Colleagues came into work poorly and now I’m getting sick, and I’m due to go away this weekend.

[iwasonlyeighteen]

My colleagues have had stinking colds this week. I’ve been saying all week to stay away from me as I’m away this weekend but they’ve not listened and now I’m starting to get poorly.

Snuffly nose, sore throat, headache, I’m exhausted.

My issue is I’m meant to be going away tomorrow, I’m flying on a long weekend to Denmark.

AIBU to dose up and still go? There’s no way I would get a doctor to say I can’t travel, I feel crappy but can probably muster for the weekend.

This 🤣

If your coworkers were sick, why didn't you wear a mask?

And now you're going to go infect other people on the plane? Mask up.

It's only a cold.

Before covid everyone just used to carry on life as usual. It strengthens your immune system to contract a few mild viruses. Since covid lots of people get all prissy about colds. If everyone stayed home from work the economy would be in even more of a mess.

Vicks first defense. You should have been squirting that shit up your nose already.

Only works on colds though

If you go, bring some sudofed or day/night nurse. They don't sell anything that strong in Denmark.

If WFH is an option, I'd be very annoyed about a colleague being knowingly ill at work.

If WFH could be an option (practically) but is not allowed, I'd be annoyed about the company.

Yeah, take a mask to the plane and stay outdooors as much as possible, Denmark is not that far.

I agree it's a bit hypocritical to complain about your colleagues spreading their germs when you are going to do exactly the same thing on a plane and when traveling.

I do also get annoyed at people coming to work and spreading germs though. People should WFH or wear a mask if they are infectious. Just move everything to teams or have an admin day. Obviously some jobs you can't work from home, but for those that can, it's the considerate thing to do.

Dose up and go- plus the incubation period for a cold usually means you get it off someone you didn't realise had a cold at the time.
Plus most employers are not going to be happy you not coming in when you just have a simple cold and no fever.

This is the trouble, isn’t it? People get a slagging for taking a sicky, they get a slagging for coming in, they’re ’at it’ if they WFH but if they don’t when they’re ill they’re irresponsible. If we want a culture of presenteeism then we can’t really complain when people are, y’know, present.

I detest the word ‘poorly’ . Obviously it’s just another word for ‘unwell ‘ but why does it make me angry 😂?
Irish people never say ‘poorly’ .

You are right, you won’t get a doctor to say you can’t travel. That’s because you can travel, just like your colleagues could go to work. It’s a cold, not any sort of a big deal.

Go and be content with the knowledge that you are no better than your colleagues. So, stop being so judgmental!

It’s a cold. I would be really annoyed if my colleagues stayed off work with a cold. YABU.

So definitely go… you’ll live!!

Same. It just sounds so...twee and childish. Like tummy instead of stomach, or sweeties, or choo-choo train.

Anyway OP i second the Boots dual defence or whatever its called and sanitise or wash your hands frequently.

I do sympathise as its awful when people come to work ill and spread it around. Especially if they can work from home.

Looking into my crystal ball 🔮 someone will be along to say that not every employer allows people to call in sick without serious repercussions, even job losses. Or they just don't pay sick leave. So it's a toss up between the OP losing her holiday or their sick colleague potentially losing their job/money.
I and many others would protect my own interests in this scenario.

And it's just a cold.

Life can’t and doesn’t stop because of a cold. My immune system is trashed so I get colds on and off for months. Am nor sure how you can judge your coworkers for carrying on with what they need to do and also go ahead and do the same - either you think people should stay home with colds or you think you can push through them 🤷🏻‍♀️

You've likely got one of the new variants of Covid such as XFG - they are rife at the moment

Make sure you take plenty of cold meds with you! They are much harder and more expensive to buy in most northern European countries than they are in the UK!

The irony and hypocrisy is strong

£3k for a long weekend in Copenhagen?! I think the cold is the least of your problems...

In fairness, what is ‘just a cold’ to one person could be quite serious to another. I do think this is one of the many reasons employers should be more open to home working where such a thing is possible for the business; grown professionals are capable of working without the constant surveillance of middle management. No idea what the culture is like in OP’s case, though. It does vary, in my experience. But yes, while a person’s pay/reputation at work rests on being seen to be present, we have to live with all the contagion.

I'm guessing the OP doesn't work in the only corner shop in the village where working from home isn't an option.
And whilst I agree that one man's cold is another man's serious illness, the pandemic taught me that you can really only protect yourself because people are selfish dicks everyone has their own shit pile.

Yeah. One of the things the pandemic taught me is that the world wants disabled and chronically ill people to shut up and go away while also being economically active. Not that I didn’t have an inkling of that before, of course. If we want everyone to work as hard as they can we have to be up for a certain amount of flexibility and creative thinking. But I digress.

I would dose myself and head off.
Vicks on your feet at night with socks for congestion. Paracetamol & ibuprofen for aches and pains. Hot whiskeys/ports for the holiday buzz. Enjoy x