To be slightly annoyed that work expect me to carry on as normal?

[Paperbackmermaid]

I’ve got covid and so far it’s true, I don’t feel at death’s door. Work have said I’m ok to work from home as usual, because I do anyway.
However although I largely feel ok periodically I’m hit with absolute exhaustion, not tiredness, like MUST REST NOW. I’m taking paracetamol for the headache and sore throat and apart from the exhaustion it’s ok really.
If I had a job I couldn’t do from home I wouldn’t still be expected to attend meetings and deal with clients.
AIBU? Obviously I will do what I can and it’s varying a bit, I feel ok and then it just suddenly crashes over me that I am so unbelievably tired.

@IntermittentParps

And again when you broke my ankle Good heavens, this is quite a robust discussion I know, but that's a bit much

😂😂 I promise I have an alibi….

DS was like this with covid and initially carried on wfh but after a few days the fatigue hit. He took 4 days off either side of a weekend (so, Thurs to Tues) which gave him time to rest, spent Weds / Thurs wfh and has gone back into the office today for one day before the weekend.

Pace yourself, take time off.

I’ve had covid and my work are letting me dictate how much I want to do - so I’m doing a phased return doing a couple of hours Mon, Wed and a bit more Friday with Tues and Thurs off. I am eternally grateful for their consideration, they can see I’m trying even though I was particularly ill, and they know I’ll hit the ground running when I do go back full time the week after.

A considerate employer makes all the difference to employees.

I couldn't go on site either time as, once a sick note is issued you are no longer covered by insurance, etc

This is just not correct, especially in a school. They’re spinning you a line. In theory, you can return at any point, whether still covered by your fit note or not.

@IntermittentParps

And again when you broke my ankle Good heavens, this is quite a robust discussion I know, but that's a bit much

Fnargh!!! 😆

@DotBall

I couldn't go on site either time as, once a sick note is issued you are no longer covered by insurance, etc

This is just not correct, especially in a school. They’re spinning you a line. In theory, you can return at any point, whether still covered by your fit note or not.

You know what I meant. Signed off sick means you can't be compelled to go in until you feel well enough to do so. You go in, sign on the dotted line and that's it. BUT the protection given by the removal of work expectations remains if needed.

I voted YABU- only because you can ring in sick if you can't do your job.
Hope you get better soon though , take care

The whole point of being off sick is so you can rest and get better....Not that you should work because you feel a bit better for a period of time!
Tell your manager that you are going off sick
A friend of mine has just got her 2nd sick note following a bout of covid
She says the tiredness comes in waves

@GoodForTheSoul

I used to see this in the office all the time. People would come in sniffling and coughing, moaning and complaining how badly they feel... Waiting for their manager to tell them to go home

Not sure if they ever realised that whether they call in sick first thing or their manager sends them home, it still counts as a sick day all the same!

You're an adult OP, you decide if you're too sick to work, not your employer.

I used to have employees like this. I always told them to either wfh or call in sick, never gave them a hard time about it, and was generally laid back as a manager.

I warned one who was sniffling and coughing one day to go home and he said he was fine. The next day he came in worse then the day before, was pale could barely keep his head up while reading emails, snotty and coughing. I said “right then, if you need me today call me I’ll be working from home I’m not catching your plague, you get any points from me for coming in sick…and reflect on your choices as I’m at home in my fuzzy slippers while you are drooling on your desk”.

His face was priceless as I walked out of the office. Funny enough he called in sick the next day and the rest of the team started to take better advantage of the job’s flexibility.

you don’t get points

You know what I meant

No need to be snarky, the old ‘fit note, so not covered by insurance’ is trotted out so often on MN it gets annoying, because it’s just not true.
I’m sure if you meant what you said in your reply to me, you would have written that, surely?

@QueenoftheKarens

Call in sick. Your work don't get to decide how your feeling and how you can cope. Don't be a martyr.

Work do not get to decide if you are well enough.

That is complete CF territory.

Stand up for yourself.

Tell them you are unwell, off sick.
That is it.
No discussion.

I also have Covid. I called in sick Friday to Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday I worked reduced hours as I still had some fatigue. I am regularly keeping my manager updated as to how I'm doing and she has been fab/supportive. Hope you feel better soon OP. But be clear with them and then they will be clear with you.

@billy1966 Why are her work CFers when she hasn't actually said she's sick and needs time off?

Covid hits people at totally different levels. She's in an office job with clearly some flexibility, so it's not a zero hour minimum wage situation, and there's no evidence that work has been putting pressure on her that would make her afraid for her job if she calls in sick.

If you're sick, you need to be an adult and tell them that, not be a martyr and moan online to strangers for sympathy, while you wait for your boss to notice over Zoom that you're feeling peaky.

I have Covid (seems I actually caught it at work). I called in sick on Mon and Tues this week, hoping I'd be well enough to wfh starting this Wed. I wasn't. I'm now off all this week and don't know if I will be back on Mon or if I will get my GP to sign me off further. I'm suspecting the latter right now.

I've been pulled into some work calls/emails but only because the Covid outbreak at my office has been escalated to senior mgt and they needed details from me like what desk I was sitting at etc (we hotdesk). My team know to WhatsApp me if there is anything so urgent that it can't be handled by someone else in the management team. And I know they won't do that unless it's a genuine emergency.

I am very aware that I am struggling and any decisions I make could be a load of rubbish. So I am keeping well away from my emails no matter how bored/frustrated/worried I may be. This also prevents mixed messages being given to work by my dabbling with emails....I'm either fit enough to work or I'm not. And I'm not. I can't just say I'm okay to do the easy stuff but too ill for the complex stuff. That just makes it harder for everyone else to manage my absence.

Don't be a martyr OP. Just tell them you're sick and focus on your recovery.

They are CF's in their assuming that she is well enough.

She has Covid.
By virture of the fact that she has some symtoms, rather than just randomly deciding to test.

She said she's not at deaths door?

She doesn't have to be at deaths door.
She has symptoms and that is enough.

They don't have any right AFTER she has told them she has Covid, to just say fine, carry on at home and work.

However, it is HER responsibility to tell them No I have covid and I am unwell.

This isn't relevant to your query at all (i agree with PP that it's your responsibility to say you're taking a sick day), but do you know where you caught it?

They are CF's in their assuming that she is well enough.

They are not assuming anything. If someone is sick and cannot work they need to say this. The default is not Covid = too sick to work. Lots of people have it and wouldn’t know it, others have it and are mildly sick but will still happily work, others have it and are too sick to work and others are in hospital on a ventilator. There is no default with this. It’s up to the employee to tell their employer where they sit on this spectrum and what they need to do work wise (work or not work).

Having Covid doesn't always mean too sick to work.

Op got covid, they said she needed to work from home. If she is too sick to work, she needs to tell them.

Many many people get covid, wfh and are fine. Or wfh for a few days and fine, then need to take a couple of days sick and then wfh for a bit longer.

If op is too sick to work, she needs to tell them she is too sick to work. It's really simple.