PLEASE stay at home!!! - Page 3

[MissMaegie'sMama]

I had a job at a coffeehouse where absolute chaos ensued whenever an employee called in sick. Senior employees had sick leave benefits, but if they didn't come in to work, the work load was nearly impossible to deal with. If you had a cold or flu bug, it was standard protocol to dope yourself up with enough DayQuil to halt the flow of snot from your nose and do away with your cough and fever so you could be the warm body your coworkers relied upon. Admittedly, it was kind of fun to be stoned on cold meds... made the shift go faster.

Still, sick employees who do have the ability to stay home without incurring loss of income or being penalized by their employer definitely should. If you have that benefit, use it! No need to be a martyr if you don't need to be one!

[Ahappymel]

I just want to add that sometimes there are more dynamics at play than whether or not you have sick time/are technically able to call in sick.
I work in an office environment of very dedicated professionals. These people minimally miss work due to sickness/illness. I am the only one with small kids and I miss the most time.
I've missed trainings, meetings, events due to illness/sickness. They've had to reschedule several of these due to me. Even though I have that time legally, I am faced with pressure from my supervisors to perform, keep up and to push myself even when sick.
Not the most family friendly place to be, but I am the primary provider now and grateful to have a solid job in this economic climate. I feel an extreme amount of pressure to live up to the professional expectations/responsibilities at work because you know what? They could get 50 people to replace me tomorrow.

[jeminijad]

Originally Posted by Ahappymel

. Even though I have that time legally, I am faced with pressure from my supervisors to perform, keep up and to push myself even when sick.
Not the most family friendly place to be, but I am the primary provider now and grateful to have a solid job in this economic climate. I feel an extreme amount of pressure to live up to the professional expectations/responsibilities at work because you know what? They could get 50 people to replace me tomorrow.

This is similar to my situation...

The company (corporate) sent out a memo regarding staying well during the flu. They offered free flu shots which then were cancelled due to low supply! Corporate tells us to stay home if we get the flu.

However, our facility management is on us harder than ever regarding absences. I just got a talking to since I've been out twice this calendar year...

On paper, I'm an exempt professional with unregulated sick time. In actuality, I can't stay home for the week I'll need if we get the flu, or I'll lose my job. Period. And DH's unemployment runs out in a month.

[Ahappymel]

Yup. Exactly.
And I am fearful of other kinds of professional retaliation that could happen among a group of professionals/superiors who expect my level of output/attendance to be AT LEAST identical to theirs.
Hard...because I'm the only one with little kids. I tend to reserve my sick days for THEM and tough it out for myself.

[canadianchick]

If I am deathly ill, I will stay home but otherwise, I go to work. I had to use most of my sick time recently when I broke my pelvis so I am slowly building it back up so I do not have it to spare..... I need to keep it if dd needs me to be home.

The way I look at it is that we are exposed to many, many people in the run of a day who are sick and we do not even know it so I, for one, do not feel guilty about going to the office if I am sick. Sorry.

[Ellien C]

Originally Posted by busymama77

I totally understand what you're saying but most of these guys make 6 figured salaries. If he missed one or two days of work because he's sick, it doesn't affect him money wise whatsoever. I think it's a guy thing - being tough about it and really trying to work through being sick. I know him pretty well and I'm pretty sure that's what he was trying to prove. If it was any other time during the year and not right dead in the middle of flu season, then I wouldn't be so concerned about the germs. I'm not trying to be mean about this, just an overall, genuine concern for EVERYONE involved.

This. I work with those kind of people too. Honestly it's NOT good management and NOT good business to be irreplaceable. They don't set good boundaries between work and home and they're not that efficient when it comes to work. Being AT work 70-80+ hours week does not always (ever?) translate into productivity, just activity.

[MyLilPwny]

I worked at a place for over 5 years where no actual sick days were given as benefits---the sick days were combined with personal days and only given 5 days total per year---after working for a full year at the place. So, everyone came to work sick, often. There would be multiple people sick in the office at the same time. It was a small office--about 12 people. I never ever got sick though. And I never got any vaccines (I don't think they work anyway). I just focused on strengthening my immune system with nutrient-dense food and supplements, and it worked for me.

[Ahappymel]

If it selfish, then I wonder who will graciously feed/clothe and house my family when I am out of a job?