Americans don’t like to take sick days – and when they’re sick, they don’t take steps to prevent co-workers from getting sick, too. Those conclusions come from a new study commissioned by Cintas Corporation, which found that 84% of U.S. adults who are employed have gone to work while sick. Of those, 45 percent don’t warn co-workers about their illness, and 45 percent don’t avoid direct contact – such as shaking hands – which could transmit an illness to others.

Does it make economic sense for employers to offer or expand paid sick leave benefits to their employees? A new NIOSH study published in the American Journal of Public Health reported that workers with access to paid sick leave were 28% less likely overall to suffer nonfatal occupational injuries than workers without access to paid sick leave.

It’s easy to avoid spreading germs throughout your workplace – yet many people inadvertently do it, nonetheless, due to a variety of reasons.

”Often, the indirect costs of illness and injury that burden businesses are several times higher than direct medical costs,” said Nancy Petersen, senior marketing manager, Cintas.