Does anyone else feel bad working from home when the are under the weather?

[Cloud44]

Do you feel guilty working from home if you are under the weather? So many people seem to drag themselves in with everything and it makes me feel like I should, even when I’m getting work done from home and not off sick.

No. I pity anyone who could work from home but drags themselves in!

Don't be bringing your germs to the office. I get enough from my kids!

Absolutely not!

Stay home = get well sooner, work better without having to struggle to get to the office, more productive in my job.

Drag yourself in to the office = ill for longer, potentially have to take sick leave if I get worse, less productive, give my bug to everyone else making the problem far worse.

There is absolutely no reason to go to the office other than to be seen there. And if that makes a difference then something is wrong.

Nope, I feel bad taking my germs into work. My work would rather you did what you could from home than go into the office. I hate people coming into work with spreading their germs, I’m too busy with work, family life to be sick and it’s not appreciated.

Not at all, and I'm thrilled people are WFH rather than spreading their germs around.

On the days when I’m in the office I’d be thoroughly pissed off if anyone sat near me with a bug.

My workplace seems to have a culture where you go in with whatever lurgy so I always feel I’m being judged when I’m working from home.

Depends how often you’re doing it tbh.

I’ve definitely noticed a few people who now won’t come in unless they’re feeling 100% which can be quite frustrating.

If I have a very bad cold, I'll work from home. Nobody needs to be getting that off me as well as hearing frequent loud sneez which are annoying.

Nope, my work tells anyone ill but well enough to work to stay at home.

I feel bad for anyone that has to go out to work ill.

If I'm ill I generally take sick leave, it doesn't make me feel guilty at all!

If I feel like I'm coming down with something I do take my laptop home, but I usually end up just doing an hour or so and then signing off sick. I might just do meetings, but I usually feel like I am just sitting there and not being much use when I am feeling under the weather, so it seems a bit pointless!

God no, you shouldn't be working at all if you're feeling absolutely terrible.

It’s hard this time of year when there is lots around to know when to force yourself in and when to work from home without looking like you are taking the mic even when it’s a hybrid role. I feel guilty not being seen in the office.

No. The last time I went in ill, I was extremely unpopular with colleagues. Never again.

Why does my workplace make me feel guilty when everyone else seems to feel fine about it?!

I think it's your workplace that is making you feel guilty for not being in the office despite feeling unwell. I guess some places just haven't taken to working from home as well as others. I'm retired and there was no WFH when I was working but turning up ill was massively frowned upon, I had a boss who used to bleach the door handles, light switches, telephones etc almost daily so someone coughing or blowing their nose would have her pointing them to the car park instantly. Are you long with the employer? Does the job suit otherwise?

Yes the job does suit me at the moment, it’s hybrid so I tend to do a couple of days at home during a normal week. But for some reason I see it as a weakness if I happen to be unwell when it’s a day I should be in the office. I’ve been there a couple of years or so.

It's the culture, you are either treated as adults or not.

My place is unfortunately the same. Hybrid job, but if you are slightly under the weather on office days there's no flexibility to wfh. If you are too sick to come to the office you are too sick to wfh apparently. Which is fine but then if you have 3 periods of absence you have to have a meeting with HR 🙄

Why they think it's better to force people in to spread a virus about I really don't know

How long have you worked there @roseymoira ? Do you mind me asking what sort of industry it is?

Yeah absolutely. What's the point in bringing germs in, therefore potentially making everyone else ill in the process. Stay at home, keep the germs to yourself, and get some work done. Or - just have a day off if you're not well! Your company would replace you without blinking if you left, look after yourself before them.

Nope, i'm wfh today as full of cold, i know my team wouldn't appreciate me snuffling and sneezing around them. Very grateful for the flexibility and trust we are given.

Do you have 1-2-1s regularly with your manager? Might be worth exploring what's causing your guilt in those?

In my organisation it is really frowned on to come in if you have a cold or something that you might spread around, senior managers encourage people to work from home if they are under the weather bit feel well enough to work and that helps set expectations.

No it's the opposite.

If you sick, stay at home

How long would you work from home for though, just like a day or until it had mostly cleared up? I do have regular catch ups with my manager but don’t know if I want to bring it up!

It’s stressing me out, because I feel I need to be in the office but I’m still feeling rubbish!