To phone in sick in these circumstances?

[thatsmyhouse]

I really don't know what to do. I have a cold and chesty cough. Nothing worse. I don't feel great but I could work. I went straight to bed yesterday when I got in (8ish) and I have a headache that won't shift and sometimes feel like retching after so much coughing, but I've worked like this before and basically been ok and I've had much worse colds (never had flu) where I have had no choice to be off, and this isn't like that.

I have a really busy weekend taking two teenagers on my own to activities as part of their Christmas present. I'm a single parent and it will involve 4 hours of driving and then being outside a lot (not too active), overnight stay and then driving back. I think if I work today and tomorrow (start at 2pm) then I really won't feel like doing all this and would really want an easy weekend to recover for Monday.

If I'm off we'll be short-staffed but on one will have to specifically cover/nothing will be cancelled. To be honest, we are short-staffed anyway and work is a bit of a nightmare, which is another reason I'm worried about 2 shit days followed by a full-on weekend.My sickness record is excellent and I'm very rarely off.

WWYD?

Life's too short, do it!.

You’re unwell. Why would you martyr yourself for an employer, of all people? Rest and get better, it sounds rough.

If you’re ill, you’re ill. I often think it’s actually better for people to take a day off and recuperate, rather than dragging themselves into work, potentially spreading it to other people, and being unwell and less productive for longer.

I wfh and have worked feeling like this and only made mistakes which I wouldn’t have made if I were well.

stay off, look after your health.

Sorry but to me it sounds like you can go in and your work is short staffed. If you’re already planning your weekend and from your opening paragraph it sounds like you can. Everyone has coughs and colds at the moment!

Thanks all. Still torn.

I'm not 'already planning' my weekend already, really. It's more that I have things booked and If I could change them I would and that would be my ideal choice, but the bookings can't be changed.

Trust me, if you died on the job most places wouldn’t even wait for you to be cold before the replaced you. Take the day off, drink lots of hot ginger tea, eat lots of oranges and you’ll be feeling better soon.

That's how mine started and I've been out of action for 5 weeks now!

I wouldn't go in on the basis that you could give it to some other poor fucker.

This is absolutely not your employer's problem, or your colleague's.

I think it would look quite bad if you were off sick and then went on a weekend away the day after with you driving that far. If you’re too ill to go in to work then definitely stay off but if you’re not then go in.

@Overthebow It wouldn't look like anything because no one would know. I've not mentioned it and don't have socials with colleagues on or that I post much on at all. What if I'm not safe to drive? Do I just risk it or cancel the event and massively disappoint my teens so I can work? It will be a very early start too.

Anyway, rightly or wrongly, I've called in. Thank you for the supportive messsges.

Take the time off I’ve had a chesty cough and a cold which I carried on working with I now have pneumonia and on antibiotics and feel really unwell. I wish I’d just taken the time off before because now I’m even more poorly and my body’s forcing me to take the time off.

feel better soon

If you have good sick allowance just do it. But if you don’t really need the time, I would be a bit concerned about using up good will for this when you never know what’s round the corner

If you were my colleague I'd rather you stayed home.

so you should drag yourself in on a day that you are ill, spread it to your colleagues and then have a horrible weekend because you dragged yourself to work when you should have been resting and recovering, rather than taking sick leave that you're entitled to? why?!

the weekend away sounds like a bad idea anyway, can you ask someone else to come to share the driving and maybe do the outside bits while you stay somewhere warm?