Responses to 'presenteeism,' brushing with Shrek

From co-workers who make you sick to toothpaste that doesn't, recent responses to my columns have run the gamut. So let's dip into the mailbag.

Several readers commented on "presenteeism," which I brought up in my Aug. 22 column. To refresh your memory, the word presenteeism is used to describe the loss of productivity from employees who go to work while suffering from medical problems. A recent Cornell University study found that such productivity losses could exceed the costs of absenteeism in the workplace.

Reader Dan's response to that column was particularly striking.

"I used to work in 'cubicle-land,' and when someone came to work sick it (seemingly) was only a matter of time before everyone caught it," Dan wrote in an e-mail. "Also my immediate supervisor set the tone by coming in no matter how sick she was. It used to drive me crazy. Then I got a kidney transplant, and it became a serious matter for me to get sick."

A transplant patient's immune system is weakened to help avoid rejection of the transplanted organ, Dan wrote. Fortunately, he was placed in an office that was "fairly isolated from the masses," and he has not been sick since the transplant.

But he still feels strongly about this topic.

"It is a bad thing that our business culture expects and requires in some cases people to come in sick," he wrote. "In my case the company I worked for gave two weeks of sick time per year, and almost nobody used all two weeks. Then the company felt that several people were taking advantage of sick time and reduced that benefit from two weeks to two days a year, sending the clear message 'come in sick.'

"In today's culture of lean staffing, being sick is also (a) real hassle. It often requires overtime to catch up for unexpected sick time off. I only hope that all the local employers read the article on 'presenteeism' so that they will realize the impact that coming in sick can have on their business."

As a reformed come-in-sick type, I'm with you, Dan. It's hard for other employees when someone in a company stays home due to illness, but it beats catching whatever they have and spreading it to your family and friends.

So listen up, you sickies: Stay home!

And while you're there, why don't you try some delicious "Shrek 2" toothpaste?

Sorry for the commercial, but one of the other interesting e-mails I received was in response to my July 18 column complaining about products tied to summer movies.