Introduction
In recent years, being in the workplace all the time has become a trendy idea. People entirely devote themselves to work, often ignoring all other areas of life. Sometimes this has a positive effect on their career, but in different situations, it can adversely affect their life in general. In particular, one of the trends is being in the workplace during an illness. This behavior can have harmful consequences for both the employee and his or her colleagues.
For this reason, companies need to develop policies regarding the health and actions of employees in various diseases. Rosen (2015) states that “public health is not just a set of disciplines, information, and techniques but is, above all, a shared social vision” (p. 33). The purpose of the paper is to discuss the main points that a company should consider when developing health policy.
Behavior in the Course of a Disease
In any company, it is essential to convey to the employees that if they feel unwell, it is better to stay at home, especially when even colleagues ask about it. According to Fitzgerald and McDermott (2017), “HR managers in health care have complained of ‘overwhelming workloads’, lack of understanding of their role and having to manage conflicting priorities” (p. 267). However, it is crucial to accept the advice of HR managers and get the required treatment. If necessary, employees can see a doctor, but if they know their illnesses and can treat them themselves, then they can act as they usually do. This behavior has two goals, the achievement of which favorably affects the life of the company.
First of all, a sick person recovers much faster when he or she stays in a calm atmosphere. If he or she keeps working in this condition, then the healing process may be extended. There are frequent cases when employees continued to work as usual during the illness, and then fell ill even more and had to devote much more time to treatment. Sometimes this can lead to a significant deterioration in the general health state of this person.
Second, it is vital to prevent the spread of the disease in the initial stages. Even if a person does not feel too bad, there is no guarantee that one of his or her colleagues will endure the disease as easily. If everyone in the company is sick, then this will interfere with the work process much more than if one person spends several days outside the office. If a local epidemic started in the office, then the company’s management should think about organizing a quarantine or temporarily transferring the company’s work to remote mode. The main thing is to remember that the faster measures are taken to stop the spread of the disease, the easier this company will become stable again.
Working Process
Sometimes people do not get sick enough to stop working. In this case, modern technology allows them to work remotely according to an agreement with the managers. If a person is ready and wants to spend several hours a day working from home, this will make his or her illness less unpleasant for the company. In this case, the employee will still be able to carry out the tasks, and they will not have to be delegated. In addition, remote work will allow a person to remain more focused and return to active work after recovery much faster.
In some situations, employees are not able to work from home during illness. They may be feeling too bad, or a physical presence at the workplace is required to complete their tasks. In this case, each employee should have a clear job description, with which the bosses will be able to distribute his tasks between colleagues. Niles (2019) assumes that “the HR department plays a significant role in educating employees about their different benefits” (p. 10). Thus, it is essential to adequately explain to each employee all the risks and consequences of their diseases. Thanks to a responsible approach at the hiring stage, the company will survive the illness of each of the employees without significant losses.
Relations with Colleagues
Due to illness, employees may experience problems in relationships with colleagues. Firstly, with the long absence of a person and a lack of communication, the communication process will have to be partially rebuilt from scratch. Secondly, people are not always aware of the consequences of various diseases. Therefore, they can treat their colleague worse if they think that they can be infected by him, even if they can not.
To solve these problems, it is necessary to establish relationships in the team and continuously work on them, so that colleagues are in touch and feel comfortable with each other. Besides, if the director or HR feels a negative attitude towards the disease, it is necessary to explain all the related issues and consequences and reassure anxious people. This will help create a healthy atmosphere in the company and save people from unnecessary worries and even fights.
Conclusion
The measures described in this paper are the basic ideas that must be applied in each company. Public health is now one of the most relevant global problems, and inside a small organization, it is important to treat it with the same care. Sullivan (2019) states the necessity of “better public health for all when meeting the challenges of the twenty-first century” (p. 187). Thanks to a responsible approach, company employees will be healthy both physically and mentally. The favorable atmosphere in the office, created by joint efforts, will help to avoid distrust and conflicts related to health issues. Moreover, secure and trusting relationships with superiors will allow employees to feel confident and recover faster.
References
Fitzgerald, L., & McDermott A. M. (2017). Challenging perspectives on organizational change in health care. Routledge.
Niles, N. J. (2019). Health care human resource management. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Rosen, G. (2015). A history of public health. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Sullivan, L. M. (2019). Teaching public health. Johns Hopkins University Press.