Even as New Jersey tries to emerge from its decade-long financial doldrums, many fields remain understaffed, forcing many workers to show up no matter how they feel.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting elevated incidence of influenza in every region of the nation, and local walk-in clinics are treating record numbers of cold-sufferers.
This is the time of year when the perennial question looms: Should I haul my achy, germy body to work, or wait out the worst of it at home?
It's a question neither business owners or workers can afford to ignore.
One research study has calculated that the cost of so-called "presenteeism" - business jargon for working while sick - runs in the neighborhood of $150 billion per year.
That's factoring in reduced productivity, the cost of illness spread to colleagues, and workplace injury due to an ailing employee's diminished capacity, especially in high-risk jobs such as construction or roadwork.
N.J. needs a statewide paid sick leave policy | Editorial
When it comes to occupations such as teaching, nursing and food service, the risks rise exponentially because vulnerable members of the public are involved. What's more discouraging than watching a fast-food worker dishing out your hash browns while hacking into his or her sleeve?
Still, economic realities sometimes force a worker's hand, especially when a day's salary is at risk, or if a punitive boss threatens you with the loss of your job if you miss one more deadline.
The New Jersey Time to Care Coalition, an advocacy group for workers, reports that more than a dozen Garden State municipalities have paid sick-leave laws that take some of the pressure off.
Trenton's policy went into effect in March of 2014, requiring all private businesses operating in the city to allow workers to earn paid sick days to use for themselves or for certain family members. The employee cannot be fired for taking the permitted sick days, and the time must be paid.
Even as New Jersey has struggled to emerge from its decade-long financial doldrums, many fields are undergoing staff reductions and cuts, leaving fewer people to carry the load.
Stuck with filling multiple roles, these "survivors" feel pressured to show up first thing every morning, strep throat or no strep throat.
It's the wise business owner who discourages such devotion.
The Harvard Business Review says working while sick can cut productivity by one third or more. Moreover, just one sniffing, sneezing, aching, coughing worker is likely to infect an entire workplace - not to mention clientele.
Technology has helped with the issue somewhat, allowing staffers jobs to do their jobs remotely when appropriate. So has a trend among some visionary employers of allowing workers to trade sick days among themselves.
But the reality is too many people wake up to that unenviable decision, and for many, the decision is totally out of their hands.
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