Swine flu pandemic and law departments

Look, give me a break! I am trying hard to be topical.

A survey conducted by OfficeTeam asked 522 office workers how frequently they go into work when they are feeling sick. “Very frequently” was the response of 45 percent of those surveyed and “Somewhat frequently” by 30 percent.

Hold on. 150 managers, asked how often they think employees come to work when they feel sick said “Very frequently” only 17 percent of the time; “Somewhat frequently” 57 percent.

If this data holds for law departments, staff struggle in frequently when ailing, but the general counsel doesn’t think that happens much at all. This comes from The Lawyers Competitive Edge, Vol. 11, April 2009 at 8. It’s hard to tell whether medicine or psychology is more at work.

As a survey methodology gourmand, I note that the sample of employees “is post-stratified and balanced by key demographics such as age, sex, race, religion and education.”