Spreading the disease (Sick Co-Workers)

[LifeCarnie]

My company has a pretty liberal sick day policy. We can take up to 20 days a year without getting into trouble.

Yet there are always people who REFUSE to stay out sick and they wind up getting everyone else around them sick. To compound that, the building I work in has no ventilation, so the germs don't get cycled out and replaced with fresh air at anytime, they just float aroud the department.

We've had a couple of epidemics since I've worked here.

The latest example is a newer co-worker. She's been sick for about three weeks. Has she gone to the doctor? No. If she was diagnosed with something, that might cut into her personal life and we can't have that. So she's sat at her desk for the last three weeks, sneezing and coughing, contagious as hell.

Sure enough, last week the outbreak started. First, the guy who sits next ot me and in front of her caught it, he was sick last week, even called in a couple of times, and he took half a day this afternoon. That's not like him at all.

Last Friday, I caught it, and have felt like hell over since, I even think that I have a fever. I was sick all weekend and in bed for 9pm everynight, wheeeee in bed by 9 on a Saturday night!! That's a party.

Today I found out that the guy who sits behind me and beside the original host is sick today as well.

I only came in today, because I caught it here (unlike the original host), so I know that this place is already exposed. Let's all get it!!


I swear to god, if I ever manage a group of people and I know that someone comes in sick and is contagious, they will be sent home until they are healthy. If they complain, let them complain to corporate HR and also explain why they are not using their sick time as it is intended. It's not their just for their own good, it's a public health issue.

[Trayol]

Wow, that's just wrong to purposely spread your plague-like disease around the office when you have that many sick days. Your office would probably be a microbiologists dream. Do you have a list of the many sicknesses that have spread? You could use it to create a game of office bingo.

[RetailWorkhorse]

Maybe being in the office sick is better than being at home sick. I honestly dunno.

I've had to work sick, but only because my pay depends on my hours. If I had a salary job, then hell yeah I'd stay the hell home if I was sick. And allergies to the &^#$(&*@ PINE TREES doesn't ever count. Dammit.

Something is blooming now that's just bound and determined to get me feeling like shit and I start my new job tomorrow! Double dammit.

[Evil Queen]

My Co-workers have been sick day in and day out since the start of the new year. I think this year is just the season for sick. But this is why I keep a container of Purell in my workbag, various OTC medications and when I come on shift, wipe everything in the office down with Windex (it has ammonia in it). We also have a big bottle of Germ-X (generic purell) in the office for sanitizing our hands after handling cash. (Something I picked up from RetailWorkhorse when he showed me how filthy paper money was.)

I hate being sick more then anything else (or anyone) else in the world.

[AdminAssistant]

When I was the Admin. Coordinator, handling every piece of money that came in the d*&m store, I had three 'outbreaks' in a year. Sinusitus and acute bronchitis, which only kept me out of work for a day (I could at least come in, do the cash office, and whimper home.) Then I got the real goody, strep throat. Extremely contagious. My doctor looked at me (on Wed.) and said "Stay at home until Saturday...Do not even step outside until Saturday." I went on a quick run to get meds, groceries, and to give my manager my doctor slip. I got this big sad look, like 'But who are we gonna get to do the office?' Umm, do you want me to infect the entire store AND the bank employees who handle our deposit?

[blas]

We're only allowed 3 "occurences" per quarter.......so as you can imagine, there are a lot of people who show up to work despite being close to death's door.

Last Tuesday night I was paranoid that I'd end up sick because the woman working next to me was hacking all night. She was not covering her mouth and she just kept hacking and hacking all damn night. Sure I felt bad for her, but I was pissed that she couldn't cover her damn mouth and was spreading her germs everywhere.

So I had to make a pitstop and buy some EmergenC just in case. Thanks a lot.

[Boochan]

The Sick Days back up here if you don't use them, so most people prefer to use those as general days off when they feel like it rather then come to work when they are sick

I haven't been sick for almost 2 years straight at the moment, which considering my daily environment (Public Transport and College, or in my little shop with a/c, and especially in winters Sick Customers coming through heaps), is quite surprising. I survived everything my co-workers had last winter, and I hope I have the same luck this year.. though I can't expect this record 2yr run to last much longer.

[Peppergirl]

That pisses me off as well. I mean, when you work for a company who treats their employees like crap about calling in sick, I blame the company rather than the PERSON if they come in sick.

But if you have a decent company who allows sick time, that's really crappy that people come in sick. Particiularly in this day and age...there are SO many companies out there (like Blas') who are shitty with their emps about sick time, a decent company like yours has idiots like your co-worker who wont use them like they're intended.

I don't blame you for being upset.

[Becks]

What good is calling in sick for a lot of things?

By the time you're showing symptoms, you're past being contagious.

[Peppergirl]

Becky I agree in many cases, but in the case of the OP, it sounds to me like the co-irker in question is not getting over it, and therefore has passed it on to many others.

I'll be the first to admit I go in when I feel under the weather quite a bit, but if I was incredibly sick for such a long time, and worked for a decent company that didn't hold it against me, I'd not affect the rest of the office with my plague.

Just my 2 cents

[Becks]

Peps (may I call you Peps?), I thought of that, but the man of the household was distracting me.

AGAIN.

Blah.

[Peppergirl]

You may call me Peps. I've been referred to as much worse.

And yeah...men are good for that.

[Becks]

Rock on.

If only he'd been distracting me in a good way. He wasn't. Trust me.

[Zombi]

This is what put me off about working in Japan - five days per year available as 'emergency days', as in if you're dying of bubonic plague and REALLY REALLY REALLY can't come to work, and they put a black mark on your contract if you take them. The upshot of it is, even if you do actually have something seriously contagious, you're expected to go to work. Instead of having one employee down with, say strep throat or pinkeye, they run the risk of EVERYBODY going down with it. But, you know, it's Japan. The workforce is trained to think that this is a good idea.

[Primer]

As a college instructor, not only am I exposed to everything the students bring in, I'm exposed to everything their kids have, also. Luckily, and since I had sinus surgery in 1997, I've been fairly resistant to most things. When I do get something it's always after everybody else has had it. I try to be stingy with my germs, but I do not get "sick time" so I have to go in anyway, unless I'm too sick even to drive.