Nov
12
Posted on 11-12-2007 at 07:50am
Sick Women
Filed Under (Work & Money, Health) by Katherine Coble on 11-12-2007

Exador would like to point something out.

Yet another study has come out, showing that women call in sick to work more often than men.

Not just more, nearly TWICE has often.

The obvious answer from human resource experts, employers, employees and even us in the media is always that “working moms have most of the responsibilities at home,” and that translates into female employees having to take sick days to tend to sick kids.

The whole issue of being a woman and taking sick time has always ticked me off, personally. I don’t have sick kids, but I do have one of those immune systems which caves into everything out there. I’ve been in offices where women get the third degree if they’re out sick, while men only get a “hope you’re feeling better” sort of commiseration.

Do the women in your workplace tend to take more sick days than the men, and does it affect their job performance?

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Comments

Mack on 12 November, 2007 at 8:02 am #

It just bugs me that we even keep track based on gender. It tells us nothing.

Anyone else watch that 60 minutes piece on the Millenniums? (related, in a twisted way)


Kevin on 12 November, 2007 at 8:13 am #

Men and Women are different - wow what a shocker. The problem is not that they are different, have different work habits and work patterns, but that our twisted society places the highest esteem on those who make the most money. It is only human to want to treated as much respect as other humans. The problem is that our society does not give equal respect to things like child rearing, or education for the sake of eduction. Only those things that lead towards “mo’ money” get three cheers. And that’s really sad.


nm on 12 November, 2007 at 10:02 am #

Has anyone done any research on how many women are made sick by the guys they work with who refuse to stay home when they’ve got something infectious or contagious?


jag on 12 November, 2007 at 10:22 am #

I think I’ve called out for sickness twice in two years. My male co-worker calls out sick at least once every three months.

Granted, I don’t have kids. And with my husband’s and my work situation, I’d be the one to stay home if we did have them and if one was sick.


Vol Abroad on 12 November, 2007 at 10:46 am #

I always make sure I go in sick the first time I’m ill in a new job. I stream and cough and splutter and hack, but say “I’m fine - I’ll soldier on…” and then I never get questioned after that. :-)


Katherine Coble on 12 November, 2007 at 3:44 pm #

Has anyone done any research on how many women are made sick by the guys they work with who refuse to stay home when they’ve got something infectious or contagious?

Heh. No joke. I can’t count the number of times I’ve sat in a meeting with a man whose “soldiering on” through the Hanta Virus or the Pneumonic plague, only to then need to take the next three days off work myself.

Of course, studies talking about the damaging effects of presenteeism have been around for awhile now. It’s generally agreed that presenteeism is much worse for company bottom-lines than absenteeism, especially when employers shoulder such a health-care burden. Of course, all those studies appear to be gender-blind and not folded into this whole “mommies who work ruin it for everyone” meme.


Katherine Coble on 12 November, 2007 at 3:44 pm #

sorry: that should be “who’s”


Music City Bloggers » Blog Archive » Hey! Guys Read, Too! on 12 November, 2007 at 4:15 pm #

[…] course, women do have more time to read all those books anyway, what with all that extra sick time they’re takin’. Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and […]