We can put a man on the moon and a woman around the moon, Skynet is about to take over… and yet the common cold has existed for more than 5,000 years. Written descriptions of cold-like illnesses appear in ancient texts as early as 1550 BCE. It’s here to stay, it is safe to say, and if we are not going to cure the darn thing, then let’s begin approaching it differently at work.
When I was in corporate life, it was a badge of honour to come into work ill. Eyes redder than John in accounts who had been on a bender all night, tissues in hand, sniffing, dribbling, irritable as the host of The Weakest Link.
We’re slightly more sensible nowadays because we can work from home. We’ve solved the first part of the problem by tackling the spread. The badge of honour has largely been laid to rest. But now we need to tackle the second part: working while we’re unwell. The second badge of honour.
The fact we can work from home more easily means some of us are actually more likely to do so when we’re ill. You can spot these people on Teams, muted and silently coughing up a lung. There’s no point in telling them to take it easy, because, as with anyone who cares about their work, they’ll carry on regardless.
But here’s the rub: in carrying on regardless, people make more mistakes and illnesses take much longer to get over because the sufferer is run down instead of resting.
We don’t need science to tell us that this is what happens because we all know it. By my reckoning, it took about 5,000 years for the first badge of honour to be laid to rest, so we should crack this second one in about the year 7026. Here’s an alternative… 1, 2, 3.
- One cold.
- Two days of restricted duty: 10am to 2pm.
- Three days of unproductive work saved.
High-quality occupational health reviews and research show that working while sick equates to several additional days of illness compared with working a reduced load.
Let’s not wait until 7026 to lay to rest the second badge of honour. Instead, we need to face into the problem, accept it, and normalise restricted duties. It’s good for people, and it’s good for business.
Plus, the army does this, and they know a thing or two about efficiency.
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