I'm typically very healthy and rarely catch whatever bug is going around. But last month a series of early morning meetings and late nights (aka lack of sleep) resulted in a minor cold that lasted about three days. But two weeks later it came back with a vengence. I've now had this latest cold more than two weeks and it's still hanging on just enough to be irritating.

There were a few days when my brain was working at about half speed, I was really tired from not being able to sleep through the night, and I was sucking down cough drops in such quantity that they were making me slightly nauseous. My question for you is … at what point do you want someone in that condition to stay home from work or come in?

Sick time is a tough issue. You may provide paid sick time and find it's abused by use of the ever-popular "mental health" day. You may offer a bonus for perfect attendance but find you have employees who come to work and contaminate others just to say they never missed a day of work. PTO plans have similar issues because vacation and sick time is blended together and employees want to save all the days available for when they feel good and want a day off.

Regardless of which plan you use to account for sick days, it's not perfect. You're usually relying on your employee's honesty and ability to handle the symptoms of their illness.

Do I have a magic pill for you? No. Sorry, the best I can tell you is to monitor sick days and days when you wish someone would stay home because they are contaminating the other employees. Watch for patterns (like significantly more Fridays and Mondays). Also consider the type of jobs your employees have because some of them probably shouldn't be working (operating equipment, driving, etc.) if they are taking various drugs to alleviate symptoms. Then develop a policy or explanation of how you want employees to deal with illnesses.

Wellness programs are becoming more popular. Talk with your health insurance carrier to find out if they offer any ideas or programs intended to keep employees healthy. In the same way that a cold runs through an entire family, I've seen a cold or the flu run through an entire company. It's hard to be productive and profitable when half your employees are out with the flu. It's more cost-effective to work to prevent illnesses rather than dealing with the aftermath.