To go home from work just because of a cold?

[Thisnamechanger]

This always seems one of those damned if you do damned if you don't scenarios!

Much as I try not to, I'm coughing a lot and I sit quite close to other people so am likely infecting others.

At the same time it seems a bit wussy to go home just for a cold!

Luckily am department manager so can pretty much take myself off and no one will scowl at me but I know when I was junior I'd always sit there suffering hoping to be sent home.

FWIW I always tell my team to go home if the have a cold and are feeling really lousy.

WWYD?

Sleep is the only cure, so go home, rest up and come back tomorrow feeling better.

Everyone else will have come into contact with it now, so it won't matter to them until they want to go home, so do consider how you feel now and remember that they may be feeling that way in a couple of days too.

I would go home if I were you.

I get all the germs passed on to me because people go to work feeling rough and spread it around and I am not even in the office, it all gets brought home as a special treat for me.

I think this one divides all!

I'm definitely in the camp of "keep your germs at home". If we all followed that rule colds would reduce massively.

You are an adult so can make your own decision about how ill you are. No one should send you home.

Also, think about the example you are setting the rest of your team. If they see you decide for yourself you are ill they will probably feel more comfortable doing the same.

The only Aibu is asking random strangers on here about it!

I think it depends on how bad you feel. If everyone took time off for a mild cold then I think the economy would nosedive! If you feel really lousy then fair enough. I get shivers and an awful headache for a day or two beforehand so really need to be in bed if it's a bad one but feel OK when I get to the cough / sniffles bit. It's different for everyone

YANBU. I hate the culture of showing up for work and making everyone sick. As long as you take the same attitude with people below you I think it's much more sensible than infecting everyone.

Well you've already coughed over them so they'll be infected now - pointless going home. And if you cover your mouth when you cough & wash your hands regularly then you won't be covering them with germs...

I used to work at one place where you could very easily work at home (there was an internal messaging system so you could still easily discuss work etc.) It was still massively frowned upon and there would be snide comments from the boss when you returned. People would end up coming in obviously far too sick too work then get sent home just so they could avoid the insinuations of skiving off. One guy came in with D&V (he literally kept running to the bathroom) and made half the rest of us sick. Bloody annoying.

If you have shivers, aches and headache, go home.

Surely it depends how rubbish you feel. Have you taken some paracetamol or some ibuprofen?

Go home, I hate it when people come in and spread germs and then everyone gets it, be nice keep it to yourself!

It depends how ill you feel. If it's just a cough then stay at work. (Who takes time off for a cough anyway?).

If you are actually poorly or have D&V and can't physically work then of course go home.

It is a knife edge sometimes with sickness. I wish people would stay home but with it being so frowned upon I can see why people come in. I used to work with food and got norovirus. My manager asked me when I was coming in while I was still being sick. He got very arsey when I said I don't know etc.... in the end I went back too early as he was calling me twice a day asking and everyone including him came down with it. He didn't say a lot when a year later I got another tummy bug and I called in sick 😂

You should be allowed home for ANYthing if you don't feel well enough to stay.

And a simple 'cold' can make you feel dead rough. So go home if you want.

If everyone took time off for a mild cold then I think the economy would nosedive! this 100%.

It really depends on just how bad you feel. Last time I had a cold I felt like shit for over three weeks. I couldn't possibly take almost a month off work for a cold.

I've had quite a few medical/sick days this year so anticipate a bit of a lecture are YE. They're not a fan of people working from home here either. Not just a cough obviously - feel a bit shivery, sore throat and exhausted, as if there is sheep in head. Was in bed all of Sunday.

Update: home in bed. Bought a bunch of sweet Williams and some chocolate chip cheesecake to cheer myself up

I'm in this situation at the moment, but it has been 3 years since the last time I had a cold. I stayed home yesterday, but will go in to work today (Australian time zone).

On one hand, it gives me the shits when sick people come in to work, but on the other hand, their contagious/infectious period was already there before they started showing all of the symptoms, so if someone is going to get sick from them, it may already be incubating.

Still in bed - have hilarious man sounding voice!