Free Paper with Annotated Bibliography on Paid Sick Leave

Injuries. American Journal of Public Health, 102(9).

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The article seeks to find out the relation of paid sick leave to workplace related injuries in the United States. Research was conducted within different occupations and in different industries to find out the association of paid sick leave and nonfatal occupational injuries. The research was geared towards finding out the benefits of paid sick leave. Using data from the National Health Interview Survey, the researchers tested the hypothesis that paid sick leave leads to reduced cases of occupational injuries. Approximately 38,000 working adults were used in the study. Results from the study found out that employees with paid sick leave were 28% less likely to be injured than workers without access to paid sick leave. The risk of injuries in the workplace varied depending on the occupations with the greatest difference in high-risk occupations. The article concludes by recommending paid sick leave as an investment for the safety and health of the employees.

Kim, D. (2017). Paid Sick Leave and Risks of All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality among Adult Workers in the USA. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(10).

The article looks at the relationship of paid sick leave to mortality. It begins by stating that the USA is unlike other industrialized countries in the aspect that paid sick leave is not guaranteed. The health risks associated with lack of paid sick leave include mental distress and poor physical health. Mortality can be affected as a result thus the direct relation of unpaid sick leave to mortality. Using working adults aged 18-85 from the 2000-2002 National Health Interview Survey, paid sick leave was investigated as a predictor of mortality. The impact of paid sick leave on mortality was estimated using the Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. Results from the study show that paid sick leave is directly related to reduced cases of hazards of all-cause mortality. Results also showed that paid sick leave reduced unintentional occupational injuries and hazards of deaths from heart diseases. The article proposes paid sick leave to reduce workplace related injuries and mortality.

LeaAnne, D. (2018). More paid sick leave linked to increased use of preventive health care: study. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 60(6), 481-489.

LeaAnne's focus is on the benefits of paid sick leave. Not only does it profit the health of the individual, the productivity in the workplace, but also public health. Diseases can spread when a worker chooses not to go for medical attention due to work related constraints. An employee without paid sick leave might miss a flu shot or fail to access preventive health care services. The United States does not have policies on paid sick leave that are consistent as other industrialized countries. The circumstance on a large scale can lead to several workers attending work while sick. The author points out that contagious diseases such as influenza can spread and go untreated. The article proposes paid sick leave for the benefit of public health. In addition, employees with paid sick leave have good mental health and consequently the better productivity. The sense of job protection is beneficial to both the worker and the organization. In conclusion, the authors concede that other measures can be applied in situations where paid sick leave cannot be implemented. Doctors' offices can be opened in extended evening hours and also over the weekends.

Stoddard-Dare, P., DeRigne, L., Collins, C. C., Quinn, L. M., & Fuller, K. (2018). Paid sick leave and psychological distress: An analysis of U.S. workers. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 88(1), 1-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ort0000293.

The article proposes sick leave listing the possible benefits. According to the authors, workers with no paid sick leave are vulnerable to psychological distress. It is because of the worry that that they will not get paid or that they might lose their job. The distress would lead to psychological and physical illness that ultimately lead to reduced productivity. Research conducted by Dr. Patricia Stoddard-Dare investigated psychological distress among employees with and without paid sick leave. Results showed that employees without paid sick leave showed symptoms of stress that interfered with their daily lives. On the other hand, workers with paid sick leave are more productive than their counterparts. Long term exposure to distress from the lack of paid sick leave should be a concern to many organizations that want to optimize their employees' productivity. The article adds information to similar articles citing the importance of paid sick leave. The authors recommend the use of psychologists to help with stress relief in conditions where paid sick leave is not an option.

Paid Sick Leave

Paid Sick leave is when an employee is given time off from work to address his or her health issues without losing pay. Many nations have paid sick leave as a statutory requirement. However, the United States does not guarantee paid sick leave to all of its employees (Asfae et al, 2012). There are organizations that do not offer paid sick leave for the reason that one cannot receive pay for work not done. It has been an ongoing debate, where some organizations fail to understand the benefits of paid sick leave. One benefit is that it helps alleviate stress since there is job security even when ill (Stoddard-Dare et al, 2018). Reduced stress levels improve productivity in the workplace. Another benefit is that restricts the spread of diseases by workers that would attend work when ill for the fear that they will lose their job (LeaAnne, 2018). In addition, paid sick leave reduces work related injuries and mortalities (Kim, 2017). It is imperative for organizations to understand the benefits of paid sick leave as opposed to the reasons posited for not paying sick leave.

Paid sick leave is not afforded in some organizations in the United States as a deterrent for skipping work. Indeed, some employees avoid reporting to work with the false pretense that they or a family member is ill. Therefore, not paying sick leave is used as a policy to discourage employees from missing work (Asfaw et al, 2012). Nevertheless, people do get sick, and they do not have to be anxious about it since they will lose pay. A sick employee could affect the colleagues, lack morale, and be unproductive. It does not benefit anyone to have a sick employee in the workplace.

It is compulsory for organizations to understand that they should include paid sick leave in their policy. It reduces employee stress levels, increases morale, increases productivity, reduces workplace injuries, and limits the spread of infectious diseases. There can be a cap on time on off days in order to affect proper payroll services, but not exclude paid sick leave from the organization.

References

Asfaw, A., Pana-Cryan, R., & Rosa, R. (2012). Paid Sick Leave and Nonfatal Occupational Injuries. American Journal of Public Health, 102(9).

Kim, D. (2017). Paid Sick Leave and Risks of All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality among Adult Workers in the USA. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(10).

LeaAnne, D. (2018). More paid sick leave linked to increased use of preventive health care: study. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 60(6), 481-489.

Stoddard-Dare, P., DeRigne, L., Collins, C. C., Quinn, L. M., & Fuller, K. (2018). Paid sick leave and psychological distress: An analysis of U.S. workers. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 88(1), 1-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ort0000293.