The survey of 317 human resource executives for CCH, a provider of human resources and employment law information and services, found 54 percent of the companies send sick employees home to reduce "presenteeism" -- going to work when sick.

"Employers need to discourage both the 'hero employee' -- and even more so, the 'hero boss' -- who show up for work sick, ready to muddle their way through the day," Brett Gorovsky, CCH employment law analyst.

When sick employees show up for work, there is a significant and costly impact on an organization, not only in terms of spreading germs, but in diminished productivity, quality and attention to safety, Gorovsky said.

The survey found that the most common reason that employees come to work sick was because they have too much work/deadlines, 56 percent say there is no one available to cover workload; 55 percent don't want to use vacation time; 49 percent want to save sick time for later and 49 percent report fear of discipline as the reason sick workers are on the job.