Paid Time Off: Should You Offer “Sick Days”?
As an employer, attracting the best and brightest talent can be challenging – regardless of what industry you’re in. In many areas of the country and many industries, there are actually shortages of skilled professionals. The best of the best have boatloads of options, and they know it!
One way you can reel in those sought after employees is by offering a generous compensation package that includes a competitive salary, bonuses and/or commissions, 401Ks, and outstanding health insurance coverage. The thing is, your competitors will probably be offering those things too. One subtle way you can stand out from the crowd is to banish sick days. Skeptical? Let us explain!
Many businesses offer X number of paid sick days and X number of paid vacation days and perhaps a couple of personal days. If you think about it, there’s really no good argument in favor of categorizing how employees use their paid time off. Everyone is probably guilty of lying about being sick so they can take a day off simply because they want to – especially when companies do not compensate employees for, or roll over, unused sick days.
Why micromanage paid time off? A better approach is to lump it all together and let each employee know, “You get X number of paid days off per year … use them at your discretion, because once they’re gone, they’re gone!” Candidates and existing employees will appreciate the flexibility of using their paid time off how they see best, and that will increase worker satisfaction and, probably, retention.
