Eighty percent of employed Americans who care for someone in their household say they cannot afford to take a sick day. That statistic is what track and field legend Allyson Felix wants more people to hear.
Felix, the most decorated American track and field athlete in Olympic history, has partnered with Theraflu to raise awareness for the Right to Rest and Recover Fund, an initiative that has distributed more than $1 million in microgrants since 2021 to help families offset the income lost to unpaid sick days. The survey driving the campaign, conducted by Theraflu and Wakefield Research among more than 1,000 employed U.S. adults who care for someone at home, found that more than half of respondents worked while sick because they needed the income. Another 28 percent said taking a sick day could cost them their job.
"I don't think it's a conversation that we're having enough of," Felix told Healthline. "I love that Theraflu is doing something about it for people who are experiencing this hardship."
The United States lags behind most developed countries on paid sick and family leave policy. An estimated 28 million Americans have no access to paid sick time, a gap that falls heaviest on low-income workers and their families. Mothers, research consistently shows, are more likely than fathers to absorb caregiving duties even in households that consider themselves egalitarian — and that burden does not lift when a parent gets sick.
Felix, 40 and the mother of two, knows the weight of that dynamic firsthand. The five-time Olympian, who won 11 medals across five Olympic Games and claimed three world championships in the 200m, 400m, and relay events, recently announced plans to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. She credits her longevity in part to an intentional approach to rest and recovery.
From a clinical standpoint, that approach is well supported. Clarinda Hougen, a primary care sports medicine specialist at Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics in Los Angeles, said rest is not optional for physical improvement. "When we exercise, we place stress on our muscles, tendons, and other tissues," she told Healthline. "Healing the microtears that occur in muscle tissues during exercise results in muscle hypertrophy and can only occur during periods of rest. In other words, strength gains and improved endurance occur during recovery rather than during the exercise itself."
Hougen recommends getting at least seven hours of sleep per night as a foundation for recovery. The principle applies whether someone is training for the Olympics or simply trying to recover from illness — and Felix's broader point is that millions of American workers are currently denied the ability to act on it.
The Right to Rest and Recover Fund continues to accept applications for microgrants from caregivers facing lost income due to illness.
