Poll of the Day > Would you work while sick?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Related: Would your BOSS expect you to keep working if sick or would you get guilted/forced to come in regardless of how ill you are? Even if they're willing to let you take the day off, could you afford to do so or would you come in simply because, if you don't, it's off to the poor house?

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We sort of have to. Some time ago, the rules were changed in sick leave. We have sick time, but unless certain conditions are made, we cant exactly always use it. Like we have to plan it early. And if we get sick during the week, the first day we use sick leave, we dont get paid for it. Its to encourage us not to be sick or use sick leave...
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LinkPizza posted...

We sort of have to. Some time ago, the rules were changed in sick leave. We have sick time, but unless certain conditions are made, we cant exactly always use it. Like we have to plan it early. And if we get sick during the week, the first day we use sick leave, we dont get paid for it. Its to encourage us not to be sick or use sick leave...

Freaking ouch. How on earth do you *plan* sick leave?

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Depends on the requirements of the job and the illness in question. But I have worked while quite ill before because I worked in a job that did not allow us to call in unless we could get someone else to cover our shift and everyone hated the job so no one would answer their phones, lol.

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I work in a call center and the culture is pretty much, "Don't even think of possibly infecting this place with your light sniffles. Fuck your hours and go home."

That said, I don't mind using "sick" as an excuse to get out of work for the most part.

When I was making $20.50/hour, it was a different story. I was forced to go home.

If the money's good enough, I can absolutely see myself working through it. In most cases, I'd likely be sent home anyways, but a broken limb would be worth walking on.

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I have before when it was that or get reprimanded. It always pissed me off though since an employer should really try to avoid getting everyone else sick

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Mead posted...

I have before when it was that or get reprimanded. It always pissed me off though since an employer should really try to avoid getting everyone else sick

Yeah, the place where I worked where we had to come in if we couldn't get our shift covered was a kitchen in an assisted living facility (aka, a facility filled with people that have bad immune systems). I always thought it was incredibly reckless to have that policy.

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I dont know a boss that wouldnt expect someone to come to work and get everyone else sick. Ive built modular homes in the past and over three-quarters of the plant got wiped out because someone came in sick. I try not to but especially in oil you dont really have an option with such small crews. Ive never worked anywhere that had paid sick days either.

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Unbridled9 posted...

LinkPizza posted...

We sort of have to. Some time ago, the rules were changed in sick leave. We have sick time, but unless certain conditions are made, we cant exactly always use it. Like we have to plan it early. And if we get sick during the week, the first day we use sick leave, we dont get paid for it. Its to encourage us not to be sick or use sick leave...

Freaking ouch. How on earth do you *plan* sick leave?

You don't... Which was what they were going for. Since some people abused the old sick leave system, they decided to punish everybody. Funny thing is, the people who use to abuse it are gone. Not to mention, they didn't really give those people an alternative until after changing the policy. Anyway, basically, the first day you miss work for being sick, you don't get paid. You do get sick leave for everyday after that. But if it's 3 days or ore that you miss, you can't come back to work without a doctor's note.

You can, however, use sick leave for doctor appointments, so we have that, I guess... Also, the abuse was that people would call out saying they were sick, which would inconvenience the bosses. But taking away paid leave didn't really fix anything because people could, and did, still call out. And it sucked for people who really were sick, because they would miss at least one day of pay because the company is so paranoid that someone would call out sick and make them have to work more... Though, they are letting us sell now, which helps because now people can sell their leave so it's not wasted instead of having to use it to get something out of it...

Edit: Oh. I forgot. There is one way to get sick pay on the first day of sick leave. A supervisor can send you home. Some of them are pretty good about sending home sick people since we deal with a lot elderly customers, and other very sick customers. My supervisor has made it clear that it's unlikely he'll send us home. But he means my section. As he has sent home the parts girl a few times and stuff like that... Luckily, I have the other job to rely on if anything goes wrong here...
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The paranoia exhibited by companies always astounds me. 'One guy might decide to do something stupid so now the other ninety nine people need to suffer!' or 'one customer complained so now we need to ruin the lives of our employees to satisfy that one customer!'

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zebatov posted...

I dont know a boss that wouldnt expect someone to come to work and get everyone else sick.

Funny you mention that. My job recently got worried about everybody getting everybody else at work sick (and maybe the customers). So they gave us these bags filled with certain products. Like a face mask, a pair of gloves, hand sanitizer, Lysol wipes, and stuff like that. Which is funny because my section already uses that stuff daily, as it is... So we already had access to all that stuff. But they would rather do that than admit that the sick policy sucks. And don't want to change it... So, I guess we'll need to have like 10 people throw up on a desk before that happens. When they asked why we came to work sick enough to throw up on somebody's desk, we'll just tell them because we couldn't miss a day or work if we wouldn't get paid for it...
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I went into work when I had literal bronchitis because I am ceaselessly busy. Probably shouldn't have but hey.

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LinkPizza posted...

Funny you mention that. My job recently got worried about everybody getting everybody else at work sick (and maybe the customers). So they gave us these bags filled with certain products. Like a face mask, a pair of gloves, hand sanitizer, Lysol wipes, and stuff like that. Which is funny because my section already uses that stuff daily, as it is... So we already had access to all that stuff. But they would rather do that than admit that the sick policy sucks. And don't want to change it... So, I guess we'll need to have like 10 people throw up on a desk before that happens. When they asked why we came to work sick enough to throw up on somebody's desk, we'll just tell them because we couldn't miss a day or work if we wouldn't get paid for it...

Speaking of broken limbs, doesn't it matter on your job whether this is important or not. I asked because some jobs are still perfectly fine t do with a broken limb, depending of the job. I've seen many office workers with a broken foot who can do desk work. And stuff like that....

I thought you were in the military or something. So customers sounded funny.

If youre injured, places where the work isnt already easy to do will find light-duty work like office work or sweeping/cleaning if possible.

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Yes, as long as it's not the flu, I would go to work.
If it was the flu, I'd just work from home.

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zebatov posted...

I thought you were in the military or something. So customers sounded funny.

If youre injured, places where the work isnt already easy to do will find light-duty work like office work or sweeping/cleaning if possible.

I am. I have 2 jobs. One is on base. The other is a bus station. So, there are customers there. Technically, they do call the officers our customers in base, though...
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As a food handler, if I'm vomiting or have diarrhea, I required to not work. But usually, I won't work under any illness since our customers watch me work.

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I've had to work sick plenty of times, including one time where my boss told me to take a bucket with me to vomit in while I worked

Health care claims to care about you and not infecting others, but they don't. Every place I have worked threatens your job for calling in, but reprimands you for showing up. You're better off showing up sick and hoping they'll send you home.

I have been working while sick this past week, but it's just been a cold. Whole lot of extra hand washing and time wasted blowing my nose, but nothing debilitating. If I were too sick to work, I'd call in, and my bosses would be fine with that, though I'd prefer not to because I know it leaves them scrambling to get the work done that I would have done (small bakery, so there's not a lot of wiggle room in the schedule) because they're all but guaranteed to lose a couple of hours of labour even if they find somebody to cover me.

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depends how sick. I have often worked sick since I am the only one in my office. However if I am having bad craps, then I will typically stay home.

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I'm noticing a distinct trend here of places punishing employee's for getting sick because there is no one to cover their shift as a result of the sickness. Also of them only 'approving' when they get to make the call. I think that taps into the fact that they think employee's are liars and want to work them as hard and much as possible and only send them home when it's a serious concern.

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Unbridled9 posted...

I'm noticing a distinct trend here of places punishing employee's for getting sick because there is no one to cover their shift as a result of the sickness. Also of them only 'approving' when they get to make the call. I think that taps into the fact that they think employee's are liars and want to work them as hard and much as possible and only send them home when it's a serious concern.

I can see why places don't want employees to call in. I can understand why it gets frustrating too. One month, I had a nurse coworker call in because she was hungover, had her period, overslept, didn't feel like coming in, and couldn't make it due to bad roads even though she lived not even a 10 minute walk away and there was less than an inch of snow on the roads.

For every person like that, there's people who won't call in, but on the off chance they do, they're yelled at. I had a coworker get written up for not calling in 2 hours before her shift. She was having a heart attack. The nurse above? They asked her nicely to stop calling in so much

LinkPizza posted...

Speaking of broken limbs, doesn't it matter on your job whether this is important or not. I asked because some jobs are still perfectly fine t do with a broken limb, depending of the job. I've seen many office workers with a broken foot who can do desk work. And stuff like that....

That's true, but there's bit of context to that I didn't get to in my original post. Parking absolutely fucking sucks where I work. We're the only company without reserved parking in a massive lot and there's a hotel right in front of the building that takes up what would otherwise be a lot of other parking spaces. Even a good spot is a hike and I've had times where I'm parking pretty much a quarter mile away from the doors. It suuuuuucks.

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When I was working as a teacher I worked many times with a bad cold. If I felt bad enough, or if I felt it was becoming more I would leave early or call in. The problem about missing as a teacher is that with substitutes you don't know what they will let the students do.

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CTLM posted...

I had a coworker get written up for not calling in 2 hours before her shift. She was having a heart attack. The nurse above? They asked her nicely to stop calling in so much

Tbqh, if I got written up for not calling 2 hours before my shift, I would most likely have another job very soon after. Id also see if I could sue somehow. Especially if they wanted to play favorites by not doing that for the other nurse...

Krow_Incarnate posted...

That's true, but there's bit of context to that I didn't get to in my original post. Parking absolutely fucking sucks where I work. We're the only company without reserved parking in a massive lot and there's a hotel right in front of the building that takes up what would otherwise be a lot of other parking spaces. Even a good spot is a hike and I've had times where I'm parking pretty much a quarter mile away from the doors. It suuuuuucks.

Yeah. That would suck with a broken leg. So, that makes more sense...
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Few years back, I was working over 3 years with bad gall bladder pain that was on and off again. Didn't know it was actually something wrong with my gall bladder until my work sent me home one day, was home for maybe 2 hrs. and I really couldn't breathe too good, so I texted my lovely wife at her work and she took me to the hospital where I was diagnosed in the ER. They told us that I needed emergency surgery to remove my gall bladder.

All that time that I was dealing with that pain, my focus at work was shitty. Led me to make mistakes a lot and got multiple suspensions which could have cost me my job.

Bottom line, don't try to work thru excessive pain that comes and goes. It may be your body trying to tell ya something !

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Krow_Incarnate posted...

That's true, but there's bit of context to that I didn't get to in my original post. Parking absolutely fucking sucks where I work. We're the only company without reserved parking in a massive lot and there's a hotel right in front of the building that takes up what would otherwise be a lot of other parking spaces. Even a good spot is a hike and I've had times where I'm parking pretty much a quarter mile away from the doors. It suuuuuucks.

Got some pics.

https://i.imgur.com/SZ6mOLO.jpg

The space with the red SUV is the best spot you can get and it's only that row that isn't reserved for the other places.

The green circle is about where the doors are behind the hotel.

Throughout the winter Season, I'm pretty much parking back here:

https://i.imgur.com/4EsZyL7.jpg

The hill is pretty much the best spot that no one takes, otherwise, I'm parking like 5 or 6 spots down the other side of it.

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My boss and coworkers don't want to work with a sick person

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As long as it's nothing like a flu or stomach virus but if it's just a cold or sore throat I'm coming in. Really can't afford to miss any work days

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I'm a teacher. It's a metric ton of work to prepare sub plans if you're sick. Plus, often times subs don't actually do what you ask them to, so you end up falling behind. We have a serious sub shortage, too, so there's never any consequences for them fucking up.

So, unless I'm VERY sick, I go to work.

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faramir77 posted...

I'm a teacher. It's a metric ton of work to prepare sub plans if you're sick. Plus, often times subs don't actually do what you ask them to, so you end up falling behind. We have a serious sub shortage, too, so there's never any consequences for them fucking up.

So, unless I'm VERY sick, I go to work.

You should hire peggy hill, she is the number one sub

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I've done it many many times

First, I dont get sick.

Second, if I do I still go to work.

Only exception is stomach bug. Thats when I turn to shit.

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HornedLion posted...

Only exception is stomach bug. Thats when I turn to shit.

How would you know if you don't get sick?

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When I first started my current job 7+ years ago, my supervisor at the time was a notorious bully to male workers and had often insinuated I would either be let go or moved to another shop over the course of my first three years.
I received my first verbal warning a few months in when a blizzard closed the roads and I couldn't make it to work. By the time the plows came it was already 10 hours into a 12 hour shift and he wrote me up because I didn't come in for the last two hours. He also laughed and said he didn't even make it in either.

So after that I was terrified of missing work. I worked through numerous illnesses sometimes taking upwards of four energy drinks to make it through a shift. Later I slipped a disk in my back and showed up to work three backshifts in a row in so much pain I couldn't walk and breathe at the same time.

I also once came in so sick that as soon as people on the crew saw me they told me I should go home, but I didn't because I knew I would get another warning on my file. Keep in mind female employees pretty much had free reign as far as attendance went, often missing numerous shifts a week.

After three years he got transferred out of our shop, but I was still so terrified of missing a shift of work for being sick I still came in. The first time I showed up for work as sick as I was our new supervisor told me not to show up for the next shift. So for the first time in seven years I took my first sick day.

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Last time I had to call in sick I was in the hospital undergoing emergency surgery for atelectasis (collapsed lung) caused by a pleural empyema (accumulation of pus in the sac which surrounds the lungs).

(For those who are curious, they were able to identify the pathogen as a beta-hemolytic group C form of Streptococcus, but they couldn't identify the specific species. Group C includes S. equi, S. zooepidemicus, S. equisimilis, and S. dysgalactiae, all of which are normally found in animals. I got sick after cleaning a barn that hadn't been properly maintained for years.)

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Until almost 2 years ago come January, I usually came in despite how I felt. There was one time before then my supervisor told me to go home because she was sure I was running a fever.

Since that particular day, I've called in when I knew I didn't feel well enough to come in. I don't go using sick leave willy-nilly, though. I save it for when I really need it.

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I have worked sick before, including one time in college wehre I basically had diarrhea and the place's bathrooms weren't working. Granted, that wasn't even the most outrageous event I've worked during or following.

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Bosses manage my work, not my life. If I'm actually sick, then I use a sick day. If they think it's an inconvenience for them, they should realize it's an even bigger inconvinience for me.

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I would work even if I had a flu or broken limb. I've gone to school and work sick with fever and not feeling strong.

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Depends on how sick. If it's sinus/chest cold I can usually power thru 9/10 times.

If it's a stomach bug where I'm puking or shitting randomly, yeah, that's a sick day or 2.

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Only if it's minor.

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Oh. For all the shitty rules I mentioned before, I did forget to mention I questioned them about somethings. They did say there were exceptions. I asked about things like going to the ER for something or breaking a limb. And they did mentioned there were exceptions where we'd still get to use our sick day and get paid of the first day we're sick. So, there's that...
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As far as I'm concerned sick days are an earned benefit. If I am not getting paid out for unused ones I am going to use them if I am sick or not.

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If it was something like a cold sure. If it was a flu or something super contagious or really awful no.

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Gaawa_chan posted...

Yeah, the place where I worked where we had to come in if we couldn't get our shift covered was a kitchen in an assisted living facility (aka, a facility filled with people that have bad immune systems). I always thought it was incredibly reckless to have that policy.

That is fucked up.

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Lil_Bit83 posted...

That is fucked up.

Yeah, we had other problems, too. Like... there are times when there is only one person scheduled in the kitchen (cook shift). They're alone for a couple of hours working with knives/stoves/etc... and one of the cooks collapsed in the kitchen from... I forget if it was a stone or his appendix. He had to slowly drag himself out of the kitchen and dining room to get help, and all the while, the stoves were on and unattended. I actually met with the person in charge of our facility to mention this and other concerns in the hopes that they might make schedule changes so that no one was ever left alone in the kitchen, but no go. While the place is technically "up to code," not having two people in the kitchen at all times seems like a hazard to me.

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