A new study from the Department of Obvious Conclusions.
Showing that, shockingly, sick employees feel pressured to go to work, even if they've so sick that they can't get anything done at work. More than half of the people surveyed in this study say they're worried about their work not getting done, but old fashioned guilt (over being sick. It's a funny world when you feel guilty about being sick) and worrying about not being paid or, worse (?) yet, being fired for being ill.
I can certainly see why an employer would want to have a sick employee in the office. Not only don't they get any work done (thus blowing deadlines), but they run the risk of infecting everyone else, thus ensuring that nobody else gets any work done (and, needless to say, you can kiss their deadlines goodbye as well.) But the important thing is that when the überboss looks in, all the employees will be lined up at their desks, looking sick but busy (or sick but unconscious, but that means they'll be at their desk where you can see them) and thus it will look busy, which is more important than actually being busy.
It's the same mentality that says it's okay if the US loses the war against Iraq, just as long as nobody actually mentions that the US is losing. Abstract things like the bottom line, why, it's not nearly as important as the daily routine of manager-fluffing, because it requires a long attention span and long attention spans aren't what makes the American Economy™ tick.