Why oh why do people turn up to work when they’re poorly?! 😡😡😡

[slippedawaylikeabottleofwine]

I hate it. My colleague turned up, whinged about how sick she felt for two hours, then threw up in the middle of the carpet and went home. She admitted she’d been feeling poorly all weekend. There’s no excuse for it

This again?

Good God there are some workshy posters on here.

If you're well enough to work, you're well enough to turn up, work and stick to the policy.

I imagine some MNetters are positively gleeful when their nose starts to run so they can take time off work

So if you’re the person that can’t tell, doesn’t know or whatever then take a bucket just incase.

Surely it’s not that hard to understand why that would be a reasonable solution to keep it contained?

well, why do YOU think they do it, OP?

go on, give the ol' grey matter a whirl.

I did think we may have learned something from the pandemic, apparently not. ho hum

Because there are still places where sickness is just tolerated.
I had a manager who came in sick, vomited in several bins (in other peoples offices) and only went home when her manager told her to. She was on the phone the whole way home (vomiting too) and from her bed all afternoon. Her poor assistant was run ragged.
we used to have to ring her at 7.00am if we were ill and she would grill you as to why you weren’t coming in. To her there was no reason not to come in. She continuously had to be told that kitchen staff could not come in with S&D even if they washed their hands a lot.
Our sickness record never improved with this behaviour, waste of time.

Probably. I'm clinical.
People get pissed off when clinics get cancelled.

Because our work culture is shit and toxic and doesn't facilitate staying home when you're sick. As simple as that.

I hope she cleaned it up 🤢

I doubt it was deliberate. Maybe she couldn't get to the bathroom in time? No need to condemn the (likely embarrassed) sick person.

This. I was once sick in a queue and had no idea I was about to vomit. I wasn't feeling great but not in a nauseous way. It was sudden. I was also sick once when my daughter was and that was immediate. Sometimes you just don't know it's coming.

I think it's more than just needing the money, it's a mindset issue.

My parents brought me up to miss school only if I was basically on death's door or had a leg hanging off. They were the same with work. It was a matter of pride for them, missing school or work was a sign of weakness, and we weren't shirkers, not in our family. You should be grateful to have school or a job to go to after all. They weren't at all harsh parents or unusual for their time, it was common to think this way. This was the 80s so very much living memory.

Now society has moved on but not everyone's thinking has moved with it, I for example still feel terribly guilty if I take a day off sick (although I do force myself these days of course), like I'm letting the side down. Your colleague may be the same.

And also I say we've moved on but there are lots of pressures at school and workplace to improve attendance, it's not okay at school to take a day off unless you've actually vomited, they will query it hard. So the mentality perpetuates.

I was once sick in a taxi and had no idea it was coming. Felt awful for the poor driver and paid the fine willingly

We need to change the attitude of 'working through it' (where possible with policies and pay).
People should be encouraged to stay at home and actually rest. Not WFH / Work from bed....
And I think people should wear masks on public transport if they are sick. This is normal in other countries.
We need to prioritise staying well rather than prioritise working.
Companies should pay for employees to have the flu vaccine and should supply soaps, hand san, open windows or have air purifiers.

If she’d phoned in sick you’d probably still be bitching about her. Can’t win.

No, I wouldn’t? But she’s just risked giving the whole office a stomach bug

Because walking around with your own personal bucket to vomit in is the socially acceptable way forward…

It might not be contagious. Could be food poisoning.

Perhaps she’s pregnant and will be sick for most of the next nine months or perhaps she has allergies and is reacting. Nobody all vomiting is as a result of a bug.

She shouldn’t have been in work though, I agree.

Well better than spewing on the work carpet for everyone to catch it
and no doubt the poor cleaner having to clean up

We get sick pay however I have came in ill today because otherwise I would have just been slagged off for taking a day sick because the company pays sick pay and it’s taking the piss.

You can’t win.

I remember fondly the time my DS when he was about 14 got in from school saying he felt a bit sickly but then he was fine. About an hour later he was giving me some of the tea about a fight at school 🙄 then suddenly went a very weird shade of taupe, said he felt a bit sick again, then promptly threw up on my penguin slippers, all in the space of about 5 seconds 😩

Really she should have emailed everyone in the room beforehand, eg: "It's highly likely that I will vomit into my special bucket within the next few minutes. Apologies for any inconvenience or distress this may cause."

So inconsiderate that she didn't do this!

Because we live in a maximum attendance culture where people are shamed for taking the necessary leave of absence when they’re unwell. It starts at school and in general, work places perpetuate the same problem.

Surely, given that with a lot of stomach bugs you're actually infectious before you even feel ill, she should have just not gone into work last week?

(Edited - meant to quote Baskerville there!)