A few weeks ago, one of my company’s Chinese staff members visited home, including Beijing. Due to the SARS concern, he was asked to stay home (telecommuting via laptop) for two weeks after his return, to ensure he’d not picked up the bug. At the time, a full-staff meeting was held to discuss SARS concerns and the possibility of it being brought into our office.
Two weeks ago, our manager left on a business trip; she spent the first week in China (Beijing), Japan, and Korea and/or Taiwan. She spent last week in Europe and is supposed to return to the office this coming Monday. Given the average 7-10 day incubation period for SARS (nevermind the 14 day maximum incubation on record), there is a possibility she picked up the bug and wouldn’t be showing symptoms before Monday. Information I’ve read indicates SARS has been transmitted in some very strange circumstances (such as spreading through a hotel’s pipe system), and that several business people have brought it back to their home country following business trips.
At our staff meeting yesterday, all present expressed concern about our manager returning to work so soon after her time in Asia. Granted, there is a current slump in new SARS cases, but this isn’t the first time there’s been a slump only to see a resurgence of new cases a few days or weeks later. It isn’t looking like our manager is going to exercise the same caution she showed with our coworker by staying home through next week to ensure she isn’t infected.
I’m interested in hearing opinions on the issue; specifically, what would you do under similar circumstances? We’ve had people talk about staying home next week to avoid being around our manager. Would you stay home, come to work and hope for the best, press the issue with management . . . ?
For goodness sakes, I think everyone is blowing the SARS thing a million times out of proportion. It is just one of MANY illnesses going around in the world right now. It’s not the biggest killer, it’s not the most contagious, it’s not the most horrific.
I’d chill out, is what I’d do.
[sub]disclaimer: I live in Canada and have been getting bombarded by the media about this for months now. Please excuse the testiness on the subject[/sub]
Check out the CDC and WHO websites instead of a message board.
That said, SARS just isn’t that contagious. It is spread through water droplets in the air just like a common cold. In fact, it belongs to the same virus family that causes about half of the common colds. If you wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your mouth, nose or eyes (eg mucous membranes), and avoid hospitals with SARS patients, you risk of infection is virtually zero. And that’s if you live in a SARS area.
Also, if the person like your manager is asymptomatic (does not have a fever and dry cough), then they are not infectuous.
Also, I’m sure your manager stayed in nice hotels and visited only modern office buildings. You will be happy to know that every single person entering one of those buildings has their temperature taken. If you’re running a fever, then no entry.
If you guys really want to be extreme whinny paranoid ill informed jerks, you could insist that your company institute mandatory temperature checks twice a day for all employees. Anyone with a temperature would then have to leave work and go into quarantine.
Apologies if this sounds harsh, but it is ignorant discrimination and I’m getting sick of it affecting my life.
What the media isn’t showing you are the millions of people who still go to work and go through the daily grind without a mask, without any precautions at all because they aren’t necessary for the day-to-day life of the majority.
Does not your company have a <b><i>policy</i></b> about this? Ours does. If yours doesn’t, how come that other guy got held up at home, but not the manager? I would totally talk to the manager’s manager, if I were you, and get him/her to disable the ID of the person who went on the trip.
Yah, !ceQueen, the double-standard is part of the problem; we don’t have a written policy (not that management is consistent with the written policies we DO have :rolleyes: ). The manager’s manager is the owner, who really doesn’t care about what goes on at the office (actually there’re two owners, but on the rare occasions they grace us with their presence, they pretend like us peons don’t exist & only acknowledge the computer programers), so there isn’t any real recourse if a serious issue comes up (any kind of issue, not just the current concern).
As for those who were so angered/annoyed by this topic, I’m sorry you were offended by my asking for objective opinions to help gain perspective on a situation in which my coworkers are upset and threatening to stay home. There’s an overwhelming amount of information out there right now & not having had prior experience with this type of situation, it’s difficult for me to tell just how serious the CDC precautionary advise is. I appreciate those of you who attempted to offer a rational perspective, although I could’ve done without the insults.
Sionach, I did offer you my objective opinion. There’s so much unnecessary hysteria going on over SARS. I hate to see someone buying into which is what it looks to me like your office mates are doing.
Your odds of being killed in a car accident are approxmately five thousand times higher. I don’t see many people avoiding cars. Honestly, is this the most overblown story ever?
Space Vampire, what good does getting angry/rude with me do, other than give you someone to vent your spleen at? Rather than making snarky comments, why not explain your reasoning for why the issue is nothing to be concerned over? I didn’t post and say, “Oh my god, my boss is coming back from Asia and she’s going to have SARS and we’re all going to get infected and DIE, someone put me in a hermetically sealed environment and SAVE me!” I asked for opinions and feedback so I could have something to consider besides the media hype and my nutty officemates.
Again, thanks to those who’ve offered rational comments; if anyone’s interested, I will go to work Monday as planned, although I may ask to be put in a plastic bubble to ensure my safety.
If your manager is usually a hygenic person, it wouldn’t be a problem. SARS usually spread in close contact, so if non of you are going to touch his personal stuff (like drinking from his coffee cup, using his toothbrush or etc.) most likely you shall be safe.
If your manager don’t spit, keeps his hands clean after, ah, exploring his noses or wiping his mouth and etc, it shall be all right. Of course, things like taking temperatures and etc. won’t hurt.
On the other hand, you can probably decreases the chance of getting SARS by being clean too. Keep your hands clean, don’t touch your face unncessary with your hands, take temperature twice per day, wear a face mask and etc.
The worst of it would be the whole office being shut down due to SARS, and customers or clients avoiding you; the fear which SARS generate is more damaging than the actual virus itself.
