People coming into work sick

[TheGrinchIsComingToTown]

WHY? WHYYYY?!

Just a moan. Turn up this morning and the girl who's been on holiday for the last week is coughing and sneezing all over us all. It's 9 days until Christmas you utter idiot, why risk making us all sick?

(We all get paid sick pay, so she could have stayed off)

I don't know why people do this either... Covid and sickness are doing the rounds at my workplace... so unnecessary!

Oh come on… you know you’re not allowed to take a day off with Covid/cold/flu without being hauled over the Coles and it triggering warnings on sickness absence.

It's doing my head in!! It's the fact this girl told me she gets paid sick leave. WHY ARE YOU HERE THEN

Do you want colleagues to stay away from work if they have a minor runny nose for 2 months? That would be me. The sort that leads to sneezing & occasional cough.

What if some days it escalates to a bad cough, and other days it's just a snivel. What if I sneeze and sneeze. No allergies. Just sequence of minor respiratory infections that don't stop me from doing anything at all.

How do you know what specific symptom severity threshold is "minor enough" and what is "omg how dare you be in the office"

@Gertrudesinthegutter at our company you don't, they're really good!!

Because in most places you can only have so many days off before it goes to a warning?

I know, it’s driven me mad this last week or two aswell. And we have a hybrid working arrangement so they could just wfh!!
One colleague put on the group chat that she was feeling awful but was going to come to the work Xmas lunch. Why?!! Stay away please 😆
then she came in the office a bit two days later, but didn’t stay long as she wasn’t well,
was a fluey possibly covid thing.

its so thoughtless, she hadn’t considered at all the effect on others.

If you're sat in the office saying you feel sick, coughing and sneezing all over your colleagues you should be at home? Especially at this time of year

But if we take more than 2/3 absences within a year it triggers a HR review. Is that similar in your place?

I hate people coming in sick but we can also wfh so most people do that. Before Covid and wfh was normal most people came into the office with colds and coughs.

Because everyone wants their colleagues/employees/managers there at all times to do their fair share of work but no one wants to actually be anywhere near a sick person. Social double standards. 🤷‍♀️ Also it goes on references at some places.

We have a meeting from the big bosses if we are off twice in six months. Also leave other colleagues open to pick up our duties when they are stressed to death themselves.

Probably because if she didn't turn up everyone would be moaning about how she was shirking her responsibilities and was probably just hung over from a party the night before.

Why are you so scared of the 'big bosses'? Surely if you get called in for a meeting you tell them 'yes I was unwell'.

If I got paid sick leave, I would not be going in. I can work alone so it’s not a huge issue, but if I don’t go in, I don’t get paid, so not much of an incentive to stay home and recover…

1. Maybe she's got a bad sick record so she's dragging herself in?
2. Why do you keep calling her "Girl" so infantalising

Nope, no such rule at ours

Yes and then eventually you get put on some sort of performance/absence plan and then fired.....

If you don't be have any policies that will mean HR involvement then I don't be getting it either. I know some places are strict but surely it's better to have one person stay off than suddenly have loads out cos they all caught it?

We don't have strict rules where I work either, and can also work from home, but there is all too often still someone who comes in when they really shouldn't have. I really don't understand it myself. I'd much rather be at home when I'm unwell than trying to 'brave it out ' at the office, and I'd feel awfully making someone else sick just before Christmas!

It's no wonder school absences are high if grown ass adults think a cold is reason enough to stay home even if we'll enough to work.

I couldn't agree more OP. It's so so selfish. Bloke in my office last week announced (at the END of the day) how rough he'd been feeling all week, and how he was falling asleep as soon as he got home each evening because he feels full of virus and cold that he can't seem to get rid of, and he's having hot & cold sweats all the time. Twat!
So now guess who's unwell today?!!!

@GoodVibesHere
You then get a target to not be off for so long. It is ridiculous. They would say it doesn't affect their opinion of you but it does.
Sadly presenteeism is still a thing despite the pandemic.

This exactly

Ah you're one of those parents that sends their poor kids to school when they're unwell. Bloody hell your poor kids.

I have called in sick today with a horrible cold. I’ll be called in for an informal sickness absence meeting as it’s my 4th episode in 12 months.
I am a nurse and today would have been running a clinic seeing around fifty women in total. My absence luckily didn’t impact staff of patients today. But tomorrow if I don’t go in clinics will have to be cancelled. So I will be going in and seeing around 40 patients in a windowless unventilated room whilst I have a horrible chesty cough, mild temp and streaming nose. I will wear a mask for all the good it does but I have to go in otherwise I’ll be in trouble and my colleagues and patients will be affected 🤷‍♀️

With a COLD. Just a cold. A sniffly little cold. Not full on flu