Many employees go to work with Covid symptoms

Many employees in the Netherlands do not comply with the government's policy to stay at home if they have symptoms that could indicate a coronavirus infection. This has to do with work culture and employees feeling obliged to keep working, according to a survey by EenVandaag.

Around 30 percent of employees said that they would not get tested for the coronavirus and would "just" go to work if they got symptoms.

Only 43 percent said that their employers oblige them to work from home if they have mild symptoms. Many employees feel that going to work with symptoms is their only option. "My employer does not allow staying home with minor symptoms. There are also enough colleagues around here who do not care about the guidelines," one respondent said. Many employers leave the decision on whether or not to stay home up to the employee. 45 percent of employees said they feel reluctant to stay home.

Another factor in working with symptoms, is the culture at the office. "I often have a cold. Colleagues would find it strange if I was not allowed to work now," one respondent said to EenVandaag.

Employers often don't check whether their employees are coming in with symptoms. Only 33 percent of the 500 employers surveyed by EenVandaag actively check for symptoms at work. 64 percent don't check at all. 71 percent said their company would collapse if employees had to stay home with minor symptoms. "Everyone has minor symptoms in the winter, if all my forces stay at home, that is a disaster," one said.