Who is Using Sick Days? “Of the thousands of employees who worked for Star Staffing at our client sites last year, employees under the age of 50 used 32% more sick pay than those over 50,” says Lisa Lichty, CEO of Star Staffing. She adds that the difference between the 50-to-60 age bracket of employees and those 60 and older was very minimal.
According to Gusto (formerly ZenPayroll), a company that provides payroll and employee benefits services to more than 300,000 businesses nationwide, 30% of all employees working in the professional services industries with an active PTO (paid time off) policy took sick leave in 2023, up 42% from 2019. While all age groups have seen a rise in the share of professional services workers taking sick leave, workers 25 to 34 years old have seen the largest increase. The bigger shift Lichty has seen is the general attitude toward sick pay pre- and post-COVID. “In general, COVID changed the perception of sick pay and PTO, and the biggest increase in use has come from the younger workforce.”
“However, it’s hard to tell if this is a shift in attitudes of generations over the age of 50 or 60 or other factors,” she explains. “For instance, generations under the age of 50 often have children at home, and employees’ sick pay in that age bracket is often used to take care of a child, as opposed to an employee being sick themselves.”
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Kitchen & Bath Showroom
Local family, three generations since 1952
napakitchenbath.com • 707.226.6063 477 Walnut St., Napa
February 2024
NorthBaybiz 35
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