Earlier this week, President Obama delivered the annual State of the Union address. He talked about a variety of topics, but one that caught a lot of attention was his call for all workplaces to allow employees to earn paid sick leave. Currently, there is no law requiring businesses to offer paid sick leave, and many part-time and service industry workers don’t have the option. So how many might this plan impact? And how many support the idea?
Sick Leave
In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 46% of workers said they currently receive paid sick leave at their job. And 54% do not. 57% of full-time workers receive paid sick leave, while just 22% of part time workers do. Respondents with an annual salary under $50,000 and those who work in retail and hospitality industries were also less likely to receive paid sick leave.
Overall, 39% of workers said they are satisfied with the amount of sick leave they receive. 33% are unsatisfied. And 28% are neutral. Of those who can at least accrue some sick days, 62% said they’re satisfied with the amount. But of those who do not qualify for sick days at all, 42% wish they could.
Changing Policies
In general, 90% of respondents believe that all full-time workers should be able to earn paid sick leave. 70% believe that all part-time workers should be able to earn paid sick leave. And 67% believe that the government should require all businesses to offer paid sick leave to their employees.
Business Benefits
It’s clear that many workers appreciate the value of sick days. But there are also plenty of potential benefits for businesses. In fact, 73% of respondents think that having paid sick days could improve productivity in the workplace. 68% think it could reduce overall health care costs for businesses. And 84% think that paid sick days can improve employee morale.
You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.
Photo Credit: Amy Stear at the Milwaukee Paid Sick Days signature hand-over – 2008 from Flickr
What do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.
Results were collected on January 21 via AYTM’s online survey panel.
