Email this topic to a friend Printer-friendly version of this topic Bookmark this topic (Registered users only)		Archived thread - Read only  Previous Topic | Next Topic
Conferences Off-Topic Forum (Protected)
Original message

samboohoo 17173 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-09-09, 03:22 PM (EST) "Sick People at Work" Almost a WWYD type of deal. I sent my co-worker home for coming in sick last week. Yes, I will admit, much of my sending her home was completely selfish on my part. But, IMO, she was completely selfish by coming into work sick. Her whole family had Swine Flu the week before. She arrived on Monday looking like crap and still coughing. On Tuesday, she walked in with the premise of, "I'm just going to tell you, I don't feel well." I sent her home with a lecture about being unfair to the rest of the office. At this point in the year, she has no more time off, so spending a day at home actually would have caused her to be docked a day's pay. I discussed with the immediate boss, who agreed with me and the big boss, who didn't necessarily agree with me. As I explained to him, this co-worker once came to work knowingly with Pink Eye. In the end, I compromised and took some work to her at home that she could do at home for half a day and then we agreed not to dock her for the other half in an effort to work with her. She didn't come in again the next day and actually went to the doctor. Apparently she hadn't rested enough during the bout with Swine. The doctor told her she could come back to work. She has coughed everyday since. And, on Friday and today, I have heard her puking in the bathroom. I do realize that legally I probably couldn't make her go home. I don't care. Would you ever send someone home for being sick? Would you ever leave work yourself if a sick person came in? Samboobree, brought to life by Arkie   Top

Subject     Author     Message Date     ID    RE: Sick People at Work jbug 11-09-09 1    RE: Sick People at Work samboohoo 11-09-09 4  RE: Sick People at Work Max Headroom 11-09-09 2    RE: Sick People at Work samboohoo 11-09-09 5  RE: Sick People at Work kidflash212 11-09-09 3    RE: Sick People at Work samboohoo 11-09-09 6  RE: Sick People at Work kingfish 11-09-09 7  RE: Sick People at Work rasslinmomma 11-09-09 8  RE: Sick People at Work frodis 11-09-09 9  RE: Sick People at Work dragonflies 11-09-09 10  RE: Sick People at Work weltek 11-09-09 11    RE: Sick People at Work jbug 11-09-09 13  RE: Sick People at Work grit 11-09-09 12  RE: Sick People at Work cahaya 11-09-09 14  Dunno moonbaby 11-09-09 15  Well... IceCat 11-09-09 16    RE: Well... jbug 11-10-09 17  RE: Sick People at Work Bebo 11-10-09 18    RE: Sick People at Work samboohoo 11-10-09 19  RE: Sick People at Work skye 11-12-09 20

Lobby | Topics | Previous Topic | Next Topic

Messages in this topic

jbug 17146 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-09-09, 03:43 PM (EST) 1. "RE: Sick People at Work" Back when I was in a position to make those decisions, I was in child care management, so...... yes, I sent people home because I could not have them there getting the kids sick - and since we told parents they had to keep sick kids at home, well..... But your situation is different. It stinks that the doctor released her to return to work. But puking? Can you ask her if she was indeed puking? Does the company not have written policies re sick at work? Situation here where I am now is so different. We don't get any paid sick days so employees don't call in sick unless they really are - which is not very often (off-track, but when empl don't get paid days off they tend to take less days off.....). Anyway, we had a guy call in sick one Friday (he works Tues-Fri). Then still sick on Tues, Wed, Thur & decided he was going to doctor on Fri. Finally came back the next Tuesday. The boss here? Instead of being glad that he was not here infecting everyone else, just fussed and fumed the whole time. It's not like there was a lot of work for the guy to be doing anyway. But this boss just wants it his way. Me? have been here 7 yrs 8 months and have not called in sick one day. Scheduled a couple of days off for minor surgery, but never called in sick. And? I've not come in sick either Dang, I'm healthy for a junk food eater! Slicey took out the wrinkles '08   Top

samboohoo 17173 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-09-09, 03:51 PM (EST) 4. "RE: Sick People at Work" We do not have a policy in place. Immediate boss apparently said something to her today about the coughing. She replied that she has a doctor's note indicating she is not contagious and just has a tickle in her throat. I didn't say anything about the puking. You can hear it through the bathroom door. At this piont, I would give her the benefit of the doubt and say it could be from phlem or related to the coughing. Our sick day policy changed two years ago. We used to get x number of weeks of vacation per year (depending on your tenure), plus six sick days. You could carry over the sick days and bank them. You could only carry over half of your vacation each year. We had a handful of people who never took sick days (even when they were sick) and had more than 70 in the bank. Those would have to be paid in cash if they ever left. We also had people like me who took sick days if a child was sick. (If I were up all night with a sick child, I justified it because I technically did feel like crap.) Now everything is Personal Time Off and he combined them. The only carry-over is half of what you earn that year. For the most part, we really are fairly easy-going around here. I don't really say much when she comes in every single day 10 - 20 minutes late. Or takes more than an hour at lunch. She's one of those people who takes a yard when given an inch. She's also one who will be cut quickly if layoffs roll around again. Samboobree, brought to life by Arkie   Top

Max Headroom 10069 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-09-09, 03:45 PM (EST) 2. "RE: Sick People at Work" You've just described today's H1N1 dilemma, "How am I supposed to stay home when I'm sick, if I have no paid time off for illness and can't afford to lose a day's pay?" My employer has issued an edict that anyone who stays home from work with flu-like symptoms must call a corporate health services hotline. We're also strongly encouraged to not come to work if we're feeling sick. But we have paid sick leave, and many of us can telecommute, so my situation is different from the one you described. Fortunately I haven't encountered the situation you described. The closest I've come was the other day when a coworker from out of town stopped by my office for a quick hello. He was sniffling and congested, and as soon as he left my office, I got my hand sanitizer out of my desk and used it on my hands. another nifty agman creation   Top

samboohoo 17173 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-09-09, 03:52 PM (EST) 5. "RE: Sick People at Work" I can work from home anyday. If it came down to me running out, I'd be ok. That wasn't always the case, and I've been docked before. There is hand sanitizer on my desk. In each office. In the kitchen. i also bleach wipe the phones and all door handles, public touching areas everyday. Samboobree, brought to life by Arkie   Top

kidflash212 5051 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-09-09, 03:49 PM (EST) 3. "RE: Sick People at Work" My workplace sent a company wide memo requesting that anyone suffering flu-like symptoms stay home and when someone has come to work sick in the past month I've suggested they go home and take care of themselves. But they had sick time left so not being paid was not an issue. It's a tougher call when that is the case although part of me expects that people who use up their sick time early in the year often use that time for "personal days" rather than actually being sick and if they wind up losing a days pay at the end of the year they only have themselves to blame.   Top

samboohoo 17173 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-09-09, 03:54 PM (EST) 6. "RE: Sick People at Work" I agree with that too. She used a ton of days early in the year and even in the past two months. I have 8 days to get me through the year, 7 of which I hope to use during the final 2 weeks of the year. I have jokingly todl my son he is not alowed to get sick until January. Samboobree, brought to life by Arkie   Top

kingfish 20752 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-09-09, 04:00 PM (EST) 7. "RE: Sick People at Work" I would: 1. Try my best to keep them at home. And as you did try to work with them to ease the burden of no leave, but in the interests of myself and everyone else at work, I'd make them leave. If they weren't in position to perform work effectively (I know that I can't when I'm sick), then it's just a tough situation but they have to stay home. Some companies have a policy letting co-workers donate leave time to someone caught up in a thing like this. 2. If I couldn't do that, then I'd make them see whoever prevented me from keeping them away every morning. Whoever that was, they might change their mind if they realized that they were facing the prospect of the whole office being out sick. 3. If that didn't work, I'd try my best to just isolate myself from them. 4. If that wasn't possible, I'd be taking sick leave myself, or trying to work from a remote location. No type of flu is fun to catch. 5. If there's a company medical person (nurse) that can swing a few flu shots (for both the seasonal and Swine flu), that would be a smart and timely thing right now.   Top

rasslinmomma 938 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Fitness Correspondent" 11-09-09, 04:08 PM (EST) 8. "RE: Sick People at Work" My father recently had a conversation with one of his employees, notifying her that she will be terminated if she comes into work ill again. She came in with fever and cough and within 3 days dad was sick with bronchitis, which progressed into pneumonia, resulting in a three day hopitalization. Every daycare center, school, or medical facility I'm aware of will not allow ill children to attend or employees to work until fever and/or GI symptoms have been relieved for >24 hours without the use of medication.   Top

frodis 4442 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Jerry Springer Show Guest" 11-09-09, 04:22 PM (EST) 9. "RE: Sick People at Work" It's a tough situation, Boo. I am in complete agreement with you that sick people should stay home, both to recover and to keep others from getting sick. It is selfish to come to work and spread your germs around. . . . . . but if you're asking her to lose a couple hundred dollars to keep other people from getting sick - it's hard to ask someone to be THAT selfless. That could be a grocery budget or the difference between some bills being paid or not. I'm not sure what choice I'd make in that situation but honestly, I'd probably go to work and just try to keep to myself as much as possible. The only way to prevent that is to not allow people to use up all of their days before the end of the year. Maybe require that a bank of 2 days or so be kept at all times? I'm not sure how that would work, especially if they get used. It's in the employees best interest to keep a few days banked til the end of the year, but most people don't think that far ahead. (It should be their own stupid fault, too, but everyone suffers.) I think it was very nice of you to work with her so she didn't get docked for the day. I work for small company and we don't get sick days. The policy is that if you're sick, stay home, and those days are recorded as "absent, not applied" with the understanding that if they become excessive they can be docked or taken from other stores of time off. (With a lot of travel, most people have an opportunity to earn comp days.) There's no bank of sick days that people feel compelled to use. Because we're small, those "absent - not applied" days can be reviewed on a case by case, person by person basis. Most people wind up with a few of them for an illness or two, sick kid, funeral, snow day, etc. and they never get docked or taken. They're like a well of off-days that you can take but you have to be careful because it could run dry at any time. Also, most of my coworkers can be productive from home so staying home for a day doesn't necessarily mean losing a day of productivity. It's an agman!   Top

dragonflies 8051 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-09-09, 04:44 PM (EST) 10. "RE: Sick People at Work" LAST EDITED ON 11-09-09 AT 04:50 PM (EST) I sent one of my employees home last Monday. Turns out she had Strep Throat. She was scheduled for 3.5 days vacation the latter part of the week. She ended up taking Tuesday off as well. Another in my dept had Swine Flu. All of her family did as well. She knew enough not to come in. eta: they both ended up having 6-8 hours unpaid, as they are hourly. Since 70% of our workforce is hourly, I can't make exceptions for them just because they are in the office. I'm sorry about it, but the rules are the rules. siggie by smokeysmom   Top

weltek 16936 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-09-09, 05:04 PM (EST) 11. "RE: Sick People at Work" LAST EDITED ON 11-09-09 AT 05:06 PM (EST) I think most companies are realizing they should have policies in place about known contagious illnesses. I think you should've (as you ended up doing) encouraged the person to take work home if possible (since they were probably worried about not having sick time left) and told them to remain at home either until they have been cleared by a doctor or symptoms have significantly declined. I feel for the people that don't have sick time and can't afford to lose the pay. It's up to the employers to make good decisions. This year is unique because swine flu is SO contagious. In small organizations, I think some policies can easily be instituted, such as an extra two days sick leave for everyone, or plans of how most people can work from home. Even receptionists can probably work on some typing, online research, etc. in some instances. ETA: I also thought about having a "secure" sick person workspace and everyone just taking extra precautions. E.g., person is required to work in a closed office space (no meetings), required to wipe handles of doors, etc. and send out an alert to all coworkers to be vigilant. Not always feasible, but it your case it might have been. -A Tribetastic Creation   Top

jbug 17146 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-09-09, 05:37 PM (EST) 13. "RE: Sick People at Work" Remember tho that not everyone's work is office related Mine is, but there's not relly much I could do from home; I guess they could forward the phone to my house so I could answer it, but then I'd have to call them on their cells if it was for one of them,........ Except for our bookkeeper and the electrical engineer who does mostly computer programming, everyone else here works in a shop. Nothing that could be done at home.   Top

grit 4868 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Stuff Magazine Centerfold" 11-09-09, 05:27 PM (EST) 12. "RE: Sick People at Work" I have no sick days and have been guilty of showing up to work while sick. Most of my clients NEED me to come to the office and if I don't go in, I don't get paid. I am also lucky in that some of my clients are not in the office when I go to do bookkeeping so it's okay for me to be there while sick. If I have a cold and need to go to a client, I come prepared with tissues, Lysol, and Clorox wipes. However, if I am sick with vomiting or fever I will not go in to a client's office. I have most of my clients' data backups with me so I can talk them through anything critical - like payroll or paying bills that are due soon - over the phone. When I'm better, I end up working extra hours to make up for the time I missed. I will also go in evenings and weekends to make up the missed time. This is also how I usually make up for time lost when I go on vacation, which is why I'm only able to go away for a week at a time. More than that and some of my clients would not be able to handle things on their own. I got sliced!   Top

cahaya 19891 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-09-09, 07:04 PM (EST) 14. "RE: Sick People at Work" LAST EDITED ON 11-10-09 AT 03:06 PM (EST) I've already blown my Thanksgiving week and half of my year-end leave just because we had to care for my daughter, first confirmed H1N1 by her pediatrician, and then afterward to care for ourselves when we caught it in spite of N95 masks, sanitizers and other measures. I went to Malaysia while DW was there and her mother passed away soon after my arrival. Even given six weeks of leave a year (a very good university professional perk), I'm high and dry on leave, barely avoiding being penalized with unpaid leave time under FEMA. Yes, H1N1 was news even then, airport temp scans and all, but I didn't expect it to hit my family as soon as it did. With numerous elderly people and people with children where I work, I had (and was instructed) to stay away from my workplace in order to keep from spreading it. Fortunately, unlike many in the private sector or small business sector, I didn't have to suffer a pay cut because of it. Alas, sick vacations are not vacations at all. ed.gr.   Top

moonbaby 17120 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-09-09, 11:53 PM (EST) 15. "Dunno" If the person I share the office with is sneezing, snotting and hacking away, I simply hold my breath all day, lol. For real, my coworker has been sick for about three weeks with a cold that will not let go. She stayed home one day. I have no idea why I'm not sick yet, but I never thought if she continued to come in like that I'd have to leave. If I feel so awful it's too much work to even get in, I stay home-unless there's something that came up that urgently needs my attention. I don't like to do more than a couple of days, though. The burden on the person covering for me, the stress it places on the boss and clients, all on my mind when I do that. But the workplace made it clear. If you have the hiniswiney you must stay home, period. What they have not made clear is will you continue to be paid once you run through your allotted sick leave/paid time off. I doubt it. Gotta say if I feel that sick I probably won't give a doodle. It takes too long to get to work on a good day. On a day when you don't feel great it is unbearable. I'll stay home and figure out the cost later. Can't say the people I work with will be thankful I stayed home because of the increased workload, but at least I didn't make them sick   Top

IceCat 17415 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-09-09, 11:56 PM (EST) 16. "Well..." ... I think there should be a law against showing up for work with a contagious disease so that the excuse of 'I can't afford to lose any paid hours' can't be used. Employees have the right to be paid a certain amount for a certain amount of work but if they cannot perform that work without presenting a hazard to others then they should not be allowed on the premises. The other workers have a right to a healthy and safe work environment. If someone runs out of paid sick days each year on a regular basis then HR needs to review the employee's pay and benefits package to see if some vacation days should be switched over to paid sick days.   Top

jbug 17146 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-10-09, 10:44 AM (EST) 17. "RE: Well..." If someone runs out of paid sick days each year on a regular basis then HR needs to review the employee's pay and benefits package Not all of us get paid sick leave to start with so..... Course it was my decision to take the job knowing that the only benefits were 6 paid holidays, paid vacation at a very slow accruing rate, and paid health care. That last one? probably makes up for any $ I might lose for taking a sick day off.   Top

Bebo 21083 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-10-09, 03:03 PM (EST) 18. "RE: Sick People at Work" I'm one of the lucky ones. Since those of us in the IT group have to be able to support the organization whether we can physically report to the office or not (and we've demonstrated the ability to do so ever since the whole Avian Flu scare a few years ago), we can tell staff to stay home and telework when necessary to avoid contaminating everyone else. So I can easily tell a member of my staff not to come to the office if he could infect others. And if I'm feeling snuffly, I can just email my boss and tell him I'm working from home that day so that I'm not a plague rat. I know someone who's been in intensive care for weeks because of H1N1, so we're not messing around here.   Top

samboohoo 17173 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-10-09, 04:05 PM (EST) 19. "RE: Sick People at Work" I think co-worker has something lingering, which I think could be pneumonia. I have heard similar stories about people being very sick from it. Samboobree, brought to life by Arkie   Top

skye 2261 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Seventeen Magazine Model" 11-12-09, 00:07 AM (EST) 20. "RE: Sick People at Work" Our company has a policy this year that we are not to come into work with any flu symptoms whatsoever. They are willing to pay us rather than having someone infect an entire office (which has already happened once). I've been the only person working in my department for 4 days (... so tired ...). Personally I have access to work from home if necessary which is my plan Teen Skye comes down with the plague but hey, getting H1N1 may be the closest thing I get to a vacation this year.   Top

Remove

Lobby | Topics | Previous Topic | Next Topic

Select another forum Lobby The Amazing Race Message Board Forums (Conference)   |--The Amazing Race Fanatics Forum (Protected)   |--The Amazing Race Basher Forum (Protected)   |--The Amazing Race Spoiler/Speculation Forum (Protected) American Idol Message Board Forums (Conference)   |--American Idol General Discussion Forum (Protected)   |--American Idol Individual Contestant and Judge Discussion Forum (Protected) Big Brother Message Board Forums (Conference)   |--Big Brother Fanatic Forum (Protected)   |--Big Brother Bashers Forum (Protected)   |--Big Brother Live Feed Updates And Spoilers (Protected) Survivor Message Board Forums (Conference)   |--Survivor Fanatic Forum (Protected)   |--Survivor Basher Forum (Protected)   |--Survivor Spoilers Forum (Protected)   |--Survivor Games Forum (Protected) Other Reality TV Shows (Conference)   |--The Bachelor / The Bachelorette Forum (Protected)   |--Dancing with the Stars Forum (Protected)   |--Other Reality TV Shows Forum (Protected) Off Topic (Conference)   |--The Help Forum (Protected)   |--Off-Topic Forum (Protected)