研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，引入病假工資后，傳染性疾病的傳播大幅下降

研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，引入病假工資后，傳染性疾病的傳播大幅下降

It may seem obvious, but we now have statistical evidence to prove that giving employees the right to paid sick leave helps to curb the spread of infectious diseases by encouraging people to stay home when they are ill. According to a study in the Journal of Public Economics, US cities that introduce sick pay mandates can expect to see a 6 to 7 percent reduction in flu cases, which equates to around 3,000 fewer illnesses per million people per year.

這似乎是顯而易見的，但我們現(xiàn)在有統(tǒng)計證據(jù)證明，給予員工帶薪病假的權利有助于遏制傳染病的傳播，因為它鼓勵人們生病時呆在家里。根據(jù)《公共經(jīng)濟學雜志》的一項研究，實行病假工資制度的美國城市有望將流感病例減少6%至7%，相當于每百萬人每年減少約3000例疾病。

According to the study authors, the fact that roughly half of the US workforce has no access to paid sick leave encourages “contagious presenteeism”, whereby employees continue to work when they are ill as they simply can’t afford to take time off.

研究報告的作者表示，美國約有一半的勞動力無法獲得帶薪病假，這一事實鼓勵了“傳染性出勤主義”，即員工在生病時繼續(xù)工作，因為他們根本負擔不起請假的費用。

Ben Taub

This applies to more than 70 percent of workers whose wages are in the lowest 10 percent, as well as one-third of service sector workers. Since many of these employees are likely to have regular contact with the general public, continuing to work while sick is likely to contribute to the spread of contagious illnesses.

這適用于70%以上工資最低的10%的工人，以及三分之一的服務業(yè)工人。由于這些雇員中有許多人可能會定期與公眾接觸，所以在生病期間繼續(xù)工作很可能會導致傳染性疾病的傳播。

Between 2007 and 2015, eight US cities mandated paid sick leave. San Francisco was the first to do so, followed by Washington DC, Seattle, Portland, New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, and Oakland.

從2007年到2015年，美國有8個城市規(guī)定了帶薪病假。舊金山是第一個這樣做的城市，其次是華盛頓特區(qū)、西雅圖、波特蘭、紐約市、紐瓦克、費城和奧克蘭。

By analyzing the number of Google searches regarding flu in these cities, the study authors were able to estimate the number actual flu cases per year in each location. After crunching the numbers, they found that flu rates dropped by 6 to 7 percent in each city immediately after paid sick leave was introduced. This figure represents an average effect, and takes into account both summer and winter, when flu rates differ drastically. Yet a more detailed look at the stats indicates that the actual decrease in cases during the flu season can be as high as 40 percent.

通過分析這些城市中關于流感的谷歌搜索的數(shù)量，研究作者能夠估計每個地方每年實際流感病例的數(shù)量。在分析了這些數(shù)據(jù)后，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，在帶薪病假引入后，每個城市的流感發(fā)病率立即下降了6 - 7%。這個數(shù)字代表了一個平均效應，并考慮了夏季和冬季，當流感發(fā)病率急劇不同。然而，更詳細的統(tǒng)計數(shù)據(jù)顯示，在流感季節(jié)，實際病例減少可能高達40%。

In a second unpublished paper, the same authors used administrative sources to determine the number of doctor-diagnosed flu cases in each US state between 2010 and 2018. During this period, numerous states introduced sick-pay mandates, beginning with Connecticut in 2011. Among the others to do so were California, Massachusetts, Oregon, Arizona, Vermont, and Washington.

在第二篇未發(fā)表的論文中，作者利用行政資源確定了2010年至2018年美國各州醫(yī)生診斷的流感病例數(shù)量。在此期間，從2011年康涅狄格州開始，許多州引入了病假工資規(guī)定。加州、馬薩諸塞州、俄勒岡州、亞利桑那州、佛蒙特州和華盛頓州等地也采取了類似措施。

Each of these states saw an 11 percent decrease in flu rates in the first year after introducing paid sick leave, compared to states that did not offer this benefit to employees.

與沒有為員工提供帶薪病假的州相比，這些州在引入帶薪病假后的第一年流感發(fā)病率都下降了11%。

Given that the world is currently on tenterhooks over the increasing scale of the Coronavirus outbreak, many academics and other commentators are pointing out that offering paid sick leave to all workers can only help in the fight to stave off a major pandemic. With the US now one of the only developed nations not to provide this basic right, the coming weeks and months could well highlight the need for a re-think on this policy.

鑒于目前全球對冠狀病毒爆發(fā)規(guī)模的不斷擴大感到緊張不安，許多學者和其他評論人士指出，向所有員工提供帶薪病假，只能有助于避免一場大流行。由于美國現(xiàn)在是發(fā)達國家中唯一沒有提供這一基本權利的國家之一，未來幾周和幾個月很可能會突顯出重新考慮這一政策的必要性。