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Brown: Sick leave option can increase productivity
Published 12:54am Sunday, February 3, 2013The importance of companies offering sick leave to their employees and its effect on morale and productivity were the focuses of a joint conference call held by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and Ohio business owner Heather Rocco-Geissler, CEO of Challenger Aviation Products Inc.
The call between Brown and Ohio media was Wednesday.
“(Offering sick leave) is not a public cost. This is individual businesses,” Brown said. “When more workers show up to work without sick leave, they’re not as productive. They are more likely to cause others to be sick, who will be less productive.”
Recent legislation has made it difficult for Challenger to maintain its health care standards, said Rocco-Geissler, but she and Brown agree that should change after 2014 when certain aspects of health care legislation become effective.
But, politics aside, Rocco-Geissler said she believes one of the reasons many companies in the private sector do not offer sick leave is because they are scared.
“They are afraid it’s going to decrease productivity and decrease their bottom line,” Rocco-Geissler said. “I think they feel, if there are more workers there, then more is going to get done. However, if you allow that person to go home and protect them from their illness, they end up being more productive in the end because they are healthy.”
Recognizing this, Brown said most public and government workers have some form of paid sick leave. Brown said, when implemented, sick leave works in the private sector as well and is good for employers, employees and the State of Ohio.
Wow! Paid sick leave is no doubt the wave of the future. In fact, I’m feeling a little ill right now. Might just call in this week and have the boss send the check to my condo in Florida.
Let the businesses pick up the tab . . .
Where have we heard that one before???
The implication is that people lack common sense and don’t know when they are too sick to come into work. The implication is that businesses want they employees to walk around with snot dripping from their nose and coughing on everyone else in the workplace.
And this is coming from a Senator in a Congress that cannot even make up a budget in over four years?
Please . . . give me a break . . .
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