Less likely to call in sick when WFH?

[iceybottle]

I have been working from home pretty much since Covid. We have a new system now where we can see our sickness record. I noticed my sickness days have reduced. Before I had a a couple of times off sick per year with bad colds etc.

I think that wfh, especially as I don’t really have much face to face contact, mainly emails and spreadsheets, I am less likely to call in sick and just push through. Whereas before, if I had to get up, get dressed and face a day in the office I’d just call in sick.

If you work from home what level of sickness are you before you’d consider calling in sick?

In one way it’s good as my sickness record is improved, but sometimes I almost feel too guilty even if I feel rubbish that I’m home anyway so I should just work through it.

You're also probably less likely to GET colds and the like if you are working from home.

It would be interesting if this was researched.
I'm confident that sickness absence has significantly reduced since wfh

That’s true however I have school aged children who love to share their germs

It would not surprise me if it does reduce sickness, even if only wfh part of the week.

You can be not well enough to drive (though many do who aren't), but can close with getting up and working at a desk.

I call in sick less (not that I ever did much tbf) because if I have a cold and am streaming, I can probably WFH but wouldn't want to in the office with tissues everywhere!

I think the effort of going to work is removed so you may not be your most productive but shove on a top, open laptop and do emails is easier without the commute.

There has been research done on this and you are less likely to have high sickness rates in a wfh/hybrid role. Not only are you less likely to catch bugs but you can feel up to doing your work but not up to the commute there and back.

Definitely less likely to call in sick. I’m more likely to stay home and work at 60% than actually call in sick. I’ll tell my boss I’m under the weather and have to pace myself.

I’d only call in sick if I’m going back to bed to sleep.

Agree. Every time I set foot in the office I catch whatever germ's doing the rounds. Fortunately I missed the one whose kids had chicken pox.

I'll also work when I feel crap whereas if I had to go into the office I'd take the day as sick.

Absolutely. It was often the thought of the travel that made me call in sick, either not feeling safe to drive or the thought of waiting around for public transport, not the sitting down and getting on with my job. Especially if there was only a short time during the day where I needed to be contactable and could work out my hours with time for a rest. And yes, you are less likely to pick things up if you aren’t in the office. Sadly my workplace has not only called people back in (which is fair enough and I only hybrid) but there is now the daft rule that if you are unwell on an ‘office day’ you have to either come in or have official sick leave. No WFH allowed, even though there are other days in the week when WFH is allowed.

I’ve definitely showed up to work while ill when WFH when I wouldn’t in an office. I had a stomach bug once and actually felt okay outside of having the raging shits every 30 mins, so I just worked as normal (when I wasn’t shitting). Of course I wouldn’t have gone in to the office in that state!

When I worked (happily retired for over 15 years now) I would have to take sick leave if I got a cold. I've had asthma and copd for 50+ years.

Even when I worked I would occasionally phone in and ask to wfh when I had a cold. Even then I had a laptop and could access my emails remotely. Sitting in my chair was no problem. Walking from my chair to, for example, going into the kitchen to make a cuppa would have me coughing and wheezing that would take a while to get over. Travelling for three hours a day, to And from work, was out of the question.

But my brain, which I was paid to use, was just fine.

It's no surprise to me that your recorded absence s have reduced.

I currently can’t drive due to a bulging disc in my neck - if I couldn’t wfh I’d have to be off sick - and it’s been a while

Yeah, I definitely noticed it too.
My old workplace was quite strict in the post-covid period - If I woke up with mild-flu symptoms, I was to assume it was Covid and call in sick until I could prove it wasn’t Covid.
When I switched to hybrid working, I could happily crack on at home if I felt unwell, unless it was full-blown flu or a vomiting bug. But as others have said, you’re far less likely to catch those illnesses if your WFH anyway. So it’s a win all-round really.

Yep there's loads of illnesses which mean working from home is fine (probably at a lower capacity), but being in the office isnt. Eg if you've got a dodgy tummy, but not super unwell then commute and office would be awful, but working at home could be ok. Same with colds etc sometimes I'll nap for an hour or two or log off early but mostly do my work. Same with injuries, I damaged my ankle earlier this year and I could wfh with no issue but would have really struggled with either tram or driving to get to the office the first few weeks.

Wfh is an absolute game changer for sure in terms of sickness. So I virtually never take sick anyway and in the last 7 years only had 1 day off due to physically not being able to walk. However with peri, my periods are insanely painful and I’m totally out of sorts and so I think my sick leave may have rocketed from zero to lord knows what if I wasn’t able to wfh 60% of the time. I also have a very understanding manager which contains my sickness eg I had a very bad bout of facial eczema and no meds were working and he told me he’d handle my office days and to just wfh until I felt better. Needless to say I always go the extra mile in my work when I feel this cared for and even when I am in extreme pain despite wfh.

It’s interesting. Since I have been predominantly wfh (5 years) I’ve called in sick once. I’ve however worked through bad coughs and colds several times (and covid at least twice)

that said lots of my colleagues are off all of the time despite not needing to come in

If I'm supposed to be in the office but I've got a cold or bug, I'll work from home so it doesn't count as a sick day. If I'm working from home anyway, I wouldn't even mention an illness unless it was going to have a noticeable impact on my work.

I'd have to be absolutely written off to actually call in sick while working from home, and even then I'll probably still manage some emails etc.

I haven't noticed any difference between pre and post covid. People are almost never off sick. I can think of two occasions in the last year and one was a dental emergency. We WFH twice a week.

When we had lock down I was forced to work from.home. whilst I was grateful that the possibility of catching Covid was greatly reduced I didn't like it as I live alone, so consequently saw and spoke to no one- torture. Wonder if research has been done into affect on mental well-being?

Im abroad and can only self-certify for 1 day - more than that needs a sick note. I have not been to GP since before Covid, had Covid several times, plus other minor bugs and have just worked through past the one day part, where I might have spent it in bed. I just have to sit at a laptop though - that's possible even if quite under the weather. I wouldn't have managed a retail/ public facing role.

My WFH work is just sitting on a laptop so if I'm ill I can literally sit in bed. Even if I'm in meetings, I blur my background so I don't have to sit at my desk if I'm really unwell. I would only call in sick in those instances if I'm really not able to complete the day OR if I'm in back to back meetings all day and really can't handle a constant need to perform.

Oddly, I was thinking this exact thing yesterday. I've never had a lot of sick days, but since 2020 I've had none. I've worked from home with COVID, stomach bugs and heavy colds, where if I had to go into the office I would have probably stayed at home. I don't think my general productivity is much different either. Yes, I might occasionally hang a wash on the line, but compared to colleagues who take a coffee or a smoking break I reckon I take a lot less time, and usually make up the hours anyway.

Yes. You can cope better from home. Especially with things like UTIs, stomach upsets, colds, viruses.

The biggest difference is that people don't spread them any more.

I think it’s not just that you’re less likely to call in sick if you’re WFH, but you’re less likely to get the bugs in the first place and also less exhausted etc.

In winter 2019/2020 I was commuting into a London office 4/5 days a week, exhausted, and picked up one cold after the other - constantly feeling sick. I think when you’re working like that your immune system can struggle.

I haven’t had any sick days since 2020. I have the odd cold etc maybe one or two a year - and can dose up on lemsip and work from home.

Honestly it has really improved my quality of life especially in the winter!