Getting seriously hurt right before work is never great, especially when you’re sent skyrocketing off the road because of black ice. Shoved into a ditch, glasses thrown onto the ground, disoriented and about to be late for work, I forced my body back into gear, forced my beaten car into the street, and raced my way to the pharmacy to work. Begrudgingly, I worked an eight-hour shift before I could limp my way to the hospital.

Now think how awful that is — I was in a serious car accident and still had to go work in a pharmacy to prescribe people drugs. With no insurance or a paycheck to pay for the bills for that accident, I would be in a very bad situation if i had not forced myself to work.

As awful as this story sounds, affairs like these happen every day to people without sick days just like me; almost half of Maine’s population doesn’t get some sort of sick leave. I was working with medication, but there are factory and restaurant workers getting hit by the same crisis of either being injured or sick and still being forced into work just to make ends meat.

Taking care of your workers is a huge part of owning a business, especially establishments of the caliber of CVS or even Walmart. They are billion-dollar businesses that can afford to have their employees take a day off in case of injury or illness. Not only does this slow down the spread of disease but it also allows for employees to want to stay longer at that business.

I will tell you that I wanted nothing more than to find a new job after this work day from hell.

Scott Knox

Harpswell