Profiling the U.S. Sick Leave Landscape: Presenteeism among Females

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To profile the sick leave landscape in the United States. DATA SOURCES: The 2011 Leave Supplement of the American Time Use Survey. STUDY DESIGN: Bivariate and multivariate analyses to identify (i) employees without sick pay coverage and (ii) employees who attend work sick. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Sixty-five percent of full-time employees have sick pay coverage. Coverage rates are below 20 percent for employees with hourly wages below $10, part-time employees, and employees in the hospitality and leisure industry. CONCLUSION: Each week, up to 3 million U.S. employees go to work sick. Females, low-income earners, and those aged 25 to 34 years have a significantly elevated risk of presenteeism behavior.