How do you judge?

[bobquasit]

How do you judge when you're sick enough to stay home? That's always been hard for me. Because whenever I stay home, I feel guilty somehow, as if I were faking it. Even though I know that I'm not.

Hell, people at work get mad at me because I come in when I'm obviously sick, and (they say) infect them. And they're probably right. I'm not just talking about my current job, either; I've been told the same thing at any number of other jobs I've had.

So tomorrow morning I'll need to figure out what to do. I started taking the antibiotic last night. I feel like shit today; even with Robitussin DM, I had a hard time breathing and was coughing up green stuff (sorry if that's TMI). At times the general pain was severe, enough so that even though I took a maximum OTC dose of ibuprofen, the pain was hard to cope with.

My voice has been mostly gone all day. Because I've done very little talking, right now I can talk - I sound remarkable hoarse, but I can speak and be understood.

Tomorrow morning I'll have to decide if I should go into work or not. A lot of that will depend on how I feel in the morning, of course, but right now my brain is telling me "IDIOT! You're still really sick. What the hell are you thinking? Of course you should spend another day in bed!". But at the same time I feel guilty...this sucks.

How do YOU make the call? Do you have any hard and fast rules for yourself, or wing it, or what?

Comments

My thoughts on when to stay home sick

[(Anonymous)]

Here's how I think about the matter.

1. It's not really a benefit if you don't use your paid sick leave when you're actually sick. Use the benefits or you might as well not have them!
2. You are less likely to be productive when illness reduces your ability to think and concentrate, so in those cases you're not adding much value to the company by going in when you're sick.
3. If you get your co-workers sick (especially if it happens repeatedly), you actually cost the company money rather than make a positive contribution by going in. And, as you noted, it can irritate your colleagues, which generally detracts from a good work atmosphere even when everyone is healthy. Part of the decision is and should be a consideration of how your behavior affects your colleagues. Wait until you're not contagious!
4. If you simply must work while sick, maybe telecommuting will at least deal with #3. Obviously, this is not possible for some jobs, and may be difficult if you didn't already bring stuff home with you.
5. You risk compromising your own health if you're not at least mostly recovered before you go back. Is that worth it if, say driving to work while you feel horrible increases your chances of being in a car crash?


Steve

Re: My thoughts on when to stay home sick

[ethesis.livejournal.com]

Well said.

Peter, get well.