You have a cold, so GO HOME!

[Mystic]

One thing I would ask: use masks.

This x1000.

It's quite obvious that people can't just take off anymore when they are sick since money is not a common commodity anymore, therefore, we need to be more careful about how we handle being under the weather at work. I've been a big promoter for a couple years now of the idea of wearing masks when in public and sick. Asian culture adopted this a long time ago and for good reason.

Prime example: I went out this past weekend and ended up getting someones cold. Well anytime I get a cold, a good amount of the time turns into a sinus infection. Three days ago I would have punched the son-of-a-bitch who gave it to me in the eye sockets because of how terrible I felt and their utter apathy when it came to going in public not caring who they spread their virus to. Luckily, I didn't have work because I would have had to call off if I did. It did however make taking my classes miserable even though they were online.

[Seshat]

If breathing wearing a mask is difficult, it's a bad mask - but I fully understand the problem.

As for the pariah thing: I tell anyone who asks that I have allergies. And it's true - and in pollen season, or when there's a fire around, masks make it much easier for me to breathe.

But IMO, the sooner those of us who can wear them, get the rest of society used to the sight of someone in a mask, the healthier our societies will be.

[Spork4pedro]

Heh...I had the pleasure of dealing with this yesterday at work but from my coworker. Like the OP, I was in the tail-end of my cold after being off for a couple of days but stil had some coughing and sniffling. My CW once realizing I was sick refused to come near me. It got to the point to her telling me to not come near her register (I often bring empty wine boxes to registers so the cashiers have them) and on my lunch she refused to ring me up for my drink and called another (busy!) CW to do it. Most of her quirks about it were a little amusing but the out right refusal offended me a bit.

As for masks, in principle I would love to wear one but as someone already pointed out, no one would even come near my dept if I had one of those on if they saw me putting out wine and wearing that. They would think I had the plague or some other stupid assumption. I get enough grief over my sneezing (I have allergies...especially with all the dust in our store) since never can just sneeze once. so lots of tissues and hand sanitizer for me.

[Sundassa]

I worked in a company that had paid sick days, but the problem was a couple years after I started working there, they started penalizing people who used them, giving them 'occurances' for calling out sick, since it was at a call center, you were in close quarters with everyone else working there, and many of them had kids who were of school/daycare attenders, so the only times they called out was when their kids needed them, or they should be hospitalized for what they had. Because of this, the call center was a cesspool of germs ALL THE TIME. All because management felt that life doesn't happen to people often enough to use their sick days.