Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Tuesday, Aug 05, 2025

How remote work could nix the sick day

How remote work could nix the sick day

Sick days used to mean resting, not working. Now, however, more employees are logging in from home as they fight illness – after all, if people are remote already, why take time off?

Before the pandemic, ill workers quite often showed up in the office, coughing and spluttering away as they tackled their workloads. Today, fortunately, sick employees can often work remotely, keeping their germs to themselves. But this shift raises a new dilemma for workers. Exactly how ill do you have to be to take a ‘proper' sick day from home?

Before, the choice was binary for most sick workers: power through despite feeling lousy and go to the office, or stay at home and abandon work for the day. Option one could mean keeping on top of your work (and pleasing the boss), while option two could potentially aid your recovery.

Now, it's not so simple. Yes, colds or the flu can be debilitating, and people certainly might not be in shape to jump on a train and head for work. But for busy employees able to work from home, it can be tempting to continue firing off emails and performing daily tasks while coughing away on the couch, instead of taking proper time off to rest.

It's a problem that could become more common as hybrid and remote work spreads. Polling data from the US suggests two-thirds of workers feel remote work adds pressure to work while sick; other polls suggest the same proportion feel obliged to clock in remotely, even if they're sick. In the UK, sickness absence hit record lows in 2020, as people worked from home (but rebounded somewhat in 2021, partly due to an uptick in coronavirus cases).

Right now, data indicates many sick workers are logging in from home, and that ‘proper' sick days are becoming increasingly rare. Experts say that both companies and workers need to stop and think about this shift – and its implications for productivity, company culture and worker wellbeing – before it becomes an entrenched practice.

Sick day? Like any other day


People have always worked while ill; sickness absence had been falling before the pandemic, both in countries such as the US (which doesn't have nationally mandated paid sick leave) and the UK (which does). But now, remote work has enabled ill people to crack open their laptops and work from bed – making skipping sick days in favour of presenteeism easier than ever.

Early in the pandemic, redundancy fears, combined with guilt and a fear of falling behind, caused many remote workers to log on while ill. Anecdotally, that trend has continued, even as the situation has stabilised, because widespread remote work has made things more complicated: we all know people who work from home while ill, if we don't do it ourselves.

Widespread remote work has made things more complicated: we all know people who work from home while ill, if we don't do it ourselves


Remote work has made “decisions regarding when, and when not, to take sick days harder”, agrees Brittany Lambert, assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship at Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, US. "The boundaries, rules and structures which governed the way we thought about our work, in many cases, fundamentally changed."

Now, when you're working from home anyway, a sick day can feel like any other day – so workers might feel as though the bar to call out for the day has been raised, says Ann Frost, associate professor of organisational behaviour at Ivey Business School at Western University, Canada. “If I've got a bad cough and I clearly have a bad cold, I don't want to be with my colleagues”" she says. “But can I stay in and still get the project done I'm supposed to do? You bet I can.”

In some cases, workers have only felt catching Covid-19 was a good enough excuse to justify a sick day during the pandemic – and even that’s been up for debate.

Greg Couser, occupational medicine physician at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, US, one the country’s largest healthcare organisations, points to a lack of clarity on sickness between employers and employees. "The issue truly is expectations in the workplace," he says. "And it seems like expectations in the workplace have changed, and I guess ground rules haven’t really been established yet."

Many remote workers feel guilty, or that they'll fall behind on work, if they take sick days when they feel ill


The role of company culture


In the absence of ground rules, some workers might see the evolution of the combined work/sick day as a positive; if you have a mild illness, you can take a little more care of yourself at home, while still getting necessary work completed. That means you’re not letting anyone down, and there’s less likely to be an unmanageable mound of work awaiting upon your return to health.

But there are multiple reasons why it might be better to take a proper pause to recover from sickness. Data has long shown working while sick leads to worse job performance. Research also suggests a link between not taking sick days and an increased risk of depression, while a 2022 study showed that working from home sick made workers feel more guilty than if they had just taken the sick day. Plus, working remotely while feeling moderately ill – bad enough to have made people stay at home pre-pandemic – could lead to more burnout, says Couser.

“The crux of it all is that people aren't going to get better, they're going to get sicker, they’re going to get more stressed out and there’s going to be all sorts of consequences that we don’t even know about," says Couser. It’s in companies’ interests to encourage people to take sick days, because “although there may be a short-term gain in productivity, it could lead to a longer-term loss”.

Of course, the pandemic has ushered in more worker autonomy and flexibility, meaning that if an individual wants to work remotely while sick, they can work while sick. It's up to them. But, say the experts, that decision will be heavily influenced by their company culture and the messages leaders are sending, both explicitly and implicitly.

“If employers say, ‘You can just work from home – if you've got a cough and a fever, just take an Advil and hop into bed and you'll be fine’ – that's bad. That's bad culture. Who wants to work at a company like that?” says Frost.

People aren't going to get better, they're going to get sicker, they’re going to get more stressed out, and there’s going to be all sorts of consequences that we don’t even know about – Greg Courser


Each person will be different in terms of how they handle sickness, she adds; what’s debilitating to one may be manageable for someone else. Seeing colleagues working while sick could pressure others to do the same. That’s why, she says, the “organisational piece” is key workers need a positive culture that safeguards their right to call in sick when necessary, especially when working hybrid or remotely.

Time to recalibrate?


As with many aspects of work since the pandemic, both employers and employees are still navigating these changes; it may take time for best practices on remote-work sick days to become embedded.

Couser suggests it is in companies’ best interests to address this issue; if workers don't feel supported enough to call in sick when they want, they might leave, especially in the current employment climate. “Workers are going to be figuring out pretty quickly which companies really have this culture thing figured out,” he says.

Lambert suggests workers can play a role in finding their own balance. “I think the most important thing you can do as an individual is to figure out what works for you – and work in an environment that supports your thriving. So, if working even when you are just a little sick, feels like thriving to you – go for it. Though I would add a disclaimer and say: proceed with caution.”

Ultimately, though, she says it’s on managers to facilitate communication, support staff and build a culture that safeguards workers' health – or else, as research shows, risk a drop in productivity. Protecting and encouraging sick leave benefits everyone – and now it is the crucial time to do just that.

As Lambert says, “I think we're in a period of recalibration, and have a great opportunity to redefine what sick leave is – and could be – to better serve both organisations, and the people who work for them.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
×