Stop Rewarding Absence: Why Paid Sick Day Abuse Is Hurting Businesses and the Economy
Let’s talk about the elephant in the workplace. Paid sick days started with good intentions — protect workers, support health, prevent burnout. Fair. Nobody wants genuinely sick people forced to drag themselves to work. But somewhere along the way, “support” turned into “system to exploit.” And business owners? They’re the ones quietly paying the bill. The Hard Truth Nobody Wants to Say A growing number of employees don’t treat paid sick days as protection. They treat them as extra vacation days with a different name . “Not feeling great” becomes: A long weekend A day off after a late night A convenient escape when motivation is low Meanwhile, the business still: ✔ Pays their wages ✔ Covers their workload ✔ Deals with delays, missed deadlines, and stressed coworkers That’s not support. That’s imbalance. Why Should People Be Paid for Time They Don’t Put In? In any other area of life, results are tied to effort. You don’t go to the gym → You don’t get stronger ...