People who go to work sick...SUCK

[BenzoBabe]

First let me say I know many jobs do NOT pay for a day off and many go to work out of need.......BUT........Many (3 that I know of) people at my local McDonalds all have a bad and I mean BAD tummy flu and are going to work...My bf got hit with it this weekend....I eat there often and went and was told about 1 being ill...The next day walking out I run into a like casual friend who works there..she tells me horror stories of her weekend ILL .....today I go and one of the workers who I like a lot (in fact I like all of them) asks me what she can do for the dry heaves and diarrhea..(I worked in the medical field)...cause she needs to work..and I do feel for them and all but no wonder we are all ill and passing this back and forth....I have not had it AS BAD as bf and crew and HOPE and pray I dont ....its really bad and sweeping the nation I heard (USA)

Like I said...I know we are all part of the problem but hell when we first went there to eat..pre bf being ill...we didnt know anyone was ill......I think I will not go for a few days....but hell anywhere I go..I run the risk cause this sucky world doesnt pay low wage earners sick days....so ..go to gas station....post office....any store......its a risk......ughhhhhhh

[abifae]

yep. i went to work with pneumonia for weeks before i got a doctor's note to stay home! i hate it. if i could change whatever i wanted, making sure people stayed home as soon as they felt ill without dire consequences to their livelihood would be sooo high on that list.

abi

[BenzoBabe]

Awww Abi that sucks to go that long ill working..I wonder if that was more your docs fault on no time off for a while?.....I hope you got paid for the time off...Many who get a doctors note....still dont get paid for the time off and not many can afford days to weeks of no pay...it sucks..so all people do is go to work and spread germs...

[december_brigette]

Hi,

I know this is not much help...but society needs to realize the liabilites of people going to work sick. we are in a very litigious society. and who the hell knows what the mcd's employees are spreading to unassuming customers. It could be a major catastrophe.

and i dont say this because im for such kinds of lawsuits, i say this after working 7 years in the insurance field and dealing with risk and liability claims.

it sucks that as a whole, especially the corporate leaders of USA do not recognize this issue. sick people go to work because they have to. but whats cheaper? paying a weeks wages to a sick cook or cashier...or paying tons of money in liability claims & lawsuits.

yuck,

db

[wakko926]

unfortunately I am one of those ppl

and believe me I hear it from co-workers

but I have no paid time off

I am currently at risk to be written up

for missing time for doc appts

so I have no choice

like today - I much would prefer to be in bed right now

[resonance]

It's not just dire consequences to livelihood, too. Some people go to work sick because they have deadlines they have to meet, or so much work that they have to stay on top of it, or appointments they can't cancel. Or, because, like people who smoke or wear scented products or have pets, they're not as concerned about some of other peoples' health issues as other people are. It kind of sucks that we can't choose what risks our co-workers expose us to, but on the other hand, at least they can't choose for us.

[abifae]

Awww Abi that sucks to go that long ill working..I wonder if that was more your docs fault on no time off for a while?.....I hope you got paid for the time off...Many who get a doctors note....still dont get paid for the time off and not many can afford days to weeks of no pay...it sucks..so all people do is go to work and spread germs...

i only went to the doctor when it was obvious i had pneumonia cuz i don't have insurance and had to pay out of pocket.

but yeh, had a doctor's note for a full week. he asked where i worked and i said "restaurant" and he said "not this week" because i'm sure lawsuits were dancing in his head, too!

and, lol, no way would i get paid for it. paid to NOT be there. lol.

resonance: too true! this world is so big on their deadlines and getting things done sooner that every day is full of meetings one can't miss and deadlines one must meet.... it seems foolish to me. but we have ourselves caught... one lost day means thousands of dollars lost because everyone is pushing in the same way. it bites.

abi

[Penny Century]

i confess. i went to class because i had a presentation (that i worked my ass off on while sick, stupid 1100 pages of reading) and i had a sore throat and a fever but i put off going to health services until after class and it turns out i have strep.

i just hope that as i didn't share food or cough/sneeze on anyone that i didn't get anyone sick. i've actually been sick since the 5th (i thought it was just the remains of a cold) and haven't gotten my husband sick even, so i hope i didn't get anyone ill.

zpac time. mmm.

[wifezilla]

I am sick right now and at my desk. I have production deadlines I can't miss.

Of course, I work with my husband, so he is getting exposed regardless. (I am going to stay away from the customers though).

When I worked for other people, you were always treated with suspicion if you called in sick. Only one company I ever worked for even gave you a sick day (or personal day) but then they would give you crap if you tried to take it. For other employers it was unpaid time off and threats of write ups if you didn't go to the doctor and get a note. If you have a cold, you don't need a doctor, you need some rest.

With that kind of policy your unpaid day off ended up costing you your missed salary along with a doctor visit (since these same assholes didn't offer insurance). Who in the world can afford paying over $100 just to have a day off sick?

(And people wonder why I go through all the hassel of working for myself)

[reddog]

when i ran a fever & had chills, i called in, despite the possible consequences, and 4 of my coworkers promptly thanked me! at least i have the option to stay home.

[Rabbit37]

I know that there are circumstances where a parent can't stay home, and don't have the luxury of sick leave, but what about the parents who take their kids to school sick because they work? Oh, it's frustrating, because then my kids get sick, and I just got a notice that chickenpox has reared its ugly head, so I have to go get my son an immunization booster. Strep throat and scarlet fever has already run rampant through the classroom. I work at home (oh, I know there are parents who say with a sneer "painting is work?"), and when I have a sick child at home, it's virtually impossible to be productive, and I have actually missed deadlines because of it. I know, I know, even in sickness life must go on, but in a perfect world, EVERYONE WOULD STAY HOME.

[Loon-A-TiK]

i know that when i was working, i hated the corporate policies that put people in the position of having to come into work when they were sick and would get the rest of us sick. especially for people who work in the food industry, that is plain gross.

as december said, why risk liability over a hundred bucks? just pay the person to stay home and get well. just one lawsuit could ruin the company, and then not even the bigshots would have jobs.

[Tenebrae]

i can't read all the details ... attention span is shot. but my job sounds like a respiratory wing in a hospital. for god's sake GO HOME PEOPLE! (or at least go somewhere private to make all those disgusting mucus-y sounds) and these people DO get sick days. except for me, who i am hoping they will not infect.

<sprays lysol, waves at BB and blows her germ free kisses, then scampers off>

[chUCKIT]

well there's always the folks I hear say

they use their sick time pay

when they want to FN goof off

<grrrrr>

[bipolarbeary]

I went to work yesterday with the worst cold I've had in years. Thankfully I'm the only one who uses my keyboard. I don't get sick days, and I really don't want to miss work because I'm a temp trying to get hired permanently. Besides, half the office has a cold, so what's one more person?

[HaloGirl66]

Since I get paid sick time, I try and stay home when i am sick so as to not contaminate people, but I have had times in my life when it isn't an option because some jobs just don't have paid sick time, and if you don't go in at best you will be short on money for the week, at worst, you get fired.

[myevilme]

This is a MAJOR problem where I work. It's a small-town TV station with a skeleton, and I do mean skeleton crew. We get paid sick days, but we can never use them. Many times I've tried to call in only to hear "nope..nobody else to do the job" We all hate it and we all bitch about it. Plenty of hand sanatizer and clorox wipes around my desk. To make it worse this week (or mabye better), I'm sick from meds, nothing contagious, but my frequent and urgent trips to the bathroom (and sometimes the trashcan next to me if we're on-air) have all my co-workers keeping a 10ft radius from me. I love it.