In a post-pandemic world, sick days are used more than ever. However, as job insecurities loom, this new work environment could also lean away from prioritizing health.
According to Business Insider, Gen-Z’s emphasis on a work-life balance makes employees more willing to take advantage of sick days offered. In addition to the shift toward hybrid and remote working, this mindset has more workers prioritizing their health and wellness than perceived productivity.
Their mentality differs from previous generations, whose members thought work often could overcome the common cold. However, Gen-Z’s
growing mark on the workforce has led others to take time to recuperate. Moreover, with the added adoption of mental health days by some companies, many of this age group consider sick days a worker’s right rather than a privilege of advanced careers.“Gen Z has a different way of thinking and communicating,” explained Rue Dooley, HR knowledge advisor at the Society for Human Resource Management. “Younger workers are behaving in such a way that it is an entitlement: ‘I should get time off when I need it without having to get special permission or feeling judged or condemned.'”
However, the fragile job market could thwart this relatively new mentality. Employees may be less willing to call in sick in order to stay off the chopping block.
Hybrid or remote workers may face more pressure to stay working no matter how they feel, especially when at home and not spreading the illness. The rise of “presenteeism,” where one is physically present but mentally clocked out, also spells trouble for an employee’s long-term wellness.
The flexibility of hybrid work may encourage
looser boundaries of what qualifies as too sick to log on. This can spell lesser productivity overall, an issue which, despite taking more sick days, U.S. workers have not slacked in. A 2023 survey conducted by Pew Research showed that less than half of U.S. employees cashed in on all their Paid Time Off (PTO).Furthermore, management should always take note of when their employees are feeling burned-out and may need a day to recover.
“True leaders grasp that in terms of productivity, it’s better in the long term to allow people that time for their well-being over short-term productivity,” said Dooley.
While Gen-Z made sick days more acceptable, proving that they won’t be to a worker’s detriment is a new challenge in a hybrid workforce.
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