If you had a very important meeting in work ...

[smellycarrot]

Infact if you had two very important meeting this week, one that included flying to Ireland to meet a client but you were sick, would you feel bad about phoning in sick?

How do other people deal with being ill when you are senior in your job and flights and hotels have been booked in advance for weeks?

I dose up on the usual stuff and get my arse there.

I medicate and carry on, it's not worth the extra hassle and work that comes with not showing up.

So if you've been in bed for 3 days straight with the flu and still feel terrible?

My partner had been incredibly unwell with flu- I've never seen him so ill and we're together 22 yrs. he's still very unwell and I'm the one telling him he needs to look after himself but he's getting annoyed at me for not understanding how stressful it is for him. I really feel for him as I know it's a difficult Situation but sometimes I think you have to put yourself first.

But I'm in a retail job so I definitely don't have the same stress so maybe i don't get it

How ill are you, and is it infectious?

If you are not fit to travel and/or you are likely to infect others, you shouldn't go - a senior person would normally ask their PA/EA to handle the cancellation and rescheduling, or to arrange for someone else to go in their place.

As a small business owner I am rarely ill enough to skip work. I've had one sick day in 8 years. Fortunately I don't have any ongoing health issues. Unless I was physically unable to put one foot in front of the other, or was contagious I would take a couple of Anadins and battle on. Its different though when you are conducting business for yourself, rather than or corporation.

yes because its a client and potential business for the company for that i would try to attend, if it was day to day general duties and i was ill then thats a different story

It's definitely a different ball game when you can't palm it off/'call sick'. My role comes with lots of flex so 90% of the time if it were internal I'd delay until I'm feeling up to scratch.

However I have had a couple of huge, external meetings or conferences I'm speaking at, where I've had to dose up, feel like shit before/after, and just get it done.

It depends on the context. I would because I could get someone in my team to cover it.

multivitamins and paras for me and then try my best

Sorry, cross-posted with you saying it's your DP who's ill.

This

If I am ill and unlikely to be effective , or contagious, then I cancel - it's the only professional thing to do

If it’s actual flu he should stay at home until recovered and not contagious. Flu can be very dangerous for some people and is putting a lot of pressure in the NHS. A work meeting is not worth the risk of infecting lots of people.

Sometimes you can medicate and get on with it. Sometimes you are just too sick. Only the sick person can tell.

If it's proper flu he needs signing off.

If it's a bad cold he needs dosing up.

to meet a client but you were sick

If I was a client and someone came to meet me with something like a sickness bug, I'd be absolutely furious.

Me too.

If it’s flu and he’s as ill as you say then absolutely he should stay in bed - no-one on the meeting or on the plane will thank him for passing the flu onto them. Flu is absolutely miserable and it’s a killer amongst certain parts of the population. It should not be minimised.

It’s normal to feel bad about phoning in sick - it shows you care about your job (unless your boss is a dick and that’s why you feel bad, of course).

Yeah this, and a plane full of people if he’s flying there

Can it not be done on teams?

I think the unwell person will know themselves when they need to stop and admit defeat and when they feel able to carry on.
If he is that unwell he simply won't be physically able to go (feeling too weak, needing the loo nearby, pounding headache etc depending on what is causing the illness). If he feels he can do it then that is his choice.

I am 64. Only three times in my professional career have I been so ill I was unable to get to work. On each occasion I was physically unable to get washed, dressed and drink water. Once in my late 20s (no immovable meetings), once in my early 50s when a grievance meeting had to be rearranged, and once last year when I was bed bound with noro for two days but had no immovable meetings.

Very recently I had this awful viral bug that's doing the rounds and it developed into a chest infection and I was prescribed AB's two days before I was due in court. ABs were kicking in, paracetamol and warm drinks. The Dr told me to stay at home - that was not a workable option.

If you can get up, shower, dress and keep down a cup of tea' you can usually pull it off. It's easier nowadays if you can pace by working from home around essential in person stuff.

This !

I think it's very selfish to go in with the flu. Obviously I understand that when you phone in sick for an important meeting, nobody says "Oh we are so glad you phoned in sick and avoided infecting us" but I do think it's the better option.

Personally I'd be seriously fucked off with anyone who showed up to meet me with flu they could potentially pass on.

If he's in bed with flu then I think he should cancel. It's not the end of the World - things happen and plans have to change sometimes. Maybe he can arrange a call & try and get some of it done this way?