To think coming to work sick is selfish

[Leopardprintchicken]

I'm sure this thread has been done to death at some point but I'm so annoyed right now.

Colleague came to a meeting on their day off (it was not compulsory they came but they had a vested interest in the meeting outcome) and were clearly ill, complaining of cold sweats and horrendous sore throat and cold. Of course both me and another colleague at the meeting caught it (symptoms appeared the same day so not a coincidence) and now I'm spending the weekend feeling dreadful.

I'm a SP and have to fit in all of my chores/life admin stuff on my days off and barely got any sleep last night. I'm barely coping with work/home life anyway and this has pushed me over the edge.

I know people get sick but AIBU to think if you can avoid coming into work when you are contagious you should just stay at home?

I would rather colleagues stayed off when they're streaming with a snotty cold but it would be impossible to get any work done.

The least they could do is sit away from others in meetings, put snotty tissues in the bin (not leave them on the fucking side angry), use hand sanitizer and wipe down phones and screens when they're finished, you know, at least minimize their germs spread around.

Sounds like some people want a gold star for the presenteeism. I do understand why some companies have a shit policy for sick pay. When colleagues complain of bad backs and drag themselves through a shift saying they simply can't do xyz, then hop, skip and jump out the door, management are going to get pissed off.

Your update makes them sound like a sickness martyr. More ill people might mention but would largely get in with things. Sickness martyrs usually have everything and anything going around the office and it's always so much worse for them then anyone else with a good side of sighing about it.

If everyone days off for heavy colds, they'd all be fired. I get about three colds a year. It's really uncomfortable but I am normally very sick for about three days so that's 9 days sick before anything else. My employer would not tolerate that level of absence .
Yabu

I don't think this person was being a martyr, I think they genuinely felt dreadful. What annoys me is that they wanted to show their commitment by turning up on their day off despite being so ill (hence highlighting how ill they were to everyone) and didnt care about the collateral damage to others.

The meeting was about a promotion they want so they weren't letting anyone down by not being there. They probably felt like they would lose out though if they didnt come. I'll admit I was annoyed by other aspects of their behaviour before all of this (think swooping in at the last minute to compete with me for something I've worked hard to create for several years).

Aaahhhh.... the plot thickens...

Meh. I've been told that my new place 'doesn't approve of sickness'.

Well, I told them I was on immunosuppressant medication in my interview, I ticked the diversity box indicated autoimmune disease, I made a point of saying about how I needed to know if somebody had particular infectious conditions as they are a particular risk for me, they know damn well that I have no choice about those things, so if they didn't feel the need to refer me to Occy Health for approval before giving me the job, they'd best not get snippy if I actually need to take time off because somebody else has decided to bring in their shingles or chickenpox. But I'm covered by Equalities legislation, so I'm a hell of a lot more secure than most new employees as a result (and Union membership is a wonderful thing).

If they felt that being sick would have counted against them, the problem lies with the company, not their behaviour.

I agree with you. If I am off sick I only get paid after 3 days it's a little inconvenient for the next month. But I work in social care and when people come in with contagious illnesses it can wipe half the team out for a week. I also work with people who have COPD so I don't risk it. I am also very lucky that my work are on the same page.

Its the ones who pitch up complete with snotty hankies when they could Skype in to meetings who really irritate me. I dread catching colds (which inevitably happens when my colleagues travel in the winter especially) from being in pokey meeting rooms

FFS are you really expecting workers to stay home with a cold? Colds are an unavoidable fact of life.

I worked in a school where they were frankly ridiculous about illness. The worst person was the headteacher who would come in to work with a full on stomach bug.
They would spend half the day in my office hiding whilst running out to the bathroom.
Did no work, distracted others from work, spreading illness. However got to do the ‘look I’m in work’ rubbish and then make others feel bad for taking time off (not sure how you work in the kitchen or teach a class whilst puking).
Thing is I think illness was high because people did come in all the time when they were sick. The head in particular seemed to be sick all the time probably because they would never take any time off.

I'm off sick with a cold at the minute. I can't talk properly because every time I speak I have a coughing fit. So given my job is on the phone, I can't do my job 🤷🏽‍♀️
I'm also immunocompromised so colds hit me harder than most people. Someone at work had this last week and now 4 of us have it

I used to get a hideous ulcerated throat a few times a year, complete with bad cold as well. It was so contagious the dr would mask and glove up before looking at me. One imbecilic boss thought I should still come to the office, because she always dragged herself in when she was sick (her words).

Same office, person coughing badly for weeks. When I could take it no longer (above boss didn't say a word mind you) I went and told her to go to the dr as it sounded like she had adult whooping cough. Turns out she did - in a building with multiple pregnant people, who were in regular contact with our office.

I've been significantly less sick since driving to work and not catching public transport with the "drag myself to work infect everyone else" brigade.

Coughs and colds are endemic in winter especially. They spread incredibly easily and are often passed before symptoms have really progressed to the point where someone actually appears "ill", so generally you will catch it anyway.

Short of locking yourself away in a room and never seeing anyone, it's pretty unavoidable and not worth the economy grinding to a halt every winter.

so as a SP, you are entirely reliant on you. If you feel unwell but k ow your not being in work could lead to disciplinary or there’s a round of redundancies coming up, what do you do?

We all have bills to pay, we all make decisions about how to make life work for us. I have just had 2 back to back colds and am also a single parent and a teacher. There is no way I couldn’t go into work for nearly 4 weeks.

I think yabu. In my line of work, no matter how long you’ve been with the company, they really watch all absence. I wouldn’t take time off for a cold, or to be honest I wouldn’t take any day off unless I really couldn’t drag myself out of bed.

Exactly what GrapefruitGin says.
I work for a LA and it is so excruciating to call in sick that I just go in (and sometimes really hope that they will send me home - but they never do).
I literally have to be hospitalised before I would call in sick. And that, of course, means that others may 'catch' something.
My employer are just as shitty around leave as well - it is like it is a dirty word.

I agree that if you have to choose between taking time off and facing penalties or coming in ill then I understand why people choose to come in. I have done this myself and will have to go in on Monday, although I will do all I can to limit spread through basic hygiene. In those circumstances I don't blame the individual, rather the culture of presenteeism.

If the person is coming in for one specific activity, on a day they are not paid and will not face penalties for not coming (except for the potential of feeling left out of something that benefits them personally) then I think it is selfish.

I go to work with a bad cold, but I ensure I wash my hands at all time. I'm trying to think but I don't remember anyone going off sick with the same symptoms afterwards. I also rarely catch virus from those living in my house, most of the time I have no idea where I get it from.

You know that you are more likely to catch a virus going to the supermarket and pushing a trolley that will have been touched by 100s of people before you, a few who will likely have a virus and sprayed it that way, than by breathing the same air than someone with a cold.

The meeting was about a promotion they want so they weren't letting anyone down by not being there.

Gosh how selfish to go to a meeting with a cold just so you don't miss out on a promotion

Yanbu.
I'm a lone parent too and get excessively annoyed at sick colleagues coming in . It's far easier to me to pick up their work and be rushed off my feet for a few days than get ill, that's when my home life falls apart.

I'm afraid although you may have caught whatever bug your colleague had, you won't have caught it on the day of the meeting.

All viruses/ illnesses etc have an incubation period, and it's longer than a couple of hours.

You probably caught it from them at least 24-48 hours previously, so before they knew they were going to be that unwell.

As for coming to work unwell, as other posters have said, many people simply cannot afford to be off sick and many work in jobs who have a very dim view of any absence at all.

I'm in the NHS, and if you're off sick you get stick when phoning in ( are you SURE you can't come in ? It's letting the whole team down you know !) and you get stick when you DO go in unwell ( You shouldn't be here ! You better not pass it to me !) so there's no winning :(

Sleepy colleagues coming in on pain killers annoys me too. They make mistakes that are a pain to unpick later.

Companies aren't doing themselves any favours having strict limits on sick leave.

Agree with PPs. A lot of companies (mine included) don't pay sick pay and strict policies on taken time off sick. Where I work if employees have 3 or more sick absences, they can be disciplined.

Just saying--a lot of folks don't have a choice but to go in.

please think of us poor pharmacy staff before coughing on your prescription/money/whatever in your hand and passing it over - we don't get sick pay either despite contact with many, many pathogens being an occupational hazard... need a good immune system to work here!

Washing hands is all well and good but you do know coughing and sneezing spreads germs in a 1 m radius don't you? Do you disinfect the air as well?
www.healthline.com/health-news/heres-how-far-and-how-fast-a-sneeze-carries-contagious-germs#How-you-can-stop-the-spread-of-germs

And even more scary, seems you don't need to cough or sneeze - breathing is enough to contaminate the air
www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/news/20180119/flu-may-be-spread-by-just-breathing