Going to Work Sick

[fklwmn]

When in the purple blazes did this start?  Why, in the face of all the evidence that this hurts productivity, do employers still abuse their employees this way?

That restaurant situation needs to be publicized more.  Or perhaps in our litigation-happy culture someone needs to sue a corporation for demanding that contagious people work or be terminated.

Finally, the more companies that do this, the more people who don't work for them will feel obligated to work when they're sick out of guilt or paranoia.  Back in 2000 I had bronchitis for 6 weeks... and didn't take a single day off.  I don't do this anymore.

yeah, not missing a single day of work is likely why your bronchitis lasted 6 weeks. I'm pretty sure it's why my strep turned into a 3-illness, month-long ordeal.

[Venus193]

Part of the reason it lasted so long was that I waited until week 5 to see a doctor because of my medical phobias.  I was actually sick for almost 3 months, but not contagious for the second half.

I am royally paying for those phobias with Type 2 diabetes, but that's another story.

[Elfqueen13]

I'm a contractor.  I work for an agency who places me in long-term contracts (current one is 1 year).  This is not at all uncommon in the DC-area because of the way the government operates.  A gov't agency will hire a company to do a project for a specific amount of time, the company hires contractors with the right skill set and when the project is done the contractors leave with no impact on headcount or employee turnover rates (which can have a negative impact on profit margins, which upsets stockholders, which causes stock prices to fall...you see the pattern?) Anyway, contractors like me seldom have any form of PTO or sick leave and we pay a bundle for health insurance (I pay $150/month for an accident and injury policy. It won't even cover a flu shot).  I've been placed to several companies that offer employees flu shots but I can't get one because I'm not technically an employee.  So I work when I'm sick.  I don't take vacation.  I don't see doctors unless I think I'm dying.  I'm looking for a permanent job but they're not always easy to come by especially at the career level I'm at (less than 10 years in the industry).

[Katharine]

I had the opposite problem on day. I was working at a grocery store at the time and went in to fill my prescription for pink eye. I was standing talking to someone and my boss heard I had pink eye. She told me she would find someone else to work for me in 4 days! The pharmacist told me she would talk to her because I wouldn't be contagious in 24 hours but I said I was fine. I liked having extra days off. I hated that boss 

To the OP I would be annoyed if the person had sick time but if working for a company like that I say it is understandable.

[behindbj]

I also understand the dilemma faced by those who do not have the option of taking off of work when they (or a family member) is sick.  Thankfully (and I really mean that), I do not have to deal with that at this time.  As a Fed, I earn so many hours off per pay period both for paid time off and sick leave.

Since that is my situation, I truly get annoyed at those who come in sick (not because they've used all of their leave due to past illness or family illnessess and have no choice other than come in or don't get paid), but by the "martyrs."  The world will end without them, don't you know?

One woman was particularly egregious (ooohhhh...25 cent word ...).  I asked her why she didn't just stay home for a couple of days when she felt it coming on (my favorite strategy) or stay home now.  She stated that the office needed her (no, we don't, actually.).  I told her that the Federal Government of hte United States has been in business for well over 200 years.  Someone held the job before she did and someone wiill hold it after she leaves.  If she dies tomorrow, someone will handle the job. 

She looked at me, blinked, and went home.

behindbj

[Tabris]

My husband's current job and his previous job had no sick days. Their policy was, if you feel sick, you stay home. You got paid for this.

He said the result was that instead of people carefully counting their sick days and getting "sick" when it was convenient for them, they actually ended up working more, and without people going into work when they were obviously ill because they could take off for less than a dire emergency.

He personally has not taken a sick day this year, and I think only one the year before. But what was really nice, I guess (in a sad sort of way) was that when our daughter was diagnosed with a fatal condition, they told him to take off the entire week as sick leave and just not bother coming in. They did the same when she actually died. And he said that despite such a lax policy--or maybe because it's so las--no one abuses is.

[Belle]

As many have said, whether going to work while sick is rude depends on the situation.

In my current job, it would be quite inconsiderate for me to come in while sick. My boss is very flexible, and nothing I do is so important that I can't reschedule it (or finish it from home).

However, I did work for a cell phone company that counted sick days against you. I had sick days, and I had vacation days. However, if I took a sick day (or vacation day) it counted as a mark against me. Too many marks, and you get fired. The stupid thing was that if you used all of the sick days and vacation days that you were "allowed," you would have been fired before you got through half of them. (For example, say we had 5 sick days per year and 5 vacation days per year, but you were only allowed 6 marks before you were fired. Makes tons of sense...)

In that type of case, I blame the company.

[hobish]

My point is that some people are in a situation that leaves them no choice, and they may not feel that they have the option to get out of that job before finding another one.  In that case, it is the employer who is rude for putting all the workers in that situation, not the person who must come in, sick or not.

I agree.
My job does the same thing as your friend's--it's discouraged to call off for any reason (it's not unheard of for someone to call in and the managment to say "you need to come in or you'll be taken off the schedule permanantly") and if you just don't show up you're immediately fired.
Mind you this is a RESTAURANT--we aren't allowed to wear nailpolish or earrings because it might get in a customer's food, but if you're coughing all of the place and very much contagious it's fine that you're there and touching everything and potentially infecting not only coworkers but customers  . Because of this I will NEVER eat food there that I don't completely make myself...gross .

Why do I stay? Because it pays really well and there aren't that many entry-level "McJobs" that pay $10 an hour that work around a student's schedule...

I once worked in a restaurant that wouldn't let me go home, even though people had even complained that i was coughing & looked ill. I was, i had the flu. I was lucky enough that i was able to quit the next day & had a new job that same day.

Being in an office now, i really hate it when people come in sick. My immune system is not very strong, and i've had pneumonia 2x in 3 years. Sometimes it can't be avoided ... the person who sits nest to me's wife is a kindergarden teacher - he gets the sniffles a lot. We share bottles of Airborne to try & not catch everything his wife brings hone & now it has become kind of a running joke between us.

[Secret]

I work in an industry that is waiting for the Flu pandemic to strike.  My organization sees all these other organizations that discourage people from taking time off for being sick.  These organizations are going to be the ones that help spread the pandemic around widely.  Statistics we use include an estimated 35% of the workforce will be out of commission at one time or other. PLUS  along with those who have to take care of ill relatives, many organizations will be faced with a lot of either very ill people or a large shortage of workers who quit because family is more important. 

It is these type of organizations that will help spread this pandemic and increase the number of ill people around.

P.S. I'm not posting about the pandemic to start a discussion on the feasability of the pandemic or the statistics I use.  I'm just sayin'

[ginlyn32]

In that case, it is the employer who is rude for putting all the workers in that situation, not the person who must come in, sick or not.

blah

[ginlyn32]

When in the purple blazes did this start?  Why, in the face of all the evidence that this hurts productivity, do employers still abuse their employees this way?

That restaurant situation needs to be publicized more.  Or perhaps in our litigation-happy culture someone needs to sue a corporation for demanding that contagious people work or be terminated.

Finally, the more companies that do this, the more people who don't work for them will feel obligated to work when they're sick out of guilt or paranoia.  Back in 2000 I had bronchitis for 6 weeks... and didn't take a single day off.  I don't do this anymore.

meh

[RuneGuardian]

If going to work (or school) while sick is rude, then I've got a long trailing list of etiquette violations. Since I was five, I have only ever stayed home due to sickness once, and that was because my mother forced me after I got pink eye. I've gone to school with numerous colds, coughs, fevers, and bronchitis once. I've gone to class with the flu a couple times in high school (each bout lasting at least two weeks because I refused to see a doctor), and I recently got over strep throat, which I also went to class with. My feelings are that I do not want to miss class and make things up - I will sit and suffer through class while not being able to breathe or swallow just to keep up rather than take a day off. I am even more adamant about not missing class now that I'm in college - I'm not going to miss a class that I'll have to pay for anyway.

[Venus193]

The most toxic CEO I ever had insisted that "grown-ups don't get sick" when my immediate boss took a sick day once upon a time.

A month later that CEO was out for a week with the flu.  Isn't karma wonderful? 

[amznprincess]

It depends a bit on what is going on.

For noncommunicable illnesses the determining factors in my view are whether or not the person has the stamina to do their job and the presence or absence of symptoms like 'tummy troubles'. I wouldn't want anyone in the middle of a bout of food poisoning to come in at all, but if they're recovering afterward and are, say, the only one Big Client X will deal with it might not be unreasonable to expect them to come in for just that much.

With a communicable illness, people really ought to be allowed to stay home at least until they are no longer contagious and, as above, free of symptoms that spread body fluids.  Doing otherwise only spreads illness around and makes it last longer.  It's very sad that people are put in the position of having to choose between going to work sick and losing their livelihood, especially in industries like food service and health care.  Because of that it is understandable in such circumstances, but I would count it as very rude if someone came to work sick but didn't take measures - like washing their hands or using hand sanitizer frequently - to try to keep from passing it on.

[ShadesOfGrey]

If going to work (or school) is rude, then I've got a long trailing list of etiquette violations. Since I was five, I have only ever stayed home due to sickness once, and that was because my mother forced me after I got pink eye. I've gone to school with numerous colds, coughs, fevers, and bronchitis once. I've gone to class with the flu a couple times in high school (each bout lasting at least two weeks because I refused to see a doctor), and I recently got over strep throat, which I also went to class with. My feelings are that I do not want to miss class and make things up - I will sit and suffer through class while not being able to breathe or swallow just to keep up rather than take a day off. I am even more adamant about not missing class now that I'm in college - I'm not going to miss a class that I'll have to pay for anyway.

I totally understand this perspective, but what do you say to/about the people around you whom you may be infecting? I understand that one cant be responsible for every weakened immune system (pregnancy, disease or otherwise).  I wholeheartedly agree that one negative to communal areas (office/daycare/dorm/etc.) is the increased risk of exposure and it is not the responsibility of the sick to look out for the well, but at the same time, I cant help but feel it's a little discourteous for someone to knowingly expose others (whether by coming in/not washing hands properly/leaving dead fish under desk, etc)...  Of course, I personally think that it depends on the severity/contagiousness of the sickness...  

ah well, to each his own bottle of purell and a face mask!