Do you stay off work when you have a manky cold
- Thread starter oddworld
- Start date
In my experience, when I struggle into to work when I'm feeling absolutely lousy, I tend to end up with a cold that drags on and on for weeks. If I take a day in bed and sleep it off, I can shrug it off in no time...taking it easy and looking after yourself really does make a difference.
Whether I come into work with a cold largely depends how busy I am and what else I'm doing. I took two days off with a fairly unsubstantial cold the other week because it was my brother's wedding that weekend and I was damned if I was going to risk being ill for it.
Other times I've dragged myself into the office when I've barely been able to stand up, because I've had something important to do.
Whether I come into work with a cold largely depends how busy I am and what else I'm doing. I took two days off with a fairly unsubstantial cold the other week because it was my brother's wedding that weekend and I was damned if I was going to risk being ill for it.
Other times I've dragged myself into the office when I've barely been able to stand up, because I've had something important to do.
EastEnder
Brixton Barnacle
I haven't had a day off sick since starting my current job - 3½ years now.tony1798 said:
Not that I wouldn't take a day off if I really needed it, I'm not stupid (contrary to popular opinion, etc). And obviously I've had my share of coughs & sneezes over that time, just nothing of a severity to prevent me from doing my job.
In fact, I'd be more likely to call in sick these days since I now have VPN access from home, so could still do 90% of my job without actually being in the office.
oddworld
building a lego house
I'm going back tomorrow I feel guilty now 
Partly the reason I stayed off is our offices are hot, mega hot, airless and stuffy. Sitting there in that environment feels horrible and it makes me feel worse. Most people complain about the heat and I can honestly say its very uncomfotable.
When you're ill it's like the germs are virtually breeding around you, its
Partly the reason I stayed off is our offices are hot, mega hot, airless and stuffy. Sitting there in that environment feels horrible and it makes me feel worse. Most people complain about the heat and I can honestly say its very uncomfotable.
When you're ill it's like the germs are virtually breeding around you, its
Throbbing Angel
this is no longer a place of honour
EastEnder
Brixton Barnacle
Feeling guilty should have nothing to do with it.oddworld said:I'm going back tomorrow I feel guilty now
Either you're too ill to adequately do your job, in which case stay away, or you're just a bit under the weather but can work, in which case go in.
The only reason for feeling guilty would be if you knew you were capable of working but opted to stay at home anyway.
Termite Man
zombie flesh eater
I voted for "no , dose yourself up" but I wouldn't actually dose my slef up with anything because it's all a pile of shite for a pissing little cold !
scifisam
deleted
No, I go in. I get properly ill too often to afford days off for mild illnesses. (I have a dodgy stomach and get diarrhoea fairly frequently - and it makes it impossible to get into work, let alone the thought of pooing myself in front of a class!). I also have a daughter who occasionally gets ill, so end up taking more time off than I would want - it's really inconvenient, because other teachers have to cover my classes (losing free periods to do so) and the pupils don't keep up with the work. 
I'm hoping the fact that I went into work after a nasty injury (which happened on the way to work) will mean that they believe me when I really am ill.
I'm hoping the fact that I went into work after a nasty injury (which happened on the way to work) will mean that they believe me when I really am ill.
we aren't talking about taking time off for anything we are talking common sense. WHy should anyone be expected to work if they are ill? This nonsense that 'its just a cold' is pathetic. The workforce should be 100% all the time, not just sniffling its way through the winter. Better take a couple of days to get over it and come back fighting fit rather than spread crap through the workplace.tony1798 said:
If i was served in a shop by someone sniffing and sneezing i certainly wouldn't be thankful when i catch their germs. I don't want to be ill.
EastEnder
Brixton Barnacle
Oh get over yourself....wishface said:
Anything remotely serious should be treated as such. A mild cold is not serious. Everybody gets them, it's part of life. Just do the numbers - how many people have a cold at any one time? 5% of the population maybe? Do you really think it's a good idea to have 5% of the workforce off sick ALL THE FUCKING TIME!!!
Maybe you work in a job where it makes no difference if people are there or not. Many people don't.
Jesus christ, we'd never have won the war this kind of pathetic attitude....
EastEnder said:Oh, please! Spare me the melodramatics.....
Firstly, people with genuine flu can't get out of bed, let alone trek to work and infect unsuspecting colleagues....
What we're talking about here is a simple cold, nothing more than a very mild viral infection. If there are bugs going around, there's a good chance you'll catch them. Moreover, most of the time you do catch them even if you don't realise it - that's what an immune system is for, killing baddies before you even know they're there. It's only when it doesn't do the job quickly & efficiently enough that you develop symptoms.
To all those who are paranoid about sneezing colleagues - I assume you wear biohazard suits in Tesco & thoroughly irradiate the bar at every pub you go to?
NEWSFLASH: BUGS ARE EVERYWHERE. YOU CANNOT AVOID THEM.
If you've got something so dangerous you shouldn't go near anyone else, chances are you're already locked up in an isolation ward.
And finally, (I'll stop ranting in a mo) consider this: A heavy night of excessive with too little sleep will do your immune system no favours at all. So I'm assuming that all you paranoid types live a life of puritanical virtue, and would never dream of going in to work after an all night bender? After all, ultimately it's the collective health of all our immune systems that really determines the ease with which infections are spread and fought.
a round of applause
Louloubelle
Well-Known Member
EastEnder said:Oh, please! Spare me the melodramatics.....
Firstly, people with genuine flu can't get out of bed, let alone trek to work and infect unsuspecting colleagues....
What we're talking about here is a simple cold, nothing more than a very mild viral infection. If there are bugs going around, there's a good chance you'll catch them. Moreover, most of the time you do catch them even if you don't realise it - that's what an immune system is for, killing baddies before you even know they're there. It's only when it doesn't do the job quickly & efficiently enough that you develop symptoms.
To all those who are paranoid about sneezing colleagues - I assume you wear biohazard suits in Tesco & thoroughly irradiate the bar at every pub you go to?
NEWSFLASH: BUGS ARE EVERYWHERE. YOU CANNOT AVOID THEM.
If you've got something so dangerous you shouldn't go near anyone else, chances are you're already locked up in an isolation ward.
And finally, (I'll stop ranting in a mo) consider this: A heavy night of excessive with too little sleep will do your immune system no favours at all. So I'm assuming that all you paranoid types live a life of puritanical virtue, and would never dream of going in to work after an all night bender? After all, ultimately it's the collective health of all our immune systems that really determines the ease with which infections are spread and fought.
I've got asthma and I've been told by my GP to avoid people with colds as I always, always get a chest infection after a cold that, combined with my asthma, makes me really ill, often to ill to get out of bed.
I've told friends not to hug me / visit me when they have a cold but one friend just keeps forgetting. He's an insanely intelligent and high achieving man, but for some reason when he has a cold he forgets to keep me in mind and it really, really pisses me off.
If I had £1 for every time he's hugged me and then said "Oh I've just got this horrible cold" I'd have a lot of money.
I had a real rant at him last time he did it, well it was him and his boyfriend, both on them had colds and both of them hugged me and then went on about how ill they were and I just exploded.
I can't afford to spend a week or even 2 weeks in bed because of their lack of consideration.
I though I was unlucky however at the weekend I got talking to this woman I know resonably well. She's been away for a while and I found out she'd been in hospital fopr over a month with meningits for the 4th time.
She was born with a hole in her skull just above her nose and this vulnerability means that if she gets a cold there is a possibility that she will develop bacterial meningitis.
She's terrified of people with colds, has to have contact with peope in her job, like me tells people not to come near her if they have a cold, but when people have a cold they seem so preoccupied with their own germs, and so enthusiastic to yabber on about how ill they are that they forget that a cold could make her seriously ill or even kill her.
She's currently having to make a very hard decision about whether to undergo a life threatening and disfiguring (she's very beautiful) operation on her skull to graft bone onto her skull or to take her chances with the inevitablity of getting meningitis again, as she's been very lucky surviving 4 times and she may very well die or suffer limb loss next time she gets meningitis.
We ended up having a long and very cathartic moan about how selfish people are when they have colds and feel OK about coughing and sneezing on people and just generally not worrying about the effect of their germs on others.
If you have a cold, the really important thing, IMO, is to do your best not to infect other people who might become much more ill than yourself. Just because it's 'only a cold' to you doesn't mean that it's only a cold for someone else. Have a bit of consideration.
Rant over
LDR
kiwitanga
I work in a school and have to be in at a ridiculous hour of the morning to organise cover for all the people who pull sickies.
I agree if you are too sick to come to work then don't but I don't consider having a cold is enough to keep people off work.
It's really irks me to see the same people refusing to come in because they have headaches, insomnia or a cold. The children suffer, it creates an incredible amount of stress for colleagues and it costs the school money on supply teachers which could be better spent elsewhere. I find it selfish and it makes me angry.
I do understand people pull sickies from time to time, I've done it myself. But when the same people are taking at least 4 or 5 days off a month with the same pathetic excuses I find it really hard to defend. It's just taking the piss.
I agree if you are too sick to come to work then don't but I don't consider having a cold is enough to keep people off work.
It's really irks me to see the same people refusing to come in because they have headaches, insomnia or a cold. The children suffer, it creates an incredible amount of stress for colleagues and it costs the school money on supply teachers which could be better spent elsewhere. I find it selfish and it makes me angry.
I do understand people pull sickies from time to time, I've done it myself. But when the same people are taking at least 4 or 5 days off a month with the same pathetic excuses I find it really hard to defend. It's just taking the piss.
fractionMan
Custom Title
Never go in with a cold. It's not worth it.
Louloubelle
Well-Known Member
LD Rudeboy said:With all due respect that must limit a huge amount of jobs you are able to do. Any with customer contact must be prove difficult. It seems to be to be a disability if you are that susceptible.
I work from home and I try to be as healthy as I can. I tell people not to attend meetings with me if they have colds. Some exposure to germs is inevitable, the thing that really really pisses me off is when people are inconsiderate enough not take any notice or not take my requests seriously. I think that some people just have a 'supidity area' in their brain that lights up whenever they have a cold.
Anyone with asthma will be told by their GP to avoid people with colds and given the massive prevalence of asthma in the UK I think that people who don't have asthma need to be educated about keeping their germs to themselves.
It's not just asthma, TB is a serious problem in London and I'm fed up with people who just cough without covering their mouth and spit phelgm out on the pavement, it's a dangeous and completely unnecessary.
the idea that you should be put in a positino to spread germs to everyone is just stupid beyond belief. whats mild to someone is more serious to someone else. Do everyone a favour and take a couple of days to recover. There's nothing heroic about working while ill.EastEnder said:Oh get over yourself....
Anything remotely serious should be treated as such. A mild cold is not serious. Everybody gets them, it's part of life. Just do the numbers - how many people have a cold at any one time? 5% of the population maybe? Do you really think it's a good idea to have 5% of the workforce off sick ALL THE FUCKING TIME!!!
Maybe you work in a job where it makes no difference if people are there or not. Many people don't.
Jesus christ, we'd never have won the war this kind of pathetic attitude....
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