Never mind the credit crunch, if you're feeling sick then don't come to work, with employees in the banking sector particularly reluctant to stay at home, British bosses say.

Almost three-quarters of employers said staff should stay at home if they feel ill rather than drag themselves to their desks, according to a survey of 1,000 bosses on Tuesday.

"In the current economic environment, employees may feel the need more than ever to go beyond the call of duty and work through an infectious illness," said Chris Hannant, policy director for the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC).

"But this is not the way to make a positive impression."

The BCC survey, carried out with medicine maker Benylin, found that 73 percent of bosses think employees should stay at home and recover when they fall sick, with more than four out of five believing that poorly staff are less productive.

They were also concerned about the "domino effect" where a sick employee comes to work and spreads their germs to other staff.

However a separate poll of British workers found many are worried or feel guilty about taking a day off sick, with 57 percent saying they would have to be severely ill before deciding to stay at home.

Those working in the banking sector on average took the fewest number of days off sick in the last year, followed by staff in the hotel and restaurant industry.

"Given the gap between employer and employee views, the findings suggest that there needs to be a bit more common sense about taking sick leave when you're ill and maybe employers need to spell this out more clearly," Hannant said.

在英國公司的老板們看來，員工如果身體不適，就應該在家休息，不用管什么信貸緊縮。而銀行業的職員們卻不太敢這么做。

本周二公布的一項針對1000名老板的調查顯示，近四分之三的老板認為，員工生病了就應該在家休息，不必硬撐著去上班。

英國商會政策部主管克里斯•漢南特說：“在當前經濟形勢下，員工可能覺得自己要比以往更加賣力地工作，所以才會帶病上班。”

“但其實這樣做并不會為自己加分。”

該項由英國商會與Benylin制藥公司聯合開展的調查顯示，73%的老板認為員工生病了應該在家養病直至康復，超過五分之四的老板認為員工在感到身體不適時工作效率會降低。

此外，老板還擔心“多米諾骨牌效應”，員工帶病上班會把病菌傳染給其他人。

不過另一項針對英國雇員的調查顯示，很多人休一天病假就會感到擔心或者有負罪感，57%的人稱自己只有在病得很重的情況下才會請病假。

去年，英國銀行業職員的平均休病假天數最少，其次是酒店和餐飲業。

漢南特說：“鑒于老板和雇員的觀點存在差別，調查表明，對于員工生病是否要休病假的問題需要多一點共識，或許老板應該將其立場更明確地傳達給員工。”