AIBU to call in sick?

[madamedesevigne]

I had a big work event last week and spent much of the year working up to it. Immediately afterwards, I came down with a heavy cold. Tried to ignore it and work through as I have plenty to do. But I’ve been making mistakes as I don’t feel well and then I feel bad for making mistakes so then I try to work harder but then I make more mistakes and...

Today I had to go home after two hours because I felt unable to concentrate and woolly-headed. Emails that would normally take me five minutes were taking ages. I had a good sleep and feel better but not 100% and don’t think I will feel well enough to go back tomorrow. If I take tomorrow off I can then have three clear days to recover but I feel terrible about it.

Nobody can really pick up my stuff while I am away. I also have to commute for an hour and 20 minutes each way. I suppose I’m probably known for wanting to be efficient and for being a bit of a perfectionist which is affecting my thinking. I feel I have a reputation to uphold. I really love my job and deeply care about my work. I feel pathetic having to take time off for a cold! The last time I had one (in September) I worked through and it lingered for weeks. So am I BU to call in sick tomorrow?

Definitely take the day off! You don't sound well enough to be in work, and you also don't sound like the kind of person who'd take a day off lightly. Stay in bed tomorrow and try to recover.

No, definitely call in sick tomorrow.

It would be really frowned upon in my work to take time off cos you’re feeling “woolly-headed.” Either you’re unwell and feeling rubbish, shivery and exhausted with a virus and can’t work, or you can manage to get through the day by going to work on a couple of paracetamol and plenty of cups of tea, take proper breaks, then go home again.

You can’t possibly know how you will feel in the morning anyway if you have a really early night today.

No, you wouldn't BU. If you can't work properly because you feel too ill, you should stay at home and rest.

I've felt like this for 10 days and it's not getting better fast. I've worked a few days from home, with mixed productivity.

Def not Unreasonable.

Hope you feel better soon

It almost sounds like you feel that if you didn’t go in then the walls would come tumbling down.
They won’t. Take the day off sick.

Thank you all. I will get an early night and see how I feel tomorrow. And try not to feel bad if I still feel too ill to be in! @CurlyhairedAssassin it’s definitely not just feeling woolly-headed, I was trying to describe the feeling of trying to concentrate through the shivery exhaustion of having a virus. It feels like trying to think through a duvet. I can work with a low-level cold and have done so but this feels a lot worse!

Have you got night nurse? It's bloody amazing

I say rest now before it really gets a grip on you and as you say that will take weeks to recover from.

I don't think your colleagues would appreciate you spreading it to them...

Definitely take the time you need to recover. Pushing yourself and returning before you are fully well could make your recovery even longer. Be kind to yourself

Take it off! You need time to recover (and no one else wants your cold!).

Of course you should take the day off! Don't martyr yourself for your job. Catch up next week.

Hope you feel better soon!

Call in sick. If I was your manager I wouldn't give it a second thought. Rest and get better.

If you’re ill, call in sick. Your colleagues won’t thank you for sharing your germs and presenteeism is futile and awful.

This country has got such a crap attitude to people taking time off when they are genuinely ill. Don’t be a martyr. If you’re not well enough to work, don’t.

YANBU

So if you’re feeling woolly-headed BECAUSE you’ve got a full-blown virus, then you’re not well full stop, are you?

If you feel no better in the morning after an early night just call in sick. The world won’t stop turning.

There are colds you can power through and then there are viruses that are really horrible colds and more like flu for the way they make you feel. Sounds like yours is the latter. The only issue with where I work is what to put in the sickness form when you go back after an absence for that. “Cold” sounds really lame. “Severe upper respiratory virus” makes you sound like a twat.

Take night nurse and call in sick tomorrow. if you've slowed down a lot and are muggy headed, you are prone to make mistakes. Mistakes will affect your reputation more than a day off sick.

And I'm not trying to play Top Trumps here, I am just trying to reassure you, but I'm a senior manager in the CS. If you called in sick my only concern would be about you and that you are being looked after and are getting well.

Please OP, take some sick leave and get yourself better. I have had to send people home before now who came into work when they were clearly too ill to work, even though there was absolutely no expectation for them to do so.

Thank you so much everyone. @IAmCatBed that is very reassuring. My boyfriend lives 10 minutes from my work so I went to his today after going off sick and had a sleep and he made me a veggie sausage sandwich and a cup of tea for lunch and I felt so grateful I could cry!

I hope so madamedesevigne

But there are lots of lovely people here telling you to rest and to get better. We can't all be wrong!!

You're not well lovely. Sleep, rest, recover. Take as long as you need. Just get better.

Awww. A sausage butty and a cuppatea! He sounds like a keeper! A kind man is a prince amongst men.