On Going Into Work Sick

I am presently home from work due to what is either the flu or a flu-like illness.  Am I going to go out of my way to find out which one it is?  Seriously?  It doesn’t matter.

What matters, at least to me, is that I broke one of my own cardinal rules yesterday.  I went into work with a fever.  I knew I was running a slight fever the night before and deliberately did not check my temperature in the morning because I knew we were short-staffed.  By the time I got home yesterday, my slight fever of 99.4°F had turned into 100.8°F.  I felt miserable and was starting to sound pleasant on the phone.  No, really.  When my voice initially gets affected by some upper respiratory tract thing, it takes on this really nice quality that I can’t recreate when I’m feeling better. 

I digress.  I’m here to discuss going in to work sick because, well, gee, they’re already down staff and they need you there.  Plus you don’t get paid if you’re not there.  No, no one said that to me except me.  Sometimes, the little voice at the back of my brain is not speaking from a place of logic and reason.

What you’re doing when you go in sick is subject those around you to what you have.  Colds and flus are passed in the air and in contact with things you are in contact with (phones, equipment, etc.).  People can sluice down every square inch of the place with disinfectant during and after your sick person is there and it still will not prevent it from potentially being passed to other workers and even the general public.

Because I recognized the risk of infection in even my earliest days of employment, I never, ever went into work with a temperature above 98.6°F.  Yes, people grumbled when they were inconvenienced by my absence, but they got over it.  I also encouraged similar behavior in my fellow employees.  Was I listened to?  Of course not.  I can’t tell you how many times people came in sick anyway.

No one, I repeat, NO ONE is indispensable.  If you take a day off, if you take a vacation, what do you think happens when you’re not there?  Answer, things continue.  People take up the slack and things continue.  Depending on the size of the business, yes, your normal contribution will likely be missed, but they’ll make do without you.  Any place that crumbles when people are absent needs an overhaul.

This flu season has been particularly brutal.  Those who say it’s because the flu shot was ineffectual aren’t seeing the real issue.  We need to work to prevent the spread.  Certainly, handwashing and proper cleaning/disinfecting play a huge part.  But, another important part of that is setting some ground rules with regard to coming to work under less than perfect health conditions.  Whether those rules are made by the employer or by self, they need to be adhered to. 

I forgot that yesterday.  That will not happen again.