42% of Hiring Decision-Makers Will Offer More Flexible Sick-Day Policies Due to COVID-19

A majority of hiring decision-makers (87%) prefer sick workers stay home and take the day off in what many see as a shift in company culture regarding sick employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is according to a newly released survey conducted by The Harris Poll and commissioned by Express Employment Professionals.

While only 1 in 7 (14%) hiring decision-makers would rather sick employees come into work, 44% say the COVID-19 pandemic has made their company more accepting of working from home if an employee doesn't feel well.

Forty-two percent of respondents say this shift in company culture regarding sick employees could be more than temporary as their companies plan to offer more flexible sick-day policies.

And if employees do come to work sick? Nearly one-third, 31%, of hiring decision-makers say those workers will be reprimanded for putting others at risk.

For those who do stay home, 1 in 4 hiring decision-makers (26%) think after the COVID-19 pandemic, employees will be more likely to lie about feeling sick thinking they will not be questioned for staying home.

"The American economy depends on a healthy workforce, and everyone has to do their part to prevent virus exposure," Express CEO Bill Stollers said. "The 'new normal' may require some businesses to be more flexible when employees are under the weather to not only protect their workers, but also company operations."

Survey Methodology
The survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals between April 21 and May 6, 2020, among 1,005 U.S. hiring decision-makers (defined as adults ages 18+ in the U.S. who are employed full-time or self-employed or have been laid off, furloughed, or given a zero hour schedule in the past 60 days but worked full-time or were self-employed full-time prior, work at companies with more than 1 employee, and have full/significant involvement in hiring decisions at their company). Data were weighted where necessary by company size to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.

About Express Employment Professionals
Express Employment Professionals is in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Providing localized staffing solutions to our community, Express employed 552,000 people across North America in 2019.

The Eugene Express office is located at 945 Garfield St. Eugene, OR 97402 and serves the list all areas your office services. Local businesses and applicants are encouraged to stop by, visit www.expresspros.com/EugeneOR/ or call (541) 686-0001 .