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Flu season has arrived, which means most of us have to ward off bringing home the bug from work or school. But you should also be worried about where you eat. According to a recent survey by the Center for Research and Public Policy (CRPP), more than half of food-industry workers go to their jobs while sick. Gross.
For the Mind of the Food Worker survey—which was commissioned by Alchemy Systems—CRPP polled more than 1,200 food workers at every stage of food supply, including farms, processing plants, cafeterias, restaurants (both chefs/cooks and servers), and grocery stores across the United States and Canada. The results reveal that 51 percent of employees admitted to always or frequently working while ill, citing concerns over lost wages and/or worrying about losing support from their coworkers for not showing up to a shift. The most harrowing statistic, though, comes from these workers' managers, who believe that just 18 percent of their employees have come into work while sick.
It's important to keep in mind that more than 20 million people in the U.S. and Canada work at the frontline for food, growing, processing, distributing, cooking, and serving food that's eaten by more than 355 million consumers every single day. If this microcosm of 1,200 employees is any indicator for the rest of the industry, that means well over10 million people are showing up to culinary jobs while sick—which could mean some really nasty things for those hundreds of millions of consumers.
"Managers and supervisors need to better communicate why it's okay to stay home when sick," Alchemy CEO Jeff Eastman said.
However, the results also show that 87 percent of said frontline workers would serve the food they provide and prepare at work to their families and children. Additionally, 93 percent of workers who participated in the poll felt confident to stop work if they see a safety or product problem.
"The vast majority of frontline food workers and their employers are committed to providing safe foods for their customers," Eastman added. "The survey shows that over 90 percent of food workers feel responsible for the safety and well-being of their customers. But when it comes to safety, that number needs to be 100 percent."
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