Are your employees afraid to stay home when they're sick?

New research says a substantial number of employees feel guilty when they call in sick. Is that a good thing?
A new CareerBuilder survey finds that nearly three-quarters (72%) of workers typically go to work when they’re ill.
Why? It would certainly appear that there’s at least a perceived pressure to show up for work no matter what — 55% of employees surveyed said they “feel guilty” if they miss work due to illness.
That shows some admirable loyalty on the workers’ part, but many experts say it’s not the kind of atmosphere employers really want to foster over the long term.
To begin with, it promotes “presenteeism.” You know the phenomenon — the worker who sits at his or her desk, nose running and eyes glazed, getting virtually no work done.
Those workers are accomplishing one thing, however: spreading their germs to their co-workers.
Which leads to more people getting sick, feeling too guilty to stay home, and coming in to sit at their desks, noses running and eyes glazed …
You get the idea.
The other problem is burnout. Employees have more on their plates than ever before. Working when ill just ratchets up their stress levels — which can lead to more serious medical problems and, yes, more absenteeism.
No doubt, companies are doing a lot more with less staff nowadays, and absenteeism is a bona fide issue. But savvy employers know that healthy employees are a lot more productive than sick ones — and that the sick ones who insist on showing up are doing more harm than good.