I feel like a wimp

[Misty Avich]

Last year the guys at work kept getting colds but didn't have any days off sick. I made sure to keep washing my hands and keeping a distance and so I didn't catch it. But throughout my life I've often heard people criticising those who take time off sick to nurse a cold, like it's seen as weak or something. Like when people call colds "man flu", like it's a sarcastic expression to those who'd rather stay home with a cold than to "toughen up" and attend work.
We don't have much money but I knew I could financially survive a few days off sick, and in the UK you can actually claim some universal credit if you've been off sick and are earning low wage, like we are. But we needn't do that as we can manage.

 

[MildredHubble]

Puritanical philosophies, such as "work when you are ill" are extremely outdated. Funny, isn't it, how quickly everyone jumped on board with the "work from home ethic" when the rich man in his castle could literally meet his end by catching what the poor man at his gate was spreading around (AKA COVID-19).

Yeah, just "come in and spread it around" is all well and good, until you consider that people may have Immuno compromised relatives that they live with or care for, for whom a simple "cold" could be fatal. Why? To make someone rich, that's why. The few people with basically all the money in the world, think you should sacrifice yours, or the life of your sick relative so they can wring out a few extra bucks that they will never spend anyway.

My philosophy is now "Don't care, I'm ill, I'm taking the day off, and others if I need them."

Captialism is, by definition, going to fail anyway, probably sooner than with think too!

 

[Misty Avich]

Well I feel good that I've stayed indoors because I know I have saved a lot of people from catching my germs. I wish more people would do that when they have colds.
But I don't generally catch a cold unless I come into close contact with an infected person, and my husband had this cold first so inevitably I caught it off him. We kiss every day and share drinks and stuff. And this is the first cold either of us have had since 2019.

 

[Jonn]

Last year the guys at work kept getting colds but didn't have any days off sick. I made sure to keep washing my hands and keeping a distance and so I didn't catch it. But throughout my life I've often heard people criticising those who take time off sick to nurse a cold, like it's seen as weak or something. Like when people call colds "man flu", like it's a sarcastic expression to those who'd rather stay home with a cold than to "toughen up" and attend work.
We don't have much money but I knew I could financially survive a few days off sick, and in the UK you can actually claim some universal credit if you've been off sick and are earning low wage, like we are. But we needn't do that as we can manage.

I thought it was selfish to pass on viruses to other ppl when you are infectious.
What was I thinking? <irony>

 

[Aneka]

I don't need to worry about catching colds at work, my kids ensure I don't miss out. The words that strike fear into the heart of every parent is when your kid says "oh yeah, xxxxx threw up in class, apparently they have a virus" because you know for sure that a) your kid WILL bring it home and b) in a few days time they'll faithfully pass it to you as you help them with buckets. I am beyond tired of norovirus and would happily take multiple colds over that yearly purge going through our household.

Anyway, onto OP. Stay home. You're not obliged to operate according to other people's ideas of heroism.

Stomach bugs are nasty- norovirus, rotavirus and adenovirus- they usually occur almost at the same time in daycares, with the break of a few weeks. And when one has got it everyone will get it
They will always send their sick kids fully aware they're sick and claim they're healthy

 

[Luca]

I feel like I get norovirus, or something similar, at least once or twice a year

 

[GrownupGirl]

The other I saw Reddit posts about people being out in public or at work when they're obviously sick coughing and snotting all over the place. Humans are just naturally selfish.

 

[Kalinychta]

My colleagues would be pretty mad at me if I showed up with a runny nose and coughing all over the place. And I'd feel pretty terrible expecting some of them to be sick the next day because of me. You're certainly not a wimp for wanting to get better faster and not pass your sickness on to your colleagues (and potentially their families, friends, neighbors,...)

Exactly. It’s disgusting to go out when you’re coughing and sneezing and your nose is running. So gross and unsanitary.

 

[Misty Avich]

I'm on my final warning for attendance at work, so if I have any more sick days in the next 6 months further action could be taken.
So now I'm scared stiff of getting any viruses or anything else that may make me feel too weak or ill to go in to work. Maybe I should live in a bubble.

I couldn't help getting sick so much this year. I took a couple of days sick when my husband was rushed to hospital because I had been up all night calling the ambulance (this was when the NHS was on strike so the ambulance took 5 hours to come and I was advised by the operator to stay up with my husband until the ambulance arrived). I was shattered the next day, not to mention stressed, so I phoned in sick in the morning.
Then back at Easter I somehow came down with glandular fever, and I also had an ear infection at the same time and could barely stand due to severe vertigo and was prescribed antibiotics and had to rest until the ear infection was gone, as it wasn't safe for me to return to work whilst disorientated. So that was a week I had off.
Then recently I caught a cold, which turned out to be covid, so as well as feeling groggy and unable to focus on work, I didn't want to go into work and spread it to other people, so I stayed home for 3 work days plus the weekend until I was tested negative the following Monday.

I wish workplaces would understand that stuff happens in people's lives and that people can't help getting sick or having family issues.

And no, please don't give me a shopping list on what foods to eat to stop me getting sick, as I don't believe in diets shielding me from viruses. I know I'm healthy enough, as whenever I do get sick I do get over it quickly. But before this year I hadn't had any viruses since 2019.

 

[Jonn]

Maybe I should live in a bubble.

Sounds like a plan.

 

[Au Naturel]

The other I saw Reddit posts about people being out in public or at work when they're obviously sick coughing and snotting all over the place. Humans are just naturally selfish.

Are they selfish? Or maybe they can't take the time off. The business owners are the selfish ones.

Where I worked, we got no sick leave. You had time off without pay. You had to have a doctor's note that you were genuinely ill, so you had to get out of your sickbed to visit a doctor and hope he'd write the note for you. If no note, you were put on disciplinary steps after 3 days in a rolling year. If the employer's 3rd party medical group didn't like the note, you still got written up.

Of course, people will go to work sick because they have to. Food and fuel cost money. Mortgages, rent, and bills must be paid.

 

[Jonn]

Of course, people will go to work sick because they have to.

Some, and they then pass on the flu to others who then pass on the flu to others...

 

[Au Naturel]

Some, and they then pass on the flu to others who then pass on the flu to others...

When people depend on you or even if you just really need the job, it is better to be work sick than to be unemployed. Your coworkers understand because they have to work sick, too. Some work environments are better than others about sick leave. Some are horrid and only do what the law forces them to do.

Coworkers who have a strong "work ethic," managers, and administrators often minimze the effects of illness and expect you to soldier through it, just like they do. To them, a cold is just an inconvenience to be mastered. Embrace the suck.

We may wish for better treatment, but until better labor legislation is passed or a strong union is established, or you find a job elsewhere, it is what it is.

I suggest getting vaccinated for the current flu season, wearing a mask when practical, washing hands frequently, and avoiding ill people as much as possible. Do what you can and then accept the risk you cannot overcome. Worry won't keep you healthy.

 

[Alaric593]

We're required to work from home if we have the sniffles.

 

[Au Naturel]

We're required to work from home if we have the sniffles.

That's better than many places. However, my old workplace had to work full-time from home during COVID. It was a call center. I retired just in time.

 

[Misty Avich]

We're required to work from home if we have the sniffles.

It's difficult to work from home when you work in a garage. Plus I think all workplaces should give sick pay, even just for a certain amount of days a year to stop people from taking advantage of it but to give people a chance to stay at home if they are sick.

 

[Jonn]

When people depend on you or even if you just really need the job, it is better to be work sick than to be unemployed.

In Australia, during the COVID lockdowns, it was illegal to go to work if you were sick.
To try and stop ppl from spreading COVID around, the government would pay ppl to stay away, negating the loss of income.
COVID is still around, btw.

 

[Misty Avich]

In Australia, during the COVID lockdowns, it was illegal to go to work if you were sick.
To try and stop ppl from spreading COVID around, the government would pay ppl to stay away, negating the loss of income.
COVID is still around, btw.

It was the same here.

 

[Au Naturel]

In Australia, during the COVID lockdowns, it was illegal to go to work if you were sick.
To try and stop ppl from spreading COVID around, the government would pay ppl to stay away, negating the loss of income.
COVID is still around, btw.

The national emergency has been officially declared over here. A lot of the governmental support has been withdrawn.

 

[Jonn]

The national emergency has been officially declared over here. A lot of the governmental support has been withdrawn.

COVID is around, regardless.

Personally, If I was still working, I wouldn't want someone coughing all over me.