To wish people wouldn't come to the office when ill.

[Snapperz]

There's a guy on the desk opposite me who has such a bad cold he's literally groaning in pain. His desk is soaked in snotty tissues and he's sneezing everywhere. I am in his direct sneeze line. We are allowed to work from home whenever we like.

AIBU to be really annoyed with him and offer no sympathy?

I would be annoyed too. I'm pregnant and would hate if someone was bringing their germs to the office.
Do you by any chance have an open plan office where you could move to another desk?

I work in an office where it's frowned upon to NOT come into the office. You can't win for losing. You take a day off sick and the remarks you get are along the lines "oh, but it's only a cold". You come into the office and the remarks are along the lines "you should be at home in bed".

You can't win.

I know it doesn't seem to apply at your office OP, if you can work from home but for lots of us that isn't an option. Also, we don't get paid for the first three days of sickness at my workplace, and after that it's SSP which won't keep a roof over our heads or food on the table.

People generally don't want to be at work when they're poorly, it's purely out of necessity usually.

No option I'm afraid.

No option here.

In the situation you've described, where there is a choice to work from home, then yeah, annoyed with no sympathy is how I'd also feel toward this guy.

I'm off sick at the moment as everyone in our office has school age children, so we have an unspoken rule that if you feel really grotty, you don't try to go in so you don't pass it round and possibly give it to the children.

Much better that one person is off for a day or two than the whole office is riddled with cold and then off dealing with ill children

I can't afford to take time off for a cold and I wouldn't anyway. I always treat it when the symptoms start so it never goes into a full on cold

I have an auto-immune illness and part of the reason I left my last job to set up an at home business was because people came into work with all manner of illnesses which knocked me for six.

One woman gave me swine flu which landed me in hospital and took nearly a year to recover from.

I understand people can't take time off work without facing the wrath of a boss or even losing their job but it is playing fast and loose with the health of others.

Some people in the office can't work from home because they use fixed resources, but this guy can. I would be fully sympathetic if he had to be here, but I think he's just being a martyr...

It's very selfish. I'm sat here with a chest infection as everyone in dh's office has had a bad cold and still gone in, infecting him and thereby me. I'm a childminder and if I don't feel any better tomorrow, my inability to work will impact on 6 families.
It's not just going in to work that's the problem, it's cleanliness and hygiene awareness.

Glad to see this thread. I am at home with a chest infection and while I fell shit, I feel guilty about my colleagues having to pick up the slack for me. Most of my workmates are decent about the whole thing, but I will be reminded by one person that she has never taken a sick day in 15 years.

I appreciate that in some cases staying off makes life very difficult either at home or at work. but for the rest of the martyrs that go in to work when they are ill, and spread their germs around: Stay At Home!

YANBU.

Maybe his wife didn't want him at home moaning and groaning and coughing all over the baby?

It's hard sometimes. I've had lots of health problems in the last year including numerous chest infections and colds but I've had to come to work sometimes otherwise I'd have had loads of time off. I'd have loved to have stayed at home throughout them all, but you can't can you.

I had lots of remarks along the lines of 'stay off and keep your germs away' etc - sometimes you can't win.

Certainly in places ive worked before two or three bouts of illness would trigger meetings and warnings about sickness records. I average three stinking colds a winter. So was pretty much forced to go to work.

I think YANBU as a matter of principle, but the reality of may employers' sickness absence policies means YABU in practice. For many of us, our jobs and hence whole financial security are under threat by time off sick, so we will struggle in if it's just a cold. Unfortunately, these policies are in operation in the first place because some people take the p*ss with sickness especially in places where sick pay is generous.

YANBU if there is the option for working at home.

Whats your company's sickness policy like?
Mine is awful, if our sickness percentage goes over 3% we get meetings and warnings.
I once got a written warning for fainting at work and being carted off in an ambulance. I appealed and got it revoked.

Ok so maybe he really had to be in the office but leaving snotty tissues lying around and possibly not being careful where his sneezes end up is just gross. There are ways of at least in part “containing” the worst of a cold by observing considerate hygiene in a public space.

If you have the option to work from home then I agree it's better for your colleagues not to bring your germs into work.
I'm lucky in that I can do this and did for most of last week as I have a stinker of a cold. I was still able to work and took no time off sick.

I go into the office with colds. We only get a small bit of sick pay. If I took sick leave, I would be on SSP and I can't afford that.

HS he is a contractor and lives in a hotel Mon-Fri, so no danger of infecting his family. The hotel has free wifi, desks, is quiet and has good phone reception; I've worked from "home" there before.

The company are pretty hot on sickness records but that's one of the reasons we are allowed to work from home - you pretty much have to be hospitalised to justify a sick day.

I had no option at my job. 3 days in 12 days was a disciplinary.

Sorry 12 weeks

Workplaces should force snivelly matyrs to wear white masks to lessen chance of spreading germs.

I'm only half joking; in fact, not joking at all.

If you do go into work with the plague, at least use frequent and generous amounts of hand sanitiser and show a modicum of consideration. Tends to make co-workers less pissy.

YANBU! The lady who sits next to me came into work the day after being diagnosed with a contagious virus (apparently) while I was 6 months pregnant. I emailed HR and said either she goes home, or I do!