I have presenteeism. You too?

The mere fact that I wake up feverish and in pain confuses me. I am very rarely sick. Happy. The fact that I do get up is, as it were, an old habit: as a mother, being sick is simply not part of it. Of course you can ask for help during the day, but those first few hours you have to throw away somehow because without you it just won’t work. Now my kids are older and can take care of themselves in the morning. Yet somehow this mindset still sticks with me. So I don’t go back to bed until they’re both out of the house.

After a few hours of sleep and a Neocitran I feel better, even though I still “glow” and everything hurts. Still, I reach for the laptop. I can’t even say exactly why. Maybe out of habit. I always do everything as quickly as possible because that’s the only way to avoid ending up in a sea of ​​different jobs and a family in chaos. Although I am aware that I put pressure on myself.

Pressure is the reason most people cite for what is called presenteeism. A current German study states that every second person works despite illness. Only 17 percent consistently stay in bed when sick. The reasons range from the pressure of having to do everything because you don’t have a replacement to the fear of losing your job because you’re absent. The phenomenon has been known for some time in the US. According to several American studies, the costs it causes are at least as high as the costs of employee absenteeism.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why. First, anyone who actually shows up sick at work infects others. Second, anyone who works with a cough and fever – even in the home office – does not recover well, postpones things, and, at best, is sick longer than he or she would otherwise be. And ends up in the hospital with a full-blown infection, as a friend of mine did recently.

Of course, answering a few emails doesn’t make me sicker than sick. But the fact that so many people feel like they have to work when they’re sick should make you think. This constant urge to be productive and not even being able to switch off when you’re feeling down can’t be good in the long run. So the next time I’m sick, I’ll sleep, sleep, and sleep some more. I’m almost looking forward to it.

And you, do you work when you are sick? Why? Why not? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comment columns.

Source: Watson