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Too Much Coffee

Team Player Or Germ Carrier?

To go to work, or not to go to work...

That is the agonizing question many of us face this time of year.

These days the work place is so competitive, and work loads are so heavy, many of us feel guilty to use a sick day, even if we are feeling horrible.  We feel like we have let our co-workers down and that the boss will think we are flaky.

But if you tough it out and go in to work anyway, you risk passing on your illness to others which would further deplete the staff. 

I admit, I get annoyed when co-workers, who think they are just being a good employee, come in to work sick and sneeze all over the place.

But I have also found myself questioning the dedication and work ethic of co-workers who stay home when sick, especially if they do so on a day when an important project is due, or we are short staffed already.

A voice in my head says, "I come in to work when I don't feel well, why don't they?".

I guess it is just human nature.

I once had a supervisor at another station who called me at home when I had called in sick, to ask if I was feeling any better, because there was a breaking story about 200 miles away, and he wanted me to go cover it.

Careerbuilder.com says no matter who is pressuring you, you should stay home, sicko !  It says that the majority of workers want their fellow employees to stay in bed and get better.

I wonder what the bosses think though...    

 

Published Monday, January 14, 2008 9:02 AM by Jaie Avila

Comments

 

John said:

I tell my people to stay at home...I DO NOT want the entire workplace infected. For people who come in to work sick, I use my judgement. If it's just a sniffle, I let them stay. If it's worse....home they go!

My rules stem from the fact that when I was younger....I had a District Manager who made me come into work while running a 102 degree fever that ended up being the flu. I remember how miserable I felt in that kitchen....yes, I said kitchen. I was managing a fast food restaurant at the time.
January 14, 2008 2:54 PM
 

Sherrie said:

I firmly believe that if I feel like crud I will perform like crud. It is better to stay home, get over it and not share with anyone else.
January 14, 2008 3:14 PM
 

EC said:

It depends on the illness.  Colds last on average 10 days.  No one can stay home for 10 days to avoid infecting other people in an office setting.  Also, I have been sneezing like crazy due to allergies, but it is certainly not contagious and I would feel just as bad if I sat at home.  

If someone calls in sick, I wouldn't interrogate them about their illness.  If it lands on a busy day, that's just the way it is and others will have to cover.  However, if their sick days consistently exceed company standards, that employee will be placed on probation and possibly terminated.  There are employees who manage to use all of their sick days - and then some.  I find it hard to believe that a healthy, young adult has illnesses every month that requires them to stay home for several days (especially when those days consistently fall around a weekend).  
January 14, 2008 3:16 PM
 

Darvon said:

I am sick.  I have a fever.  My eyes are runny.  I have a cough.  I feel bad.

I own the place.

There is no escape.

When people who work for me look like I do now, I send them home.  I do not have that luxury.
January 14, 2008 5:28 PM
 

Stuart said:

In the past few years statistical studies have been done that demonstrate readily that despite common belief it is actually better for the sick worker (excluding common food handlers) to go ahead and attempt to work and spread the disease if it is just a cold or typical bronchial infection.  The theory seems to be that the initial wave of inoculation will result in a subsequent community immunity that will stop the spread of the virus, as opposed to single individuals causing a larger vector of disease to return after mutation and reinfect both the original patient and their cohorts with a stronger and more virulent form.  Just as it is now know that bacteria exchange genes to gain environmental resistance apparently there is a comparable exchange of immune responses within a human community.  I personally find it suspect, but it has been suggested that the act of communion via a common chalice is one way the Catholic church became stronger in the first millennium.  This theory is also supported by the fact that in larger families only a few actually get sick and the others remain unscathed.
January 14, 2008 5:52 PM
 

Dave said:

It is English he is speaking, ???.  Proper English used to convey complicated concepts is not often heard in San Antonio, but it is popular in the rest of the US and a large part of the civilized world.  Strong language is not called for here, ???.

What he means, ???, is that it is better to be in a world where you are exposed to germs so that your immune system can work as it is supposed to, thereby creating a basis for good health, as opposed to hiding out from germs and reducing the effectiveness of that system, leaving your body helpless in the inevitable confrontation with germs.

Perhaps the vernacular would be more helpful:  Use it or lose it.

I am not Stuart, in case my understanding of the language confuses you.  However, I do understand clearly what Stuart has said.  It is true, proven and common knowledge among those who deal with the health of the human body.  There is considerable evidence that the overuse and misuse of antibiotics has helped to create problems such as "super bugs" like MRSA and that disinfectants like Lysol and similar products that kill bacteria and virus' can be linked to asthma as it helps to atrophy the immune system.  In other words, hiding out from bugs could be considered to be quite unhealthy.
January 15, 2008 4:51 PM
 

??? said:

Layman's terms is to describe a complex or a technical issue using words and terms that the average individual (someone without professional training in the subject area) can understand, so that they may comprehend the issue to some degree.

Thanks Dave for describing it in LAYMAN'S TERMS. Not everybody in San Antonio is stupid. I bet if I used "strong language" about Auto Repair, I could tell you a story about how a well educated person was taken for a ride, he didn't know what the hell the mechanic was saying to him, just nodded his head pretending to know...Hmm...$$$$$$  Ha ha ha all the way to the bank.

January 15, 2008 8:55 PM
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