To refuse to touch my work computer

[TellerTuesday4EVA]

Just found out that a colleague I job share with came into work yesterday (Tuesday) despite having a sickness & diarrhoea bug Sunday afternoon through to Monday evening. Last week she had all 3 kids off school with the bug at different points & her husband also had two days off work. So it's obviously contagious.

I just think that is so bloody selfish. We use the same desk, telephone, chair etc & I've now convinced myself I'm going to catch whatever the hell it is (norovirus has been in local schools so highly likely it's that)!! I've got so much left to for Christmas before breaking up on Friday & if I now end up catching it it will probably spears through my own family over Christmas week.... I'm actually incandescent with rage!!

The worse of it is that it's actually really quiet at work so would of been no hardship to anyone if she hadn't come in.... AIBU to fuck off home & refuse to touch anything??

Update. I started writing this at 9am and didn't hit post... bottled out of going home so I'm still sat here at work spreading her germs all over myself 😡

Give the desk a clean when you arrive.

Don't eat at your desk and make sure you wash your hands thoroughly before doing so. Tbh I think eating at desks is 🤢 anyway but that's a different thread.

Noro is passed on through germs into your mouth do as long as you are sensible and follow basic hygiene there is no risk at all. Assuming she washes her hands properly after going to the toilet there is probably nothing to worry about anyway.

Not sure what you expected your job share partner to do - it was a day and a half after symptoms most employers really would expect you to be back at work.

Actually just re read yeah she should have taken another day off. Maybe get your own keyboard and mouse for the future 🤢

You're not sat by the chip and pin for 8 hours, perhaps eating, touching it extensively, so not really sure on that comparison.

That would make no difference in logical terms. If you're going to get bugs on your hands from keyboards, it can happen just as easily the first time you touch them as the 20th - more so, if anything.

I used to work in a medical Li ray. It's the only place I have worked where they employed people to come and clean all the keyboards and telephones each week, and it's not like there was money in the budget to spare on frivolities. So I am not going to mock those who are worried about contagion from shared keyboards. Aren't there meant to be more germs on the average keyboard than on a loo seat? Certainly I would not be surprised to hear if some of my colleagues' keyboards have evolved whole new mutant lifeforms or entire ecosystems.

But I very rarely get ill, neither does my DS, when he went to playschool, nursery, school etc I was constantly warned ‘he’ll come down with bugs, he’ll pass them onto you’, no he didn’t

You may well be immune yourself, but if you don't practice good personal hygiene, regular handwashing etc., then you're likely to be passing on germs/viruses to others.

It's a bit like vaccinations - you need there to be a critical mass of people who are vaccinated so that it's not passed on by carriers who are either immume or show no symptoms or who've already had it.

Far better for everyone to regularly wash, clean surfaces etc to stop nasties getting spread around.

‘Incandescent with rage’

Get a grip.

Seriously? You need a Haz Mat suit then! What about doors? Loos? desks in meetings rooms?
Here's the best thing you can do - WASH YOUR HANDS - lots. Properly. With warn soapy water, far more effective than that anti bac gel. Wash your hands because that's how most germs are getting into your body, via your mouth.

Wipe desk & keyboard first thing every day with disinfectant wipes, wash your hands before eating & don't eat at your desk.

It only takes one person to not wash their hands after using the toilet for a bug to go round like wild fire, I would use soap & water whenever I touched things like the photo copier, always wash your hands before eating & keep alcohol gel & wipes on your desk to use if anyone touches your keyboard or desk.

How long would the virus live on a hard surface anyway? I think I’d be more wary of colleagues who had actually been around her, they’re more likely to be hosting something imho.

Just practice good hygiene and hope your luck is in because ultimately these things just spread and you can never be 100% sure where you’ve picked up an illness from.

As an aside, I desk share and always have a wipe round everything the day before we swap over; illness isn’t my motivation I just think it’s nice to leave it clean for the next person!

“I'm a nurse, the infection prevention team drill it into us all about cleaning our work spaces before and after we use them. 3 years ago nearly every member of staff came down with norovirus”

So, cleaning doesn’t work?

I would use soap & water whenever I touched things like the photo copier, always wash your hands before eating & keep alcohol gel & wipes on your desk to use if anyone touches your keyboard or desk*
*
Madness.

Do any of you live in London? You know where you touch handrails, poles, ticket machines, seats and arm rests that a million people have touched?

I did. Again. Rarely, rarely ill. Most of London aren't dropping like flies either.

Take in oven gloves and a welding mask. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

@draughty oven gloves are too porous and a welders mask doesn't cover the nose.

If you don't arrive to work in a hazmat suit, sorry but ewwwww!

How long would the virus live on a hard surface anyway?

Typically 1-4 hours, but depends on what the surface is made from, temperature etc.

Some materials, such as brass door handles/hand rails etc are better in that germs/bacteria etc don't live so long - whether that's because they're usually colder or because of other material properties, I don't know. On other materials, like plastics, germs/bacteria/viruses etc tend to live longer, maybe because they're more likely to retain heat, i.e. warmer to the touch.

@nakedavengeragain I hadn’t thought of that. I could fish out my ex’s old rubber gimp suit from the basement I suppose...

@Kazzyhoward thanks

What I’m taking from that is I’m justified in turning the office heating down (apparently I work with lizards )

How long would the virus live on a hard surface anyway?
Norovirus can live for days, even weeks. Same with cdiff.

I think I’d be more wary of colleagues who had actually been around her, they’re more likely to be hosting something imho.

While that is true re then possibly having it noro is only infectious when someone has symptoms.

www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/infections/how-long-do-bacteria-and-viruses-live-outside-the-body/

😳

While I was reading this thread I sneezed unexpectedly then had to wipe a blob of snot off the screen.

I'm about to burn the house down just to be on the safe side.

Antibacterial doesnt kill norovirus. Neither does alchol sanitisers. Has to be diluted bleach or hydrogen peroxide