Case Study: Sick Leave

Sick Leave Sick leave or paid sick days is time off from work where workers can use to stay home to deal with an illness however, some employers allow employees to use it to care for their dependents. Sick leave may be practiced in different countries in several ways, therefore it is important for an employee to understand local/state/country laws or requirements of an employer. According to Jon Andrews, HR consulting partner at PwC states that “The combination of more flexible labor laws and a cap on the number of paid sick days in the U.S. and Asia goes some way to explain their lower levels of absence. In workers in the U.S. and Asia, there is a sense that there is more at stake if they take unscheduled time off”. (2013, Barnato) Over the

Kelly assumed that sick time would be used for her time out. She became aware of the situation when the accountant approached Kelly to sign documents stating that the company would use her personal time instead of sick time. After Kelly refused to sign the documentation and wanted to speak with Mr. Higashi regarding the issue. When approached, Mr. Higashi’s explanation was, “typical Japanese employees did not make use of their vacation time due to their great loyalty to the company. If an employee became sick, he often used his paid vacation first out of respect for their employers”. (case 8, sick leave) This explanation was not acceptable to Kelly or the other JETS in the office, therefore they wanted to get their CLAIR representatives involved. In this situation it can be difficult to find a balanced compromise, especially in this case as the conflict has taken place in a foreign country, that is why it is important to familiarize yourself with local/state/country laws and

The writer has discussed a scenario where a recent graduate got a position over seas working for a Japanese, board of education. The issue is how the employee working over-seas should handle cultural situations when they are used to handling a way in their home country. “From an HR perspective, helping people be effective leaders in a globalizing economy is both complex and important. The majority of managers working across cultures have little understanding of how culture affects their works”. (2015, SHRM) Therefore, it is crucial in understanding the differences of work cultures and what their expectations of work hours/or work performance and communication are. This will provide the success of the relationship between both