What's your reaction when people come to work while ill -- and contagious?

[Bertha Venation]

Poll question: What's your reaction when people come to work while ill -- and contagious?

I hate it. My cell mate is sick as a dog right now. She started getting sick yesterday and I heard her voice grow deeper and deeper. Today she can barely talk and is coughing and blowing her nose. She's seeing her doc later.

On the other hand, I know a lot of people have a work ethic that overrides their common sense.

What do you think?

I don't think I have good enough poll choices but right now I'm a little miffed. I didn't get a flu shot (neither did the cell mate; she's over 60) and I don't want the flu!

[BlondieK143]

1. I don't have a choice at my job.

I can't run to the doctor for every little cold I have and get a doctor's note and waste my paid time off for a cough. So, I make sure to disinfect my phone and desk (and anything else I may have touched - drawers, door, etc.) Can't help it if I'm sick and I can't help it if I have to be at work. The people that don't bother to clean their germs off things, that's what pisses me off.

[trotsky]

2. Exactly - no sick days, just vacation days.

Plus I have small children, who always have some sort of crud. I can't risk running out of days and then getting really sick and having to take unpaid time off.

Employers, in their zeal to stop people from abusing sick days, have made a system where people are encouraged to come to work as "walking wounded" and spread germs, causing MORE people to lose time and affect office productivity.

So short-sighted.

[durablend]

3. Employer to employee...

"You're sick and want to stay home? Fine...take as much time as you need--your services are no longer needed"

Bottom line...get sick, be shitcanned.

[peekaloo]

4. When I held a management position at another job

I would approach the employee and review their work schedule for the day, prioritize what needed to be done and what items could wait. I would then enlist the assistance of fellow employees (myself included)to complete the necessary tasks and send the sick employee home.

[bratcatinok]

5. I had to choose other

It wasn't the co-workers, it was company policy. If you were off longer than one day, you had to bring a doctor's note. Each time you took off was an occurence and it didn't matter whether it was leaving 2 hours early, being out a week, going to a doctor's appointment or were sick. Three occurences and you were fired.

Same company had a 3 day bereavement allowance. When my Dad killed himself I had a scheduled vacation day already planned. I mistakenly thought I'd be able to take the 3 days and then tack on the scheduled vacation day for a total of 4 days. Nope, wasn't allowed. I could only take the 3 day allowance. I was written up because I went ahead and took the 4th day anyway in order to actually attend my Dad's funeral. (My Dad died out of state, he had to be flown back and we had 2 services, one in Houston where we were raised and one in Dallas where he was buried.)

I quit after writing a nice little comment on the warning write up.

[SnowGoose]

6. I spray sick workers with lysol

and chant "in the name of JEEEEEEsus, be healed!"

(I get my ass kicked quite a lot)

[txaslftist]

7. I wash my hands and keep my distance...

I mean, I'm trying to save up my leave, too. If I can stagger in and complete the day's work, so can they.

[kodi]

8. in our society women with kids usually HAVE to work sick

they save up their own sick leave in case their children get sick.

[pilgrimsoul]

9. I'm actually home sick right now

and have been out all week with the flu because someone at my work brought their sick child to the office instead of getting a babysitter. Half of the office got the flu because of it. Now before everybody starts flaming me for complaining when it's so hard for parents with sick kids -- this guy is a partner, pulls down six figures plus and could easily have gotten a babysitter. His wife goes to school full time, which is why she wasn't home with the kid. But because this wealthy partner was too cheap to get a babysitter, I'm having to burn my sick time which I have been saving for over a year to have surgery this summer. So yeah, I'm pissed, and so is everyone else who has gotten sick because of it. But will anyone call him on how inconsiderate he's being or tell him not to do it anymore? NO - because he is a partner.

[davsand]

10. Unless you have to go in--stay home.

I'm not getting on anybody who has an asshole boss or works or a company with terrible personnel policies--in those cases you do what you have to. (Frankly, when I worked for a Hitler mini-youth with that kind of attitude, I made a point of making sure I answered HER phone a couple of times when I was working sick just so I'd be sure she was exposed.)

However, for those of you who do NOT work for Satan, stay HOME if you are running a fever and might give your illness to the rest of the office. I know you might consider it a work ethic, but how "ethical" is it to give your shit to your co-workers? How "ethical" is it to cost your employer MORE sick time benefits paid out when the rest of the office gets sick...

I've been home two days now because a cow at my office had to come to work sick. She spent the entire day hacking away and managed to nail at least three others in the office with her crud. I might be a bit more tolerant of her except for the fact that I do the payroll and I KNOW how much sick time she has accumulated. Trust me when I tell you she could stay home for a few months and not use it all.

I'm sick right now because she needs to feed her damn ego. I call bullshit on that.


Laura

[ProfessorGAC]

11. A Couple Of Problems, Though

For lots of illnesses, most strains of the flu for instance, one is contagious before one is actually sick. Once sick, one is no longer contagious. (Or, at least far less so.)

If someone has an illness that's contagious at its peak, they should always stay home. Getting other people sick is bad for them, bad for the person who will be well and comes back to an emptier work place, and bad for the company.

Me, most of my sick days the last 10 years are based upon my MS. That, fortunately, isn't contagious. So, if i come in on a tough day, i can't get anyone else sick.
The Professor

[Bertha Venation]

14. The cell mate returned from the doc: she has strep throat.

She's now gone home, and I the Hypochondriac am about to go get the Lysol.

[ProfessorGAC]

17. Gonna Drink It???

No, Bertha, don't do it!

That's weird, a coworker here had the same thing happen. I'm senior to her, so i MADE her go home, and go to the doctor. She did.

Next morning, i get an email from her. She has strep! I told her if i get sick there's gonna be BIG trouble. But, i didn't.

IIRC, strepthroat isn't terribly contagious for adults unless one's system is kind of rundown. I've been feeling pretty good lately, so maybe i was exposed but dodged the bullet. Hopefully, it will be the same for you.
The Professor

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

12. We all convince them to go home and use a sick day

[liontamer]

13. I come in sick

I try to disinfect things that I touch, but I often have a lot of work to do that I at least have to come in and pick up. And I'm a student so if I have a class and I can avoid missing it I do.

Of course it depends on how sick I am. If I have a bad flu (fever, nausea, aches and chills) I stay home. But for a cough and a runny nose I'll usually keep working.

[crispini]

15. Oh, I can TOP THIS BY A MILE.

A coworker of mine BROUGHT HER SICK CHILD TO WORK YESTERDAY!!!!!!

:wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf:

[flamingyouth]

16. I tell them to go home

In fact, I did it quite a few times over the past year, when both of the full-time employees had protracted illnesses (non-contagious, but they had no business being at work when they were so sick).