r/science • u/eastbayted • 2d ago

Health Sick food service workers remain top driver of viral foodborne outbreaks in US

https://www.healio.com/news/gastroenterology/20250331/sick-food-service-workers-remain-top-driver-of-viral-foodborne-outbreaks-in-us
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u/justsomeguy325 1d ago

hands customer the terminal that asks if they'd like to tip 30, 40 or 50% with extra snot covering the little 'no tip' field in the corner

Seriously though the mentality of working while sick is scientifically proven to be counterproductive. There's been a number of studies on illness presenteeism in recent years and it's a rather complex issue. Most of us think of the angry boss putting pressure on their employees but a lot of it is fully internal. 

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u/Goth_2_Boss 1d ago

Who cares about productivity? It’s financial

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u/some_possums 1d ago

Eh in food service it’s often external too though. When I worked at a pizza place I called in that I couldn’t work because I was throwing up and couldn’t leave the bathroom, they said I’d get written up unless I found someone to cover for me.

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u/BurlyJohnBrown 1d ago

It's almost entirely external. You get written up and/or can't afford the loss in income because we don't have paid sick leave and food service doesn't pay worth a damn.

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u/Property_6810 5h ago

The thing is, you're talking like we're all working in a factory trying to put out as many widgets as we can. In the service/retail/hospitality industries it's often about having a body in place. They need a person to take orders. It doesn't matter if they're less productive today as long as there's somebody to fill the role. Hence why the positions are so replaceable. The minimum acceptable standard for the position requires such little production that the company is fine with having a new hire in there tomorrow. So being sick doesn't make them want you there any less.