How can I take responsibility for my health when people keep coming to work sick?

[SoDoneIn]

I am mid 40s with a rheumatic auto immune disease for which I’m taking immunosuppressant medications. I recently had a flare up so was also put on prednisolone to get it under control.

The problem is I keep getting infections now. It’s been one after the other this past couple of weeks. I’m on my third set of antibiotics for my third different infection. I stop the biologics while on antibiotics to allow myself the chance to recover.

The problem is I have no option but to keep going with life. I have young children in school, a partner who does front line shift work who can’t just walk away to look after me and the kids. and people constantly coming into work sick. (Sedentary non public facing )

I’m forever reading on mumsnet how it is my own responsibility to keep myself safe from sick people who need to go to work and have a right to be out in public shedding their diseases because covid is over now and so it’s free for all for sickness. But how do I do this when I can’t go to work without people making me sick and my kids forever coming home with sickness because people send their kids in to school sick now too?

I’m genuinely scared at how quickly things have got bad and am aware they could get worse still but I feel so powerless to protect myself. Masks alone don’t do it. What can I do to protect myself more short of quitting work, becoming a hermit and leaving my family?

But your attitude towards the OP abd all people that are vulnerable is part if the problem.

I sympathise with you, but the rest of the world cannot stop because of your illness.

My sister is immunosuppressed and covered as disabled in the equality act. She has been going through disciplinary procedures at work recently for sickness absence (each time she was so ill she was hospitalised) and received her final written warning a few weeks back.

Thankfully she has won at appeal, the warning has been revoked and they have also agreed to extend and give her much more of a buffer than other employees before any further disciplinaries are invoked, it is probably only delaying the inevitable of if/when her condition deteriorates further, but until then she just gets on with it to the best of her ability, keeps fighting and doesn't expect the world to change for her.

Taking personal responsibility could mean a proper fit tested mask and your work funding them as part of reasonable adjustments. Alternatively looking for a full time wfh job, which I appreciate may mean changing sectors.

I don't stay home if I have minor illness because nobody does my job if I'm not there and hundreds of people are relying on me. I do have my own office and sole worker on site which helps of course. There are jobs like mine where you are the only person on the premises, could this be an option?

I take humiria you are supposed to stop it if you get an infection.

@SoDoneIn I hope you heard all of the posters on this thread loud abd clear.

You (and me and all vulnerable people) aren’t important enough fur people to take precautions. Not enough fur companies to have air filters, not enough to wear a mask if they don’t feel well.

Because your health is your responsibility only.
lIm looking forward to see children with chick pox and D&V around too because clearly, everyone should just accept others infecting them too.

Yes I’m being sarcastic.
But it’s hard to hear that its ok if I or the OP or any of the vulnerable people is getting thrown under the bus when it’s not necessary.

You aren’t wrong at all. The attitude that it is ok to go out and spread disease is appalling.

my employer has a ban on coming to the office sick. We have wfh as an option so people are not forced to take sick leave for every sniffle, they just can’t come into the building.

people don’t seem to realize that vulnerable doesn’t just mean covid and it doesn’t mean invalid. Vulnerable people come at all ages and need to be able to participate in public life.

Yet again, no it is not. The attitude towards employees around sickness policies is the problem. I work with vulnerable people and I DO NOT want to make them poorly if I have something (which as I said, luckily is rare). My employers are not so sympathetic and my workplace is not set up so that I can easily call in sick, and me doing so means I don’t get paid. This is the same for many many people.

@Ponderingwindow That’s how it’s set up for my DH’s team with the vulnerable colleague-anyone slightly ill is asked to wfh, they’re not using up sick leave unless they wish to.

Obviously this isn’t possible for every job, but if ppl can work effectively from home, it makes sense not to spread germs around. Plus, it’s actually nicer for the ill person. DH picked up a slight cold after traveling last week so he wfh on Thursday and Friday. He could get up later, stay in his PJ’s, sit with a rug and hot water bottle on his legs, have plenty of tea, etc.

As you can tell, my DH acts properly poorly when he’s unwell. 😂

You have no idea how viruses spread do you 🤦‍♀️

This is really hard for you. I don’t have any underlying conditions but I’m also trying to find ways of reducing my exposure to viruses as I have lots of kids and a busy job and I want to be on top form to cope with it all. I find I’m picking up coughs and colds too regularly for my liking.

There are some things you can’t avoid, like the viruses your kids bring home. But you can take steps to reduce your exposure (as opposed to eliminating it). I’m sure you’ve thought of all the obvious things like hand sanitizer and handwashing, giving people who are obviously sick a wide berth and avoiding crowded places and places where the air recirculates (like tube trains, cinemas, packed restaurants etc).

it’s important to teach your kids about hand washing and sanitising so they bring home fewer bugs. My kids are really good at it as we continued the practice from the covid years.

Beyond that, I would be looking for opportunities to wfh, even if it’s a flexible working application citing the need to wfh as a ‘reasonable adjustment’ due to your underlying illness. Wfh would significantly reduce your exposure to other people.

OP I do have sympathy. I have an autoimmune condition and spent many years on Methotrexate.

If COVID taught us anything though, it is that you just cannot prevent the spread of normal viruses and bacteria. We had the greatest restrictions on our freedom in living memory and still everyone caught it some sooner rather than later.

I get that you’re angry but it’s like being angry about the weather or something. You can’t blame others or yourself, it’s just unavoidable.

I do actually @GiggleHoot

40 years in the NHS taught me lots about infection control; handwashing is the most basic.

Also, are you desk based at work? Open plan or in your own office? During Covid there were a few diagrams doing the rounds that I saw showing how desk spacing and positioning as well as open windows and ventilation made an impact on viruses spreading.

assuming you share office space with others, could you look into having your desk moved to a better spot. Like I said before, it’s impossible to eliminate the spread of viruses but you can take steps to minimise your exposure - that way you may pick up fewer bugs from others than you would have done otherwise.

Honestly
Bring blunt, society would fall apart if everyone stayed home every time they had a cold. Of course people with flu and covid should be at home but while head colds are just a miserable few days for most people, they can be deadly for you.
I don't know what the answer is yabu to expect everyone to stay at home when they have head colds.

No wonder the NHS is in a mess.

viruses are airborne! Go back to nursing school and learn something

Blimey @GiggleHoot please tell me you're not a health professional.

Not all viruses are airborne! Some are, others aren’t. And not all airborne viruses transmit through the air equally, for some viruses contact with bodily fluids is a more likely route of transmission even if they are airborne as not all travel far or last long in the air. Handwashing certainly does make a difference in terms of infection control.

@GiggleHoot do you imagine airborne virus's are self propelled little critters flying around infecting people? Because really they're coughed and sneezed into the atmosphere, or left on surfaces.

Handwashing and tissues really are a good idea.

Norovirus lives on surfaces for up to 12 hours and why hand washing is very important!

Huh, I did not know that! I was in antibiotics loads of times during the humira years- oops!

This. Difficult as your situation is, you can't expect people not to turn up to work because they have a cold. Calling in sick for a cold is totally unacceptable in most places I've ever worked. Plus, you won't get paid

Hi OP,

I am sorry you feel this way.

But take it from someone who turns up sick at the workplace: my employer doesn't give me any other choice.

I have a formal warning for sickness/absence (accumulated with 6 days migraine & cold / flu plus 5 weeks injury with fit note) - so my employer / manager gives a shit.
Any more time off in the nx 12 months and and I stand to lose my job.
Blaim stupid policies not people. We often have no choice, either because we don't get paid or we get disciplined for beeing ill.

By a good employer regarding sick leave, do you mean sick leave on full pay? If it's unpaid, then many people won't have a choice not to work.

I feel for you OP. Many don't give a shit, until 'worklessness' becomes too high and people start getting fed up at the ridiculous levels of illness. Your employer has even said air filters aren't worth the cost. Does your employer even know the cost? That shows your value I'm afraid. Can't they put some air filters around even? That would surely cost less than recruiting for someone else or less illness.

I think things will change, but probably not in enough of a timeframe to help you or the ever increasing number of people being forced into long term/permanent? illness right now or having existing conditions exacerbated. Right now everyone can pass the buck. That's a deliberate choice. NHS becomes further overwhelmed, many are pushed out of work, whilst government simultaneously runs a stop sitting on your arse feigning illness all day and get back to work campaigns.

I lost an ex work colleague to cancer recently. The firm tried to make many accommodations for him. Some firms give a shit. Some don't. Those who go along agreeing with the shit of poor pay, poor sickness mitigations etc should not complain that taxpayers pick up the bill for those.

That’s not about sickness policies at all.

Thats about clean air.
Thats about protecting people from getting ill (just like we have clean water).

If companies and people we’re taking steps towards that, the level of sickness would go down automatically.