Should you work from home when you are sick?

Most people know that going to work when you are unwell is a terrible idea.

You are likely to spread your illness to others, delay your own recovery and probably, you aren’t even very effective at work.

Studies¹ show that going to work when ill, actually increases the chances of needing long absences in the future.

Taking short absences when unwell translates to needing less time off in the long run.

Another study² has found that going to work when unwell, increases your chances of developing depression.

So, there is agreement that not going to work is a good idea when you are unwell. But does that mean you should work from home if your job allows you to?

Well, according to the experts², it depends.

Sometimes people will be far too unwell to work, even from home.

If there is precedent of people working from home instead of resting and recovering, people may feel compelled to work when perhaps they shouldn’t.

In other examples, having flexibility to work from home can help people who are managing chronic health conditions such that they stay in the work force for longer.

A large study following 16,000 employees found that those who worked from home lead to a 13% increase in work performance; improved work satisfaction and lower turnover.

Some increase in productivity was found to come from people working from home when unwell.

When compared to those who were required to attend the office in person it was found that those working from home took fewer sick days as they found it manageable to work from home when unwell.

Employees find that they can be quite productive when working with a mild virus.

However, whilst that might sound good, employees should be actively encouraged to take time off work entirely if they are very unwell so they can recover.  

It’s important to empower employees to make choices that work for them so they can manage their wellbeing, recover from illness and contribute at work.

References

[1.]     Janssens H, Clays E, De Clercq B, De Bacquer D, Braeckman L. The relation between presenteeism and different types of future sickness absence. J Occup Health. 2013;55(3):132-41. doi: 10.1539/joh.12-0164-oa. Epub 2013 Mar 13. PMID: 23485571.

[2.]     Conway PM, Hogh A, Rugulies R, Hansen ÅM. Is sickness presenteeism a risk factor for depression? A Danish 2-year follow-up study. J Occup Environ Med. 2014 Jun;56(6):595-603. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000000177. PMID: 24854252.

[3.]    Bloom, N. A.; Liang, N.; Roberts, J.; Zhichun, J. Y.; 2014, Does Working from Home Work? Evidence from a Chinese Experiment. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qju032