To wonder about this person calling in sick at peak time

[bestfakesmile]

Had a crazy busy week at work with a major project on. One of our team who has been very involved in all the planning for this project and was supposed to be supervising the completion of it has been off sick for the entire week with a cold. This has put massive pressure on our team, we would have been stretched even with that person, so without them it’s been very difficult. It has meant that everyone on our small team has had to put in loads of extra hours to cover her work between them. She could have helped out a bit by doing some work from home even if she couldn’t make it in but no.
The irony is, I know she is still going to expect the credit and the sales bonus in her pay packet this month. Even though the sales would not have been fulfilled without everyone else stepping in to do her work while she’s been off.
If the rest of us hadn’t done that work there’s no doubt we would have lost a number of important clients and that would have had a devestating impact on the business. Quite literally she would have put herself out of a job. She must be mightily naive if she hasn’t worked that one out.
Obviously it’s a time of year when coughs and colds are running riot, almost everyone I know has had something in the last month or so but most people know they can’t just drop out of life when they have a cold. But this person is the type to refuse to have a lemsip because they don’t like the taste, and won’t take a tablet either cos she can’t swallow it. It’s as if she actually enjoys being ill and wallows in it.
Personally, it would have taken hospitalisation for me not to come in to work this week. Firstly, I would feel absolutely awful if I let my colleagues and boss down at a crucial time. I don’t think I could face them afterwards knowing I’d left them in the lurch. Secondly, I’d hate to miss out on the satisfaction of completing this project that we have all worked so hard for, I could not bear to let it all go down the drain and see these clients walk away.
It feels a lot like she couldn’t be bothered or possibly couldn’t cope with the higher than usual workload this week so just bailed out and left everyone else to pick up the pieces. I’m going to find it hard to work with her when/if she manages to drag herself back in next week.

I wonder if this person was on a paid by the hour type job if she'd manage to make it in or not.
I've been into work bleeding from miscarriage and been in serious amounts of pain but because the bills still need to be paid and I wouldn't be paid if I didn't go in, I of course went in.
So, I don't think your unreasonable at all, some people shirk some people work. It all depends on the situation and type of work environment.
If your desperate for money you'll work, regardless of what's wrong.

YABU. You have no idea how bad she felt ringing in, or how hard it was for her to do, especially when there are people like you slagging her off for being ill. Maybe you wish you had thought of it first?? I think you sound cold and uncaring. People get ill, especially when under stress. Grow a pair, be kind, cos you sound like a miserable old git.

If you're desperate for money you'll work regardless of how ill?

What a massive amount of sanctimonious bull!!!

Sometimes, its for the safety of others that some don't go into work. Chicken pox for example, might be easy for some to deal with, but can bring dire consequences for expectant mothers, Flu can induce premature birth in pregnant women, so sometimes, when you are sick, its better to actually get well, and not play the bloody martyr and go spreading your crap everywhere.
Nothing is more important than your health, not money, not bills, not anything. I doubt there are many jobs out there that would be allowed to withhold pay for a miscarriage and yes, I have been through it!!! I would rather take the time off, let 'em try and not pay me and then drag the areholes to court!

There are some cold unfeeling twats in this world that need a bloody good kick up the arse.

People often say cold and the likes because they don’t want nosey people like you knowing what is really wrong with them.

I’ve done it a few times

Oh ffs. Just because you would run yourself into the ground and spread all your germs around everyone else doesn't mean she has to be like that.
Perhaps she values her health and wellbeing more than her work.
It's annoying and inconvienent but she's obviously had a really shitty virus and needed to be home to fight it.
You all got there in the end and you can take the credit for it.

This is why people are guilted into going into work when they shouldn’t be there!
You managed without her so what’s the problem? Yes you had to cover for her and do some overtime but I’m guessing had it of been someone else sick then she would have put in extra hours

OP, it really isn't any of your business what was wrong with her. She's entitled to time off if she's ill. She's also entitled to self certify for up to 7 days of illness. That's the way it works. Therefore YABU

I think the OP worded her post badly and it's brought out a group of people who have had good reason for keeping health issues private or between them and their manager, who are seeing their situation in the OP's and reacting to it.

However, it seems clear from the OP's later posts that this woman has form for doing this. She may well have a reason, physical or mental, that she doesn't want to share, but, if it's a pattern and there is a feeling by the team that this always happens at crucial points, then people are going to feel frustrated and resentful. However, it's your management that are letting you down OP. If there is a reason that they're not sharing with you, then they have to ensure the rest of the team is supported in her absence. In.a one off situation, everyone pulls together, but when it keeps happening and she never puts the extra hours in, you create a division and that is terrible for team morale.

I've had to manage out an employee who was just lazy. She routinely arrived late and left early, took long lunches and spent most of her workday chatting in the kitchen. We were project based and he pulled sickies when the pressure was on, and it became a real problem. We had to put her on performance review, and it got to the stage where she had to report in and out to me, and we had weekly reviews to show her what we were expecting and where she was falling behind. It was horrifically stressful for all involved, and she felt very unfairly treated. The thing was, she was just totally unsuited to the job and the pressured environment. She eventually quit before we had to sack her, and I'm sure she feels hard done by to this day.

Whilst it was all going on it created huge schism in the team, and a group of people who always had each other's backs and were a great team started falling out and bitching.

For all the genuine, private reasons that people are off, there are people who just don't pull their weight. It is an absolute drain on the team and everyone knows it.

OP, if this is the situation, you anbu.

YABU, but I know it must be really tedious.

Many moons ago, I job I stepped out of was taken over by a woman I really liked personally but who was always ill. As I had done the job, I was the cover for it. I had just started a new role but couldn't get to grips with it as I was always covering this sick colleague. Worse still, I knew she was on more money than me.

I was increasingly resentful, as I was never ill.

We lost contact, and I found out few years later she was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder.

You never know what goes on behind closed doors.

YABU you cant plan when you get ill and different people react differently to the same illness. Some illnesses I can get up and carry on but a full blown cold floors me. The only thing I do agree with if this project was so important, surely she could have done some computer work or something with her feet up, snuggled under a duvet, even if it was just 10/15 minutes later in the week.

It's actually irrelevant whether a person is genuinely ill or just a lazy skiver, in terms of impact on colleagues/employers, if that person is always having time off. If you run a business or manage a department of 10 people, you can maybe cope with one leadswinger/person with chronic health problems. but you can't cope with more than three before the impact on colleages and the actual job becomes unsustainable. If someone becomes too ill to work for a long time, then there comes a point where you have to end their employment, end of.

Narnia I disagree. The OP revealed herself as someone who jumps to conclusions about it others' private circumstances and who seeks to bring down her colleagues. Quite rightly she has been taken to task on that. This sort of bullying and busybodying is rife in toxic workplaces and has no place in a progressive society.

I took Monday off with a "cold" last week. Tuesday, I went to work and was sent home by my manager because she didn't like how I looked or sounded. She specified that she wasn't worried I would infect everyone, simply because I am retentive about spreading germs (my DD's immune system isn't up to snuff).

Wednesday, I went to the doctor and found out I had pneumonia. I am not saying that going in caused the pneumonia at all, but my cold evolved into something more sinister... just as your colleague's may have.

Frankly, if she has form for not tolerating illness well, then you should have had it in the back of your mind that during cold season, she might get sick, and plan adequately.

So, YABU... and judgemental, too.

You sound like a complete nightmare colleague! Your comments are so mean-spirited and derogatory, it is hard to believe that this is really just about your colleagues taking sick leave (that she is perfectly entitled to) and that there is not some other deep-seated agenda going on here. If 'she was very involved with all the planning of the project', why on earth would she not be entitled to her share of the rewards?

It sounds like you have a real grudge against this woman and are seeking to justify your animosity to yourself by making irrational statements such as 'you would have to be hospitalised' before you took time off. If your team has so little resilience that it can't cope with one person being off sick, then this is a managerial issue, in that the team is stretched too thin and your workload is unreasonable to begin with. You need to stop being such a martyr, and start being a bit more compassionate.

Health is more important than work, more important than sales and clients and bottom lines. Your boss won’t be there for you if you need them in life.
Take a step back and reprioritise Op.
Some colds are a sniffle, some are nearly as bad as flu (having had actual flu and a very very bad cold they can be nearly as debilitating).
Furthermore, she had good business sense not infect the whole team.
I understand your frustration by try and see the bigger picture.

YANBU. Surprised at all the comments. If you are in a senior post, you have responsibilities. I’m all for staying off work if you are really ill. I simply do not include a cold in that category. Or most businesses would run into the ground in winter. Dose yourself up with vit C, Manuka honey, and paracetamol if you have to. Yes, she might have another reason. Then you make up a better excuse. A week off for a cold! Jeez I didn’t take a week off after surgery. I’ve worked in jobs where you know that people take time off for no good reason. The OP has said that this woman could have done stuff at home. If the job on was this important she should have done this at least.