Tough and practical talk about your sick policy
Lance Haun, aka Your HR Guy, now blogging as Rehaul and working for Merit Builder, isn’t afraid to share his opinions and that’s what makes him a great blogger, HR critic and professional. His recent post Want To Fight H1N1? Change Your Company Culture is awesome.
Employee’s Directive: When sick, don’t come into work.
HR Practitioner’s Responsibility: Make it easy for your employees to do this.
As he points out in his post, not coming into work is easier said than done. There is a stigma attached to being sick or calling in sick. Somehow you should be able to tough it out. Company first, you later. However, as HR folks, if you have the power to change your policy to truly take a stand against the spread of H1N1 or other easily communicable diseases, well, do it. Make it so your employees can take the time they need to get well and not infect the rest of us.
Please.
From Lance:
And really, this goes for any communicable illness like the annual seasonal flu. Poor policy making on the part of companies or poorly conceived company cultures have caused millions of hours of lost productivity in the workplace. All because we couldn’t stand to lose 16-40 hours of productivity from a single employee.
I could go on about my own experiences of either taking care of myself and getting well quickly, or conversely, running myself into the ground because I refused to slow down, but instead I’ll leave you with simple this.
Read Lance’s post and take action.
Article by,
Kari Quaas, PHR, Director of West Coast Operations and Manager of On-Line Communities for CoolWorks.com, a job website focusing on seasonal jobs in great places like national parks, resorts, camps and ranches. Her experience as a seasonal employee, recruiter, and former HR Manager helps her to relate to both employers and job seekers to whom she provides guidance and support.
