With fears of lost wages and disappointing fellow employees hanging over their heads, a new survey by the Center for Research and Public Policy revealed more than half of workers in the food industry report going to work sick.
Commissioned by Alchemy Systems, the study polled more than 1,200 workers involved in all stages of the food supply chain. According to the survey, 51 percent of employees reported they always or frequently go to work when sick. More than 45 percent said they go to work sick because they can’t afford to lose pay. More than 46 percent said they didn’t want to let their co-workers down by not showing up for a shift. When managers were asked how many employees they thought came to work sick, the majority answered just 18 percent, according to the survey.