How to manage sick days

As a child, I was taught that I had to go to school unless my fever was over 100˚F. That mindset has carried over to how I handle being sick as a working professional. In my mind, it doesn't matter if I'm just a little sick. 80% productivity is better than no productivity. Even if I'm feeling awful, I still go into work if I have looming deadlines to meet. But regardless of how sick I am, if I go into work, I get all those looks. You know the looks I'm talking about - the ones that tell you you're like the devil’s snotty step-daughter, just because you came in with the sniffles.

Whenever someone comes into work sick, there is always an unspoken clash. Some people (primarily the coworkers in near proximity to the ill individual) are angry that the infectious creature has come in to transmit their illness to the entire group. Whereas the person who is sick, especially if you are a new hire like myself, feels like she needs to always have her nose to the grindstone so that she can prove that she's dedicated, loyal, and efficient. When you're sick, it can even get to the point where you need to prove that you're an asset and that a measly fever won't deter you from accomplishing your work. So you put your nose to the grind stone, even if it's dripping with snot. (That just helps to lubricate the stone anyways, right?)

Image by Naomi, our newest contributor!

When you are sick, you are of one mindset, but when you are the healthy individual, trying to deter the transmitted illness, you're of the other mindset. Some people are literally begging you to take a sick day, while you are begging to let you prove that you're worth something.

This is true, even if you're not ill with anything that is transmittable. Earlier this week, one of my coworkers was feeling very ill because of a panic attack that she had, and my coworkers were trying to convince her to go home and take the time to recover. For the sake of this story, I'll cast my sick coworker as Angie, her boyfriend as Freddie, and the coworkers who were trying to gang-press her into taking a sick day as The Mobsters.

Angie: I'm not feeling great now, but I'll just take a nap in my car for a few hours and be fine.

The Mobsters: To heck with the job. Close up your stuff, give us your cell phone. We’ll call Freddie and tell him to meet you at the house. You’re going home and you’re going to bed.

Angie: But I could just take a small nap here for a few hours and then come back to life.

The Mobsters: Your job is not more important than your health.

Angie: I feel better now. Sometimes I get panic attacks.

The Mobsters: You didn’t get enough sleep. That’s why.

Angie: I should just sleep in my car. I’m feeling better, I promise.

The Mobsters: It doesn’t make sense to sleep in your car when you can sleep at home.

You can get your car tomorrow.

Angie: Fine, okay. I'll head home.

Despite the fact that I called them "the mobsters," I think that my coworkers actually did a very good thing in looking out for Angie. Additionally, I think they said something which can act as a good rule of thumb, "Your job is not more important than your health." Further, I think that there is an addendum I would like to add, "Your job is not more important than your coworkers' health." 

Image by Naomi, our newest contributor!

In fact, these two mantras are what I now use to determine if I'm going to take a sick day or not. I ask myself these two questions: 

1. Am I going to hurt myself by going to work? 
2. Am I going to hurt my coworkers by going to work? 

If you cannot answer "no" to both of these questions, then you really should stay home, despite whatever deadlines are looming over your head because your job should not take precedence over health and safety. 

How To Not Get Hep A from Coworkers

WARNING: This article is not for the squeamish.

So, you work with a lot of men. Well sister, I've got an unpleasant realization for you: a lot of those guys do not wash their hands. According to a 2009 study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine only 31% of dudes wash their hands after using a public bathroom. My private research shows it is a little closer to 60%, which is still disgustingly low.

But Vanessa, how do you know how many men wash their hands? I'll tell you. I have a coworker who loves to complain, and who as over time compiled a list for me of all of the men who don't wash their hands at work. Given, a single violation puts you on the "filthy" list for good- so this doesn't account for the casual hand washer who sometimes just is too busy to follow through and clean the feces off of his hands.

But it shouldn't account for the casual hand washer. Because that is gross.

Now, think of knowing that all these people don't ever wash their hands and then having to shake their hands, and share pens, pencils, calculators, tools and computers with them. Some of the more extreme offenders apparently even bring business papers and business calls into the stall with them. Gross. I strongly suspect this is why people in workplaces tend to get sick so often.

Is it just me, or does the context make this photo seem super gross?

At this point, I know the mysophobes among you are wishing you could rock one of these babies to work:

Germs be gone!

Alas, it simply does not comply to business casual standards.

BUT ALL HOPE IS NOT LOST. Just get a giant bottle of Purell. And if you know somebody doesn't wash his hands (because I've honestly never seen a girl leave a bathroom without washing her hands), then douse everything in sanitizer when they leave. Try to do this as quickly and quietly as possible, as people tend to get easily offended when they realize you think you are going contract a disease from them.

You may now live a happy, healthy, Hep A free life.

Love,

Vanessa