WARREN, NJ – GSK Consumer Healthcare’s Theraflu brand announced the launch of the Rest & Recover Fund to provide relief for those facing access barriers to sick time and raise awareness of the cultural stigma associated with taking a sick day. To understand societal pressures on this matter, Theraflu has issued the 2021 Temperature Check Report through OnePoll, a survey of 2,000 working Americans, which revealed attitudes, perceptions and racial disparities surrounding sick time. Nearly 70% of respondents admit they have gone to work while sick, often because of finances or various other hurdles.

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“The findings from Theraflu’s Temperature Check Report are staggering,” said Sameer Rabbani, marketing lead, Respiratory Health at GSK Consumer Healthcare. “Not only are there unrelenting stigmas in taking sick time – but this research has further contextualized how many Americans are in situations where it’s financially or logistically impossible to take a single day off. As a culture, we’re often focused on powering through when we’re sick, but as a cold and flu brand, we want to play a role in the solution to this problem, because rest and recovery should be a right – not a privilege.”

To activate the Rest & Recover Fund, Theraflu has partnered with Good+Foundation, a leading national nonprofit, to work with their network of grantee partners to distribute microgrants to help cover lost wages from 1,000 unpaid sick days. The fund will support parents, particularly Black and Latina moms, facing the financial and logistical challenges of taking a day to rest and recover from an unexpected mild illness.

In addition to the financial strain Americans are facing, Theraflu’s Temperature Check Report uncovered several racial disparities when it comes to taking sick time. Reportedly, Black and Latina women¹ are 10% more likely than white women to avoid calling out sick for fear of being reprimanded by their employer. To further illustrate sick time inequities, Theraflu created a short film featuring an Emmy Award-winning poet and activist, who wrote and performed a poem, titled Some Heroes – an ode to hardworking Americans everywhere who struggle with access to rest.

For many, a day’s wages, approximately $150, can equate to a week’s worth of groceries, childcare, or a significant portion of their rent. Theraflu’s Temperature Check Report also found:

• 58% of employed Americans avoid calling out sick for fear of being reprimanded by their employer – and when they do call out, 2 in 3 feel their boss doesn’t believe their reasoning.
• Employed Black women are 10% more likely than employed white women to have used sick days to care for someone else.
• Employed Americans with dependents are 9% more likely than those without dependents to say they’ll work while sick because they can’t afford to take a sick day.
• Nearly 70% of employed Americans who can work from home feel obligated to clock in remotely while sick due to the expectation the pandemic has created (i.e., feeling that taking a sick day is only warranted if you have COVID-19).

“The Rest & Recover Fund we’ve created with Theraflu has the potential to change lives across communities by providing parents and caregivers the ability to take time off when they get sick,” said Katherine Snider, Chief Executive Officer of Good+Foundation. “As an organization that has spent the last 20 years addressing the causes of generational poverty, we have seen how inequities around access to paid leave can have dire impacts on low and minimum wage workers, especially Black and Latina mothers. We’re dedicated to creating a social safety net with cash assistance to help these moms and their families when they need it the most.”

For nearly 40 years, Theraflu has been a leading brand of over-the-counter medicines that provide fast and powerful relief from your worst cold and flu symptoms. To learn more about how Theraflu and Good+Foundation are supporting American families this cold and flu season, visit Theraflu.com/RightToRecover, and follow Theraflu on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.