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

Thanks to the NHS and irs poor service I’ve been off wirk for months - once I finally get yhd poorly administered gynaecological intervention I need I’ll be incredibly worried about ang more time off work abx will probably turn up unwell, thanks to the NHS and its poor service.

What, you think she chose to throw up at work in front of her colleagues? FFS.

Just because you feel sick doesn’t mean you’re unwell or are going to be sick, though.

People can be nauseous for all sorts of reasons, doesn’t mean they’re actually going vomit.

Because when I worked for the NHS even being dead isn’t an excuse.

Im sure she didnt mean to do it.

Seems theres quite a few immature posters on this thread.

Because managers normally assume that anyone calling in sick on a Monday has been partying all weekend and aren't really sick.

My kids school actively encourages them to attend when they don't feel well - and very publicly rewards ONLY children who have 100% attendance with money and treats so they drag themselves in.

So if there's any kind of reward policy in a work place then of course people will be more inclined to come in. (That's in general by the way, I don't know about your specific workplace, but the sentiment remains)

Probably not but could have gone to a toilet

Go to a toilet. You usually have plenty of warning

The presenteeism culture in this country is ridiculous. Obviously I realise businesses have to turn over a profit and sickness absences are a problem, but imo the lack of understanding many organisations show around the fact that people get ill is very short-sighted. If people don't get a chance to properly recover from some illnesses they're only going to relapse and need more time off, not to mention the risk of more sickness absences being caused by their coming into work ill and spreading it around.

In all honesty I think a lot of clueless people who don't tend to get ill think most illnesses are minor, or the person's own fault, or a reason to swing the lead, and the really worrying thing is that a lot of them are managers.

And I do have to wonder if there's much overlap between those who think people should come to work unless they're dead, and those who think long-term/chronic illnesses are just an excuse for not coming to work. It would be quite contradictory if so, because unfortunately there is always going to be a greater need on the part of those with long-term conditions to take time off sick, so a lot of employers don't want to take them on. But no, it's the always the fault of the chronically ill that they're not working. Apparently. 🙄

As multiple people have said, you don’t always get a warning.

My employer has a sick leave policy whereby if we are off sick for more than a certain length of time (the number of days accumulate) we have a discussion with our manager which can potentially lead to dismissal.

Because of this policy, despite having long-term health issues (PTSD, depression/anxiety & arthritis), although I get extra sick days if it's due to my health condition, I frequently work when, given the choice, I'd rather be at home in bed. Over the years I've had several written warnings about my sick leave and don't want to risk losing my job so I struggle in.

Why does that make it right that they share it with everyone? Then they go off sick and pass it round their family

If you are that ill you don’t go in, even if you don’t get paid

Same with parents that send kids into school sick. I’ve only been back this month - entire summer, going abroad, lots of mingling with people. No issues with getting ill. Since I went back to work I’ve been feeling rotten 6/7 days of the week. I think I’m getting better then it goes downhill again.

this time last year parents were sending kids in with D&V, hand foot and mouth, covid/rsv/flu, tonsillitis. It was horrendous for a good two months as it just kept spreading. I got it all - chest infection that required antibiotics due to the flu, mouth full of blisters it was hard to swallow, COVID with a raging fever for five days I couldn’t stabilise, then due to the school I work out of having a strict D&V policy had to stay home until 48hrs after the last bout and it put me into probation because I had to take 3 separate periods of sickness in such a short time and a 4th will mean I’m at risk of getting written up for something that isn’t my fault.

so yeah, if you’re sick stay the fuck home. Suck it up. My job shouldn’t be at risk because you send your kids in sick. It’s not fair.

It’s not that deep to be going around calling people idiots🤣

As someone who works in the NHS - I imagine because no one believes anyone who calls in sick on a Monday is actually genuinely sick…they think they’re using the generous sick pay to extend their weekend.

Poor management & presenteeism.

Then deal with them appropriately, don't punish everyone over it.

Probably due to the sickness absence policy.

I knew someone who would pride themselves in never having had a sick day off in the 15 years she had been there, but would also come in when very ill and be utterly useless at times.

Regarding the vomiting. There is not always warning. I threw up in the middle of class in college. No warning at all. It just came up. I have seen the same happen to other people. One was a surgeon and he was scrubbed in at the time. He made his excuses, left the theatre and threw up in the corridor. He went and sat down in the rest room, turned a funny colour and passed out for a few seconds too.

But knowing the toxic culture in the NHS, I bet even seeing your colleague throwing up was not proof enough that she was poorly.

I had a few years of poor health and ended up with 3 absences in a year. I was told that if I was off work again it'd be a disciplinary issue. After that I dragged myself in no matter how sick i was. Including when feverish and vomiting (in the toilets, thankfully). I'd much rather have been at home in bed where I couldn't infect anyone, and my work wasn't up to the usual standard anyway, but management don't care about any of that, just that you're there. I couldn't afford to lose the job.

Oh come on. Some of these responses are wild.

It’s the NHS. Sick pay is not the issue.

If you don’t feel well, don’t go in. It is grim going in not feeling well and grim for the colleagues you have vomited in front of. It matters not a jot if it’s not contagious.
Take the time
Feel better
Don’t expose your colleagues to your bugs.

Toxic sick culture in the workplace

Even if she gets paid sick pay she may have reached the triggers for action and judging by my experience it solely depends on whether your line manager is reasonable.

I once had an awful bully manager who even when I was off sick would ring me with her demands. She hated me but relied on me which made her hate me more.

I’m in the NHS. She’s been here ten years, so gets something like six months fully paid sick leave

It's not like you get six months' worth totted up of sick leave though is it? That's if you are v ill and need a long stint off, eg cancer treatment.

She might have felt crap all weekend but not been sick. If she'd phoned in sick today and was off but wasn't actually sick, that would have counted as one sickness episode towards her absence record. Many workplaces (I imagine the nhs is one) have strict protocols about how many episodes you can have off.