold or flu.
The Acas employment arbitration service advises workers, ready to join back work post Covid illness, to communicate with their employers as soon as possible. Currently, no formal mandate governs the duration of absence for Covid-infected employees. Acas further adds that the employer will determine the mode of recording absence, in situations where a Covid-positive worker is not sick but is unsafe for workplace return, such scenarios, it observes, may not necessarily account as sickness absence.
According to HR executives, the variance in Covid impacts – from mild symptoms to severe ones requiring extended bedrest, complicates advisory processes. Arrowsmith observes that the lack of clear guidelines post the pandemic era adds to the confusion.
As per the CIPD survey, Covid’s impact on the UK workforce resulted in the highest duration of employee sickness leave for the past ten years – nearly 7.8 days per employee every year.
Arrowsmith has highlighted another disconcerting trend: the CIPD disclosed that “presenteeism”, the act of attending work whilst sick, is widespread. In a survey conducted last year, approximately three-quarters of participants admitted they were cognizant of others working despite being sick in the past year.
“Leaveism” – a trend where workers use their designated off days, for instance, annual leave, to get work done despite their illness instead of taking these days as sick leave – was also reported by nearly two-thirds of the survey’s respondents.
Sally Wilson, chief research associate at the Institute for Employment Studies, states numerous workplaces are still deciphering the “new normal”, adjusting to a new way employees handle sicknesses and deciding when they are fit enough to work.
She asserts that although working from home has its challenges, it also brings numerous advantages, with several workers enjoying the flexibility that allows them to work on their own schedules rather than feeling pressured to commute to an office.
“For example, many people feel more ill during the morning, hence a flexible work schedule often tends to be beneficial,” notes Wilson.
Arrowsmith, representing CIPD, concurs that there are potential benefits for individuals who are working from home whilst handling minor illnesses or health issues that can be efficiently managed at home. “This works for some individuals: they avoid the difficulties of public or private transportation and still feel productive.”
For HR experts and management, the main tactic to working with sickness is effective communication: Supervisors knowing their team enough to detect when something is off, regardless of their physical location, and employees feeling comfortable enough to confide in their superiors for support and understanding. CIPD discovered that employees generally refrain from discussing their health conditions with their employer or superior.
Arrowsmith emphasizes that “effective management involves recognising when employees are unwell and maintaining an open communication channel to assure employees that they can take leave when necessary”.
Francke also adds: “It’s crucial for managers to foster a supportive environment for employees to retain health and productivity. There are now various shades of ambiguity when addressing work, hence flexibility is required on both ends.”- Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2024
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