What's "too sick" to be at work?

MissingMyOldSelf
MissingMyOldSelf Posts: 689 Member
in Chit-Chat
When a coworker gets sick, and brings it to work because they either

1) Don't want to waste a vacation day,
2) Don't feel "that sick"
or 3) Don't want to catch slack from coworkers or boss,

How do you take it? Do you get upset that they're contaminating your work area? Or do you just deal with it, and if you get sick, well, you were probably bound to get it anyway?



Last Friday, I called off work, which ended up with me being ridiculed here at my job by coworkers today on my first day back. I started getting a bad cough Wednesday, Thursday came around and I started sounding like a barking dog, and Friday, I was just too exhausted to even get to the bathroom without getting winded. This past weekend came with the sinus problems, and I was so sore that wearing clothes or moving in bed HURT. I still don't know what I got, but today, I feel a LOT better from using Nyquil, Robitussin during the day, and drinking juices. I still sound like a barking dog, but at least I can move around!

I come into work, sit down, and immediately, I get a coughing fit because it's so dry in here. A (smarta$$) coworker says, "Ugh... makes me wanna gag." And follows that up with a conversation to another coworker: "Did you see that there's two people off today? You know what... unless you're dead, you need to suck it up and get your lazy, fat a$$e$ into work. There's no reason to miss work." I stood up and said, "I'm sorry... did my cough make you gag? Because it's doing that to me, currently." She turned around, kinda shocked, and said, "Oh! No!" And I continued: "We all b!tch because some one comes in to work sick, or calls off work sick. Either way, someone's not gonna be happy. So, I guess we should all suck it up and just do the work, huh?" and sat back down. Her conversation stopped.

What's your take on coworkers coming into work with something worse than a cold? Do you normally tell them to go home? Or just sit and stew in frustration that they're going to spread their germs?

Replies

  • Stump_Likker
    Stump_Likker Posts: 2,059 Member
    It's six of one, half dozen of the other. If you think you're contagious stay home. People are going to complain either way. I had swine flu and didn't know it. Left work early that day and didn't come back for 10 days. I didn't want anyone else to catch it and as far as I know no one did.
  • sissiluv
    sissiluv Posts: 2,205 Member
    I rarely get full on sick with something but there've been days where my period has left me throwing up, immobile and no use to anyone much less my boss.
    When my co-workers don't recognize my voice when I call in, that's a good day to take off.
  • BrunetteRunner87
    BrunetteRunner87 Posts: 591 Member
    If I have a fever or need surgery.
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,749 Member
    I am NOT the person to ask this question to but I will answer any way LOL! Mind you I have been out of the workforce for about 2 years now (I work for myself) but when I was in it we didn't have designated sick days, rather PTO days which lumped vacation and sick days together. There was a gal I worked with who was ALWAYS sick. Like every other week she was hacking, coughing, sneezing complaining about some ailment. The thing that irked me the most is when she was at work for a MONTH before she went to the doctor and found out she had pneumonia and had to stay out for a week because she was "highly contagious" or something like that.

    Now, with that said I will admit that I have gone in when I was sick however the circumstances were when I woke up in the morning I felt GREAT! As the day progressed I got worse. In those instances I would tell my boss I was going home and suck it up and take a half day (or I would wait until 1:30/2:00 when they couldn't dock me). However there were probably just as many times that I would wake up at 2 a.m. feel like dog poop and make the executive decision to call in sick because I knew that if I felt that bad at 2 a.m. I wasn't going to feel any better at 6.

    Now if I were a boss and an employee came in sick because they didn't (or couldn't) use any more of their days then I would send them home and conveniently forget to dock them the day, half day or whatever and possibly tell them to take the next day off as well and "forget" to dock them.

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