* Sick time in a converged world
Our last newsletter featured a rather lengthy reader response concerning the advantages of home-office convergence. Here’s one part we left out.
Our last newsletter featured a rather lengthy reader response concerning the advantages of home-office convergence. Here’s one part we left out.
The reader wrote:
“So you see, the whole concept of the ‘workweek,’ 9-5 workdays, even things like sick days, is being turned on its head by advances in technology that allow us to efficiently do our jobs from anywhere via broadband connections – is it really a sick day if you don’t feel good enough to go to the office, and you don’t want to spread germs, but you can still do some work when you get tired of laying in bed or watching daytime TV? I’d much rather be working in my den than doing either of those things.”
The comment concerning “sick days” rings especially true, especially in the arena of overall productivity. Consequently, we encourage you to help your personnel staff examine your personnel policies concerning sick days.
Historically, it was considered showing appropriate dedication to show up for work regardless of your health. A few years ago, Steve was strongly urged by a company to conduct a training seminar in a small room full of attendees, even though he pled that he was sick with a cold. The manager in charge promised to bring lots of Kleenex and even homemade chicken soup if Steve would travel to Chicago.
The ability to be productive from anywhere in the world is now a reality for most organizations. When an employee comes to work with a cold or the flu, it’s likely that others in the office will be infected. On the other hand, if that person stays away and works – even part-time – from home, the healthy individuals continue to be productive, and overall productivity stays high.
Indeed, this is one of those cases where personnel policies and technology can converge and rather quickly increase overall productivity. With appropriate prior planning, even the most interactive job positions – such as administrative assistants – can have phone calls routed intelligently off-site to the assistant’s location so that there is a seamless work process.
Hopefully, we’re past the majority of the cold and flu season for this year. But it’s time to address these capabilities now so that when the next season hits, your company is appropriately structured for continued productivity while preserving the good health of the healthy.
