Most Americans feel pressure to work when sick: survey

New York — Nearly 4 out of 5 Americans say they feel pressure to work when they don’t feel well, results of a recent survey show.

Researchers from OnePoll, on behalf of the cold medication company Robitussin, surveyed 2,000 U.S. adults – 1,930 of whom had jobs – about sickness in the workplace and dealing with sick co-workers.

Of the employed respondents, 78% reported “feeling pressure to power through the workday when they’re feeling under the weather,” a Nov. 7 press release states. However, 82% said they would be annoyed if a co-worker showed up with a cough, while 41% would rather take on the extra workload temporarily than have a co-worker come to work sick.

Other findings:

• 69% of workers believe having a bad cough isn’t a valid reason to stay home.
• 42% of workers feel stressed out when calling out sick.
• 1 out of 3 employees fear their boss would not consider having a bad cough a valid reason to stay home sick.
• If a co-worker starts coughing, 52% assume that person is sick.