Sick leave exposes the tension between finance and solidarity. But supporting your colleagues in tough times pays off more than you think.

If you’re an employee and you don’t feel well, you can call in to report sick. The same applies if adversity strikes and you have an accident to recover from.

At least that’s the case in Switzerland, my home country. You still get paid when you’re sick or injured.

If your absence is less than a month, your company will cover the costs. If it is more than a month, the social security insurance will take over.

Sounds easy? Well, it isn’t. Let’s look at some real-life examples from Yonder, the company I co-founded.

Some Examples

A Mother Who Died

A few months ago, the mother of one of our team members died. The death came as a surprise, leaving the surviving father alone in a large house far away.

Taking care of the surviving father took quite some time for our team member, and this duty came on top of the sadness about the loss.

Of course, our colleague departed for his father’s house immediately, taking the necessary time to mourn and to sort things out. Of course, the employment continued, and the salary was paid despite the absence. But what happened to the unfinished work? All non-urgent tasks were delayed, and the team colleagues took over the urgent tasks in addition to their own tasks.

Shoulder Surgery

Recently, another team member was informed by his doctor that he needs urgent shoulder surgery to fix some long-term damage. In contrast to the death example above, he had a few days’ notice to sort things out.

Once the surgery was over, our colleague had to keep his arm completely still for six weeks.

In this case, too, employment continued, and his salary was paid despite his absence. The first month was covered by our company. After this period, the social security insurance took over.

What about the work that was left behind? Same principle as for the death example: Non-urgent tasks were delayed, and the team colleagues took over the urgent tasks on top of their own work.

Serious Brain Disease

A few years back, a good friend and now one of our colleagues suffered serious brain disease and was on sick leave for several months. That was before he was employed at our company.

When he got better, he needed a place for reintegration. His old company wasn’t supportive. So he called me and asked if we would have an opportunity. We did. We were a young company at the time and could use whatever help we could get.

At first, he could only work a couple of hours per day. Gradually, his health improved, and his workload increased. Up to the point when he fully recovered from his sickness, and we could employ him as a full-time member of our team. Five years later, he is still with us and serving in an executive role.

In this example, it wasn’t us paying the salary for the colleague in recovery. The social security insurance covered the salary during his reintegration.

Consequences for Companies

Colleagues in illness and recovery are a burden for teams, especially in a small company: Work needs to be redistributed to team members on top of their own burden, often at the worst possible times.

Illness and recovery are a burden for a company’s finances, too: Even if you live in a country where social security insurance covers at least some of the costs, the first few weeks are always at the company’s expense. But from the examples above, it’s a give and take: From our own experience, our company didn’t just bear the costs for sick and recovering colleagues, we could also take advantage of the work of a colleague in recovery at no cost.

But there are more important things than finances. In Switzerland, we have an unofficial motto: One for all, all for one. That’s true for all the health hardships you encounter in a company – it’s better to bear some additional work and cost than to leave your colleagues in the rain in difficult times. You never know when it will be your turn.