My throat hurts and my nose is running, and when I sneeze I get these horrible body chills, but I feel more “under the weather” than “sick”. I left work early today because I didn’t feel good and the people around me noticed I was coughing a lot (I didn’t want to be one of those workplace contagions people complain about). But to be honest, I could have stayed and kept working. I felt merely uncomfortable, not like I was about to die.
Say tomorrow, I wake up and I’m still congested and sneezy, but my throat’s not raw. Would that be enough to stay home? I kinda want to stay home out of sheer laziness, but I am sure to have a bad case of the guilts if I do. I believe that sick time should be reserved for illnesses that leave you either bed- or toliet-ridden. A cold just doesn’t seem bad enough to justify the day off.
What do you think? Have you ever taken a day off for a cold?
Not just tomorrow, but Friday, too. By Monday you’ll feel much better. Do you have the sick time? Seriously, dude, I’m not joking, we Americans don’t take the sick time we’re allowed to take, and it’s killing us. Yes, stay home, take care of yourself, go back in Monday rested and healthier.
Yes, I have sick leave. And I was told I should use it, because it doesn’t roll over or anything.
I’ve been working at this place for only three months, so I guess I’m just scared to take liberties. But I just had a bad coughing jag that made me feel like I was about to throw up. If it keeps up like this, there’s no way I can go to work tomorrow.
You are totally justified and nobody will think less of you, especially if your coworkers saw you coughing. If I worked with you, I would be happy you called in sick. (And hoping you get better soon, of course.)
I went home sick Wednesday cause I couldn’t stop dry heaving while trying to work. As my job involves constant face-to-face with customers, I couldn’t really do it. However, I was made to feel SO GUILTY as I was the last time I went home sick (2 months ago, after a surgery) that I almost decided to stick it out.
I hate guilt trips over sick pay. We get it for a reason, God damn it.
They knew yesterday that you were coming down with something. Besides, they already know you are not a slacker. You feel lazy because your body is trying to tell you something.
Stay home, friend. The first full day is the worst. Make yourself as comfortable as possible. If you have a fever, drink scotch and tea and pile on the covers to sweat it out.
My rule as a manager is: If you are running a fever, STAY HOME. That means you’re contagious and I don’t want your nasty germs, and I don’t want the rest of my staff out sick, either.
I would say stay home unless you feel for whatever reason you simply cannot. Where I used to work you accumulated time off, but if you used it you were written up. It was really dumb, but because I was sick for 3 days out of the year I worked there I was written up for missing too much work, even though I had accumulated 12 days worth of pto. If you are in that kind of situation you might want to head into work, but then again you might want to stay home and look for a new job. If they dont have a problem with it by all means stay home and don’t infect others.
You’ll feel more guilt when your coworkers glare at you then come down with a cold themselves. Stay home, sleep in late and watch crap TV while drinking non-dairy smoothies.
Noble sentiment, but it’s amazing how some bosses resent people taking sick time. I have seen people take a hit in performance reviews for it (took one myself, but it was long ago, far away and a nothing job).
I’ve also had bosses who will kick sick people out of the office. Don’t know how well you know your new bosses, monstro, but it doesn’t hurt to take their attitudes into account.
(I’m not condoning sick working, just recognizing the realities)
I have the exact same symptoms right now as the OP, and were it not for the fact that the only co-worker who’s capable of replacing me isn’t here, I would have called in sick today. I have absolutely no reluctance about calling in sick when I’m feeling bad. Because if you work when you’re feeling “bad” you’ll almost always wake up the next day feeling “worse”. Your body wants rest when it’s sick. Listen to it.
How, exactly, do you know whether this is a cold, the start of the flu, the beginnings of strep throat or the first signs of a nasty chest infection?
I’m a doctor and based on what you’ve described, I don’t know!
If you have any of these symptoms:
Temp >37.5 degrees C
Coughing up green/yellow gunk
Throat too sore to eat ordinary food
A rash
Chills or shivers
Pains in your joints and muscles
Nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea
You HAVE to stay home.
If you’re just feeling crappy, sneezy and snotty a day at home is probably a good idea. Best case, you won’t infect anybody with a bad cold, worst case, you’re at home when the really nasty symptoms kick in.
I hate people who come in when sick and I hate companies that make you feel guilty about staying home. Please, if you can do it without getting in trouble, stay home. I don’t want your cold. I don’t want your germs.
My supervisor tends to chase sick people out the door with Lysol while scolding them to go home. My boss is stupid, but at least he doesn’t protest.
C’mon, are you sick or not? If you’re truly sick, stay home. If it’s just a cold, I’d go to work. People in North America have become absolutely insane about germs. Where I work, you should see all the guys in the washroom, turning taps on and off with their elbows, their hands up in the air, trying not to touch anything, like Art Carney doing “Sterile! Sterile!” Then they use paper towels to open the washroom door. “Sterile! Don’t get too close! Look out, sterile men comin’ through! Any coughers out there? OK, boys, I think we can make a run for it!”
I don’t know about you, but if I’m getting sick and I try to push through it and be active anyway, I end up much sicker for much longer. If I take a day off early on and rest, I’ll get better faster. So really, taking a sick day is beneficial for your productivity and therefore for your work.
I’ve been a manager of people for many years, and I have to say that anyone who makes you feel guilty for taking sick time just isn’t a very good manager. It’s my job to “manage” for chrissake! Part of my management includes how I handle the day-to-day stuff if someone unexpectedly doesn’t show up. If I get a call at 5 a.m. saying one of my people can’t come in, I’m damn grateful they gave me a three-hour head start on the contingency. Managers who resent legitimate absenteeism are lazy, inept and lack self-confidence.
