Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Offering Paid Medical Leave Makes the Entire Office Healthier, Not Just the Sick Employees

Offering Paid Medical Leave Makes the Entire Office Healthier, Not Just the Sick Employees
MOSCOW, RUSSIA - SEPTEMBER 12, 2017: A man is being examined to get a flu vaccine at a mobile centre for flu vaccination by Belorusskaya Station of the Moscow Metro. Mobile flu vaccination centres are to be open daily for two months; all Moscow residents can get flu vaccination for free. Vladimir Gerdo/TASS (Photo by Vladimir GerdoTASS via Getty Images)

2018 is shaping up to be one of the worst flu seasons in recent history and America’s abysmal paid sick leave practices are not helping at all.

Work hard, play hard. This is the typical American mindset: prioritizing work over all other aspects of life. In the U.S., 85.8 percent of males and 66.5 percent of females work more than 40 hours per week. For many Americans, this workload is often necessary, as the average cost of living and the affordability of healthcare remains out of reach for many people. The overworked behavior pattern can be disastrous when it contributes to the spread of communicable diseases.

America isn't at her healthiest on a number of fronts.

America is currently in the midst of many epidemics: a mass shooting epidemic, an opioid epidemic and a flu epidemic. All three pose significant risks. 2018 has been a particularly bad year for the flu. In fact, it has been so bad that it is nearly record-breaking in terms of hospital visits. In the first three weeks in January, 24 children have died as a result of the flu, with a total of 37 fatalities since the beginning of the season. The season’s flu is particularly bad, for a plethora of reasons. According to USA Today, “Bothinfluenza A and B strains are circulating at the same time, when one usually dominates early in the season with the other coming on late. Also, flu vaccines are less effective than expected. And one strain of the flu, H3N2, is particularly virulent, making people sicker and sometimes causing an intense reaction from the body's immune system, during which the lungs can become inflamed and airways can be blocked by mucus and more.”


According to the Washington Post, a “touch of the flu” kills up to 646,000 people worldwide each year, sometimes as many as 56,000 of them in the United States.  Millions of American have been exposed to the flu, and yet many are unable to take the necessary time off of work in order to recover and prevent the spread of the disease.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JANUARY 22: Vials of the Fluvirin influenza vaccine are displayed at a Walgreens pharmacy on January 22, 2018, in San Francisco, California. A strong strain of H3N2 influenza has claimed the lives of 74 Californians under the age of 65 since the flu season began in October of last year. People are being encouraged to get flu shots even though the vaccine has been only 30% effective in combating influenza. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

According to Pop Sci, nearly 20 million Americans go to work sick each year. The toxic idea that work should always be prioritized certainly contributes to this trend. Another influencing factor is the absence of adequate paid sick leave. Even though evidence shows that staying home when sick helps prevent the spread of many viruses, many people simply cannot afford it.

The Centers for Disease Control is insistent that people stay home when sick. They say, “For those who are already sick, please stay home from work or school. That is such an important recommendation to follow. Otherwise you run the risk of spreading the virus to others—and what may be mild symptoms to you could be deadly to someone else.”

Many employers ignore the science and penalize workers who need sick days.

Despite the scientifically valid logic, taking unpaid time off from work is not an option for many Americans. The United States is the only wealthy nation in the world that does not guarantee paid time off in the event of illness. In fact, no federal law mandates paid time off. Basically, it is left to a company’s discretion as to whether to extend paid time off (PTO) benefits to its employees. Often, low-level employees are left without proper PTO; unfortunately, this is the group who needs it the most.

According to a 2009 report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, an estimated 40 percent of Americans who work in the private sector are without PTO for illnesses like the flu. This number increased to an estimated 60 percent under Obama’s administration and still lags well behind many other developed nations.

What can we do? Clearly, we need a systemic change to American work culture. The idea that people should continue to work when sick, all to promote a business's bottom line, is dangerous at best. The lack of work-life balance contributes to the spread of disease, which is particularly worrisome when considering the deadly nature of the flu. Like many viruses, the flu is spread only through person-to-person contact. Staying home minimizes the spread of the flu and we, as a society, need to support staying home. A little PTO would really go a long way.

More from News

Screenshots of Eric Hovde and Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Baldwin For Senate

Democratic Senator Masterfully Uses Opponent's Own Words Against Him In Brutal 5-Second Ad

After Wisconsin Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde referred to himself as "supposedly the jerk from California," Senator Tammy Baldwin—who is running for reelection to the U.S. Senate—used the clip of his remarks as the entirety of her latest campaign ad.

Although Hovde was born and raised in Wisconsin, Baldwin and her supporters have attempted to portray him as more Californian than Wisconsinite due to his ownership of a $7 million estate in Laguna Beach and his West Coast-based Sunwest Bank.

Keep ReadingShow less
Cameron Diaz at 'Fortune' magazine's Most Powerful Women Summit
Presley Ann/Getty Images for Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit

Cameron Diaz Gets Candid About Why She Decided To Leave Hollywood A Decade Ago

Cameron Diaz hasn't been seen on the big screen since 2014's Annie, and during the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, the actor revealed why she felt she "had" to leave the entertainment industry.

Diaz, who officially announced her retirement from acting in 2018, is set to grace the screen once again alongside her Annie costar Jamie Foxx in next year's Back in Action.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump and Dave Bautista
Jimmy Kimmel Live / YouTube

Dave Bautista Brutally Rips 'Whiny Little B*tch' Trump In Epic Video For 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'

When it comes to insulting Donald Trump, it's not hard to come up with some really hard-hitting zingers. And in a new video, MCU star Dave Bautista basically said every single one of them.

Bautista recently starred in a segment for Jimmy Kimmel Live! in which he rakes the former president over the coals in the kind of way that reminds you of a high school bully, but in a good way.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kristen Bell; Anna from 'Frozen'
Vanity Fair/YouTube; Disney

Kristen Bell Reveals Hilariously NSFW Joke That Was Slipped Into 'Frozen' Song Lyrics

Kristen Bell revealed that a NSFW joke "slid under the radar" and made it into the final cut of Frozen, and “For the First Time in Forever” will never hit the same again.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, the actor rewatched some of her notable performances, adding her own commentary along the way.

Keep ReadingShow less
"I Voted" stickers laid out over a table.
Voted printed papers on white surface

People Who Ended A Relationship Over Political Views Share Their Experiences

They say "opposites attract".

And indeed, when love is strong enough, two people can learn to live with each other in spite of their differences.

Keep ReadingShow less