topic Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!! in Community Chat

VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

Anonymous032819 — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 23:48:48 GMT

This is a vent.

My co-worker who is one rank above me, showed up today sicker than a dog, and looking like death warmed over.

She has PLENTY of sick-leave time, but she never uses it, because she feels that she "has" to be there.

Even our Supervisor (we used to have 3, now we are down to 2) didn't send her home.

She is making herself worse, putting others health at risk, and is just, in my opinion, being incredibly selfish, by insisiting that she stay at work.

"No, no, I can make it. I'm fine."

I told her that she was going to put herself in to the hospital with pneumonia if she doesn't get rest.

"Oh, I've had pneumonia, walking pneumonia more tine than I can remember. It's the one shot that I insisited on getting."

I don't know if age matters, but she is 72, if that means anything.

I'm willing to bet that she will be there again tomorrow, even sicker still.

Selfish!

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

Warrior2022 — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 23:53:41 GMT

There are many reasons people go to work sick,

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

deepwaterdotter — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 23:54:14 GMT

Have you received a flu shot this year?

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

esmerelda — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 23:57:30 GMT

@Warrior2022 wrote:
There are many reasons people go to work sick,

Yeah, but I can’t think of a good one. Especially at 72.

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

Spacrazy — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 00:00:44 GMT

Yes

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

gizmogal — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 00:06:04 GMT

Make a point of your discomfort with the contagion she presents. You needn’t be dramatic or obnoxious. Merely carry a can of Lysol and a paper towel if you just enter her office or she steps into yours. Use it to wipe a stapler or pen she might share with you. Refuse to take any papers or folders, etc., from her without putting on plastic gloves. Stand 6 ft away when conversing. You needn’t show or express concern for her health and welfare: she’s not concerned with yours. Her age is not material. Rudeness is rudeness.

If she comments about your defensive “drama”, remind her that she has the right to be proud of her record of success with walking pneumonia, etc, and you have the right to protect yourself from workplace assault on your health. Say it’s nothing “personal”, but you find it careless and inconsiderate to put office mates at risk. You do

need to take precautions as long as she feels herself to be indispensable. Go about your business protectively as pointedly as she does with indifference. She won’t stay home, you won’t get her to change, but you’ll force her, even if privately, to acknowledge her selfishness.

You can’t change her, but you can control how you respond. Don’t rant in the office. Just carry and use the protections and if anybody thinks you’re nuts “making a point”, that’s their problem. She’s indefensible. Your actions will be reasonable as long as you don’t become an evangelist for masks, gloves and antiseptic sprays!

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

mac116 — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 00:11:36 GMT

I went into work sick many times when my kids were young. We were given 5 sick days. I needed to save those days for when my kids were too sick to go to school. Taking a day without pay was not an option!

Perhaps at 72, she is afraid to call in sick, and be considered too old and sickly to work.

I totally understand your rant! Who wants to get sick? Just try to stay away from her as best you can.

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

Mary Bailey — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 00:13:05 GMT

at my job it's an adherence issue if it's unscheduled at least 24 hours in advance. Meaning it must be approved 24 hours before or it counts against you.

the more adherence issues, the lower the rank and the worse hours you get.

It's all about having a body taking calls. They don't care if you are sick or make others sick.

I'm so glad I work at home & a germ-a-phob when I have to work in the office.

DH & I always say if I drop dead at my desk, it will be unexcused and they will write me up.

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

Bridgegal — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 00:13:30 GMT

So? People come to work sick. Children go to school sick. People go to sporting events sick, the grocery store, on and on and on. We are exposed to sickness everyday. I worked for 50 years and people came sick. I play bridge and people come sick. You can't avoid it unless you never leave the house and don't open the door.

It's called 'life'. I hope you don't catch what she has. Good health.

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

happycat — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 00:15:34 GMT

When I was working, I hated it when people came in sick. And we had paid sick time. I would be tempted to tell her that I didn't want whatever she had and that I wish she would consider staying home the next time.

For what its worth, @Anonymous032819 , I hope you don't get it.

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

Anonymous032819 — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 00:16:01 GMT

Where I work, there is no "maximum" on the number of sick leave hours that you can accrue.

There is no cap or cut-off.

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

jannabelle1 — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 00:27:03 GMT

It sounds like this "sick" person has plenty of sick time available, and there isn't a problem with using some of that sick time. I'm retired, but I always hated it when co-workers showed up at work so sick.....spreading germs everwhere on everything they touched. I wouldn't offer sympathy about how bad she's feeling, but I would tell her that you don't like the fact that she's putting co-workers at risk to get what she has. I'd also stay far away from her and would ask her to stay outside of your cube or office because you do not want to get sick.

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

patbz — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 00:30:01 GMT

When I was almost 45 and pregnant with my only child, my boss would do the same, come into work when she was contagious. It's a very difficult situation and, although I am usually outspoken, I bit my tongue when she would brag about how she "never took a sick day". She was a child during the depression and I think she thought she was just being a good employee.

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

pigletsmom — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 00:32:10 GMT

Honestly I don't think it would occur to me unless I was really worried about that persons health, like they were going to pass out or something.

I got sick pretty regularly as a kid and I'm not a huge worrier about germs. Now in my 50s I haven't been sick in 25+ years. People will warn me when they're sick and I"m like meh, no worries here.

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

manny2 — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 00:44:08 GMT

I agree with you @Anonymous032819 it infuriates me when somebody comes into work sick. I work with people that do it all of the time looking like ******, and announcing how they suck it up and never call out. Then everybody else gets sick!

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

AuberriJean — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 02:43:25 GMT

Working in a place like an airport with so many people going thru is probably more a threat to health than one coworker is. Take the usual precautions & you should be ok. She might have personal & important reasons to be at work & she might not even be contagious. Hope you stay well @ Anonymous032819.

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

MarieIG — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 00:50:08 GMT

@Anonymous032819 wrote:
Where I work, there is no "maximum" on the number of sick leave hours that you can accrue.

There is no cap or cut-off.

That is amazing. Some places are not so good about sick leave. Last year, people were roaming around our office with the flu. I got the flu. I took one sick day. (It was a Friday thank goodness.) I sent an email that I was vomiting, had a fever, was falling into the wall when I tried to walk and couldn't drive.

I was subsequently told that I should have asked for permssion to take the day off. I did not know how to take a sick day since I hadn't done it before.

Obviously under the circumstances, it would be best for all concerned if your co-worker took the day off.

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

libbyannE — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 01:17:32 GMT

There is no excuse for going to work sick. It only spreads disease. I have been so healthy since I quit work. Like many others, I used to pick up every contagions bug that inconsiderate coworkers brought to our corporate offices. Sickness spread like wildfire. In my department, I sent any sick people home.

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

Warrior2022 — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 02:13:38 GMT

@libbyannE wrote:
There is no excuse for going to work sick. It only spreads disease. I have been so healthy since I quit work. Like many others, I used to pick up every contagions bug that inconsiderate coworkers brought to our corporate offices. Sickness spread like wildfire. In my department, I sent any sick people home.

Sure there is. Maybe for you there was no excuse. I have worked with people that are so paranoid about getting sick, they make themselves sick.

Re: VENT: My Co-Worker Showed Up Sick!!!

Pearlee — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 23:04:59 GMT

IMO this thread is creating drama where really none exists
This scenario is one that has happened to pretty much everyone in the workforce. So what? No big deal unless you create one. You either get sick from what your coworker has or you don't and most don't. Most people would have forgotten all about the coworker as soon as they left work. OP aren't you the one who started the thread about people who create drama where there is none?