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Post by littlemama on Nov 12, 2015 15:23:11 GMT
Because they can't afford to miss work for any of several reasons? Because the common cold isn't typically considered a good reason to miss work?
If someone comes in sick, I do appreciate if they stay in their offices to the extent possible, purell like crazy before they touch things and preferably Clorox wipe the doorknobs and faucets and stuff. Stomach viruses are the one exception. Get the hell out until you don't have that shit any more!
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Post by JustCallMeMommy on Nov 12, 2015 15:29:02 GMT
Coughs often last longer than people can take, and some people blow through their sick leave, so they have none available when they get sick. Even with plenty of days available, if I were to take a week off for a cough, I'd come back to a full Inbox, and it would take me weeks to catch up.
I also had an awful cough once that was a side effect of a medication I was taking. I wasn't sick, but I'm sure I sounded like it.
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oldcrow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,828
Location: Ontario,Canada
Jun 26, 2014 12:25:29 GMT
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Post by oldcrow on Nov 12, 2015 15:31:25 GMT
I have no sick benefits where I work so no work - no pay. Maybe they can't afford to be off.
Many places you are responsible for the work that comes to you. If you are off sick you come back to piles of work that no one else did because it was not their responsibility. So sometimes it's just better to suck it up and come in feeling like crud and get it done rather than be days behind.
And maybe they hate that when they come back after being off sick all they hear is how awful it was working short handed while they were at home relaxing.
There can be lots of reasons for coming into work sick, this is just a few.
In the perfect world...............
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Post by scrapsotime on Nov 12, 2015 15:32:27 GMT
because I can cough up a storm sometimes when it's allergies or sinus problems, but I'm not contagious.
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Post by PolarGreen12 on Nov 12, 2015 15:34:56 GMT
I have always had jobs offered you sick time and I have always had bosses that look down on you for using that sick time. It's a double edged sword. You're bitched about by co workers if you stay home and they have to do your work. You're bitched about if you come to work coughing.
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Post by littlemama on Nov 12, 2015 15:35:01 GMT
Is it just me, or did the OP disappear?
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Post by cyndijane on Nov 12, 2015 15:39:08 GMT
'Tis the season for sharing Chlorox wipes!
There's sick (I don't feel well, coughing and sneezing) which you just have to suck up and deal with- taking as much OTC meds as your body can handle, and then there's "I'm going to contaminate the whole office and shut it down" sick. You should stay home for that. Then of course, there's hospital- sick, which is horrible. Most people I know don't stay home for the annoying sick. Even if it's a slight bit contagious. They just use lots of Chlorox.
Nobody wants the crud, but often it sounds worse than it is- meaning, you can't catch what they have, there's no reason for them to not work.
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Post by gar on Nov 12, 2015 15:39:29 GMT
Is it just me, or did the OP disappear? Yup. A fairly new pea...maybe the responses made her rethink her question.
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Post by meeko77 on Nov 12, 2015 15:42:35 GMT
The OP is gone.
Many reasons have already been stated above.
Also, depending on your job, sick leave can be very limited. Where I work, we don't have "sick leave", per se, we have "annual leave" that you use for vacations and sick time, etc. You have to schedule your time off (usually at least a month in advance, unless you work out your own coverage). Those days we get plenty of. However, unscheduled absences are very restricted. You get 4 call-in days a year. That's it, after that, you are put on probation or terminated depending on how many absences. Therefore, unless I was running a fever, or unable to function, I have been to work when I probably "shouldn't". That's just how it is.
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Post by myboysnme on Nov 12, 2015 16:09:07 GMT
I have plenty of sick leave and yet I came back to work last week after 3 days off because I was feeling better. After a few hours I was worn down and feeling bad so I went home. I do not want to use all my leave for a cold when it can linger for much more than a week and then if I get very ill in the future or something I've used all my sick leave.
I think people come to work sick because they have no sick leave, have already taken some time off and feel pressure to get back to work, don't want to use all their sick leave, need the money, don't think they are that sick to stay home, don't need to see a doctor but after so many days have to bring a doctor note so they come back to avoid that (when you have a cold who wants to pay a copay for nothing?)
My son's gf had started a new job 2 weeks ago when a virus raged through my entire family and she got it. She had to call out and almost lost her job because she was new and looked like a flake. She had to get a doctor note and pay a copay (ref vent thread where I had to pay her copay because she had no money). Boss said they needed her back or they couldn't use her so she medicated herself up and went to work.
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Post by utmr on Nov 12, 2015 16:17:03 GMT
I don't have sick leave, just PTO. Corporate doesn't care that my coworkers spew their germs through our open concept workspace (another vent), so I'm not burning vacation time unless I'm at death's door.
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Post by Sparki on Nov 12, 2015 16:21:39 GMT
I would love to stay home when I'm sick, but I've always had bosses that would give me hell for it.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Nov 12, 2015 16:24:54 GMT
Is it just me, or did the OP disappear? Ha ha, maybe she needed to call in sick... In all seriousness though, when you stop to think about it many people have to share their sick time with other family members. If you only get a handful of days off to use for illness and your kid gets sick and can't go to school or daycare, guess what--there goes one of your sick days to care for that kid at home. Same could be said for an aging parent or other family member who needs outside care or extra help. Once your handful of days are burned up caring for others, you can be sick as a dog yourself but have no more available time to take off, paid or not. I also agree with JustCallMeMommy re: the coughing thing. I've had the same stupid annoying cough and stuffy/runny nose for over a month now and I'm SO over it! I don't have a fever or really any other symptoms so at this point unfortunately it's just an aggravation that has to run its course.
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Post by padresfan619 on Nov 12, 2015 16:24:50 GMT
My company offers a very generous sick time package. Unlimited sick time, after 2 days you need a doctor's note to miss any more days. I'm currently at home sick on my second day because people still insist on coming into work sick. It drives me nuts. I'll be fine by tomorrow morning, but I will still keep my distance from my coworkers.
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Post by melanell on Nov 12, 2015 16:41:21 GMT
So many reasons. They don't have sick days or don't have any left and cannot afford to go without pay. They have sick days but it is extremely frowned upon, either by their workplace in general, or just by their immediate superior, to actually take a day off, so they opt to go in anyway.
They have children who get sick regularly and they try to save their own sick days for when they need to be home with their children instead.
Someone important will be at work so they have to go. Or there is a special meeting or event they must attend. Or there is something else going on at work that they just cannot miss. Or they are behind and cannot get further behind.
And so and so forth.
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Post by moveablefeast on Nov 12, 2015 16:42:07 GMT
I don't stay home for a cold unless it's miserable and I can't work. My sick time is limited so I don't want to use it up for the sniffles. I get a ton of colds every year - I work with kids - it's unavoidable.
I stay home with a fever or GI symptoms.
I send my kid to school with a mild cold too, unless she's feeling awful and needs to lay in bed all day or unless her nose is just so drippy and gross that she can't manage it at school.
So the short answer really is, sometimes a cold is just a cold and staying home isn't worth the lost productivity or instructional time. Sometimes it's worse than that and you really should stay home, and we do. But sometimes it's just a cold and life has to go on.
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calgal08
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,519
Jun 27, 2014 15:43:46 GMT
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Post by calgal08 on Nov 12, 2015 16:49:13 GMT
I work part-time. I don't get any sick or vacation time. Taking a day off means no pay for me. If it's just a cold then I'll go to work, if I've got a fever, etc., then I'll stay home. Many times when I have a cold I feel like poo first thing in a morning, then within a couple of hours I feel OK.
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Post by Linda on Nov 12, 2015 17:03:12 GMT
I'm a sahm now so no longer applicable but when I did work - I didn't have sick leave (or vacation or PTO of any sort). I remember one store manager I had who gave an assistant manager the choice between working with chicken pox or losing his job (he probably did have sick leave based on his position) - she flat out told him that in front of other employees (myself included). He kept working - in the back room where he wasn't (hopefully) infecting customers but other employees were still being exposed. The same store manager didn't let me go home sick after I fainted in the store (I was pregnant and probably dehydrated from severe morning sickness) - and she counted the time I spent 'not working' while coming back to and drinking a glass of water as unpaid. Wasn't much I could do about it - I needed the paycheque.
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lesley
Drama Llama
My best friend Turriff, desperately missed.
Posts: 7,172
Location: Scotland, Scotland, Scotland
Jul 6, 2014 21:50:44 GMT
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Post by lesley on Nov 12, 2015 17:11:25 GMT
What dreadful policies some of you have to put up with.
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Post by gmcwife1 on Nov 12, 2015 17:23:58 GMT
To answer the disappearing OP
Because they don't have sick time or don't get paid for sick time. Because co-workers talk about anyone out of the office like they are playing hooky. Because it's 4th quarter and it's too busy to miss work. Because there is mandatory OT so any work you miss is taken out of your PTO, including the mandatory OT hours. Because you have family members you have to care for with your sick time.
So many reasons I have seen over the years.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Nov 12, 2015 17:25:52 GMT
What dreadful policies some of you have to put up with. ^^^ I agree, they ARE... ETA: and I didn't see the OP, but was it *really* asked in such an inflammatory way that the original poster felt they needed to delete it after a few responses?? sheesh! (are we really that scary?? I don't think so!)
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Post by lisacharlotte on Nov 12, 2015 17:30:31 GMT
Because being sick doesn't always last 24 hours. Most people don't have generous enough sick leave to take off every time a sniffle shows up. I've been draining since October. I'm not contagious. I should take off until it's gone? Don't touch your face, you'll be fine.
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Post by snow4197 on Nov 12, 2015 17:31:18 GMT
OP here. I deleted it by accident. Chill Out! Actually I have been around since the original 2 peas board. I just don't post much.
My question was rhetorical. Unfortunately the co-worker sensationalizes everything and makes sure everyone knows she is sick with her moans and groans all day.
We all get sick, I get that. Just drives me nuts that some people have to make sure everyone knows and goes looking for sympathy.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Nov 12, 2015 17:41:40 GMT
^^^ welcome back, OP-- lol!! I do agree, the people who play the "I'm sick, but I'm still here working; give me kudos for being so dedicated" card are kind of annoying.
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Post by Prenticekid on Nov 12, 2015 18:07:49 GMT
OP here. I deleted it by accident. Chill Out! Actually I have been around since the original 2 peas board. I just don't post much. My question was rhetorical. Unfortunately the co-worker sensationalizes everything and makes sure everyone knows she is sick with her moans and groans all day. We all get sick, I get that. Just drives me nuts that some people have to make sure everyone knows and goes looking for sympathy. Well, that's an entirely different subject than the one posed in your thread title.
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Post by anniefb on Nov 12, 2015 18:51:42 GMT
What dreadful policies some of you have to put up with. Yeah that^^
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Post by scrapsotime on Nov 12, 2015 20:53:35 GMT
Well, that's an entirely different subject than the one posed in your thread title.
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jediannie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,840
Jun 30, 2014 3:19:06 GMT
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Post by jediannie on Nov 12, 2015 20:59:53 GMT
OP here. I deleted it by accident. Chill Out! Actually I have been around since the original 2 peas board. I just don't post much. My question was rhetorical. Unfortunately the co-worker sensationalizes everything and makes sure everyone knows she is sick with her moans and groans all day. We all get sick, I get that. Just drives me nuts that some people have to make sure everyone knows and goes looking for sympathy. Ah, now it makes sense. I came to work sick last week because I had to use all my sick time before my maternity leave benefits kicked in. Now I have no sick leave accrued & have to wait at least a month before I have a sick day. :/
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Post by 950nancy on Nov 12, 2015 21:07:05 GMT
I was a teacher and calling in sick meant more hours of extra work. Stomach issues= stay home. Almost everything else was a go to work day. There were 800 people in the building and there were always sick kids in school. You just can't avoid it.
I did build up an amazing immune system though.
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georgiapea
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,846
Jun 27, 2014 18:02:10 GMT
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Post by georgiapea on Nov 12, 2015 21:16:48 GMT
I worked with a woman who came to work so sick I worried she wouldn't live to the end of her shift. She only used sick leave when her child was sick and never had more than a day or two accumulated. We all hated it but there was nothing we could do as management felt sorry for her and wouldn't send her home.
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