When you are sick & contagious, do you go to work?

[RickG]

Rick, do you truly expect people who are sick to keep up their performance working from home? Sick is sick. If you are home sick, you don't usually feel like working. Expecting sick people to perform from home the same way they perform at the office is unreasonable, IMHO.

Agreed CG, the key is "You can work at home all you like while you are sick"

I make a point of setting performance goals for people and paying great incentive pay when they exceed the goals. Having a defined incentive pay program works great when all of the incentives are aligned with the company's goals. We don't have any penalties for not meeting the goals, but everyone works very hard to get that bonus. But this really only works for professionals. Everyone on my team is a salaried consultant working directly with clients.

Chet's concise comment is to the point: presence does not guarantee performance.

Cheers, RickG

[waterguy]

If I'm realy sick I stay home. My boss hates it when people are sick. when my wife was sick towards the end I'd take my lunch hour to sit with her in the hospital. A little birdie told me the boss was watching when I left and when I came back on camera this is the same guy that I'm here before and stay later then everyday. So I parked on the road one day and walk in, about 1 hour after my lunch was over he ran in my office suprised I was here asked when I got back I told him at my set time and that I parked on the road because there was to much dust in the parking lot. So now if I'm sick I stay home.

[nothintolose]

I also think it's funny that you brought this up as I am home sick today too.

I work for myself and am a dog trainer. I go to people's houses and train their dogs. One of the things I ALWAYS ask people when I meet with them to decide if I am gonna work with them is to please let me know if they (or anyone in the house is sick) because I prefer not to go around them when they are. This resulted from being sick literally 5 times in one nine month period.

I also give my clients the same respect in that I will not go to their houses when I am sick either (unless when I call to tell them I am sick, they don't care).

My only thing is that you often hear that you are contagious before you even know you are sick. If this is true than it shouldn't matter. I know you are contagious when you have fever as well. Regardless, I try to stay home (which includes not running errands or whatever) and not spread whatever I have to everyone else.

I am lucky that I have this option though.

[djmom]

I was SO pissed at my "friend" yesterday. She brings her daughter to the bus stop, who looks like hell and can barely lift up her head. Says, "she doesn't have a fever and I have to work at the school today" (she is a volunteer). I say, "you can leave her with me and she can watch tv on my couch."

She says "no, she'll be fine, I am going to make her a doctors appointment for this afternoon!" As the bus comes up and I am yelling at my daughter "don't sit next to Jill!"

The mom just laughs, but I was extremely pissed. My older daughter has asthma and is prone to pneumonia. When we get a head cold, she gets it in her chest.

I just think that is rude.

Adults at work is one thing. You can control coughing within reason. Kids are germy messes.

[brenda]

Any kind of stomach bug, forget it, I am home. Can't work pukey.

I am a nurse as many of you know. When I worked in the ER, I was constantly sick with upper respiratory infections and had to work, can't miss that much time. Now thats a germy environment, especially pediatrics. They are little germ machines.

I now work in Pre-op and Recovery. We try to stay home in the acute first day or two, don't want to get our patients sick. After that, it's back to work as colds often linger for 7-10 days. Our staff however rarely calls in (none of are mental health day types) and our manager is appreciative of that.

Our sick and vacation time is also combined. Too many sick days and less STJ time. Also, with the way the economy has been, surgery has been slower. Less people have insurance and just aren't having as many elective procedures. When we are slow, people get sent home. It is starting to impact some of us. You can use your combined time off, but believe me, it goes quick nickle diming it to death.

[Terry]

I receive 4 weeks paid vacation and 11 days of annual leave per year, usable for any reason. Any unused annual leave hours roll over into accrued hours and a portion of unused hours are paid out at retirement...incentive here. Plenty of time to take off when sick, right?

However, in an industry of 5,000 + employees, I am the only one that does the job I do. No back up, just me. Plus in the entire U.S. there are only a few hundred that know how to do my job...it's very one-of-a-kind. My own boss doesn't even know how to do my job. If I died, they'd have to pay the company I sub-contract for $6,000 per week to hire a trainer to train someone to do this job. They know this and treat me pretty well. Not making the salary that goes with the job, but really enjoy my work.

Consequently, when I'm sick, I am set up to work from home.

Needless to say, I have countless accrued leave hours, because even when I'm sick, I'm working and don't have to claim leave.

Not a bad deal! I figure when I retire I'll receive $15,-$20,000 bonus in unused leave.

Rick G...curious, what is your business? My daughter is in a similiar situation with what you offer and her company is in software security.

[sea-nile]

Very sick and contagious... nope.

My clients come in sick and contagious which makes me immune to a lot of things I guess.

[KatieH]

I'm fortunate that my company offers generous sick leave. I can even take up to 40 hours of my sick time (per year) to care for my son if he's sick. This also covers his Dr. /Dental appts.

I could work from home if I were sick, but if I'm sick enough to stay home, I'm probably too sick to work from home.

Three weeks ago I had the stomache/fever bug. I didn't leave the house between Tues night and Sat afternoon. I called in sick, and didn't open my laptop (or a book, or much of anything else!)

My boss has been known to negotiate deals with a fever of 103. Makes it hard to stay home with a cold.

So anything stomache related and I'm home. If it's a cold, with no fever, I'll be at work.

[aroobagirl]

I definitely stay home. For security reasons working from home is not an option. I get annoyed when people come in sick because I have health issues and they are exposing me and I have a
more difficult time recovering. Another woman in the office has a chronically ill husband at home wjo can't afford to be exposed.
Last week out of an office of 19 employees, 13 were ill. All but 2 were in the office. Not too hard to know why it spreads. We are Federal employess and have sick leave but some refuse to use it.

[kimberlysea]

we have a virus going around here at work, a fever inducing virus (can we say possible flu?!) and people keep coming in sick and coughing into their hands and spreading germs everywhere and it's pissing me off!

I sit next to someone who doesn't even cover her mouth! How do you handle that one???

[cat]

Thisis an interesting thread. As a manager of a retail store catering to children we get sick from all of the kids who stay ome from school sick and come to the mall after their Dr appointment for a treat in my store! Now I and my team are infected and it runs like wildfire around the entire team. Frustrating but when there are only 12 of us and not everyone can work all the time if we are going to be open then we have to come to work sick a lot of the time.

We also have our sick time in the same pot as our vacation and I would much rather spend my time off on vacation rather than at home sick but somedays you just can't do it and then I do stay home. I have been really lucky in that most of my really bad days have also been my days off. I am on salary but I am responsible for my time.

I have really bad allergies to most of my environment and spend from about October through at least March coughing throughout the day. I am not sick just can't get rid of that drip in the back of my throat! If you have allergies you understand. No amount of medicine gets rid of it and I have tried everything!!!!!!!!

[LysaC]

i'm reviving this thread cuz, guess what- i'm sick. and guess where i am- at work.

i have a typical cold- no fever involved. when i have a cold i have a really hard time being productive. in between blowing the nose, applying the chapstick, hittin the head due to all the water i'm drinking- it's hard to concentrate on one task and complete it. on top of that, add fuzzy head inducing meds and i'm a worthless piece of snot.

however, hubby guided me toward coming in. considering the economy, he said i should make an extra effort and leave early if i need to.

dude, i need to leave early. i'm scaring people with my rudolph nose.

[Lulu76]

I saw this thread and I clicked on it too, because I'm also sick at work.

I saw Cat's message and I thought about how I usually catch germs at Toys R Us this time of year (one time a mom actually let a kid give me a $20 bill he had just sneezed on to pay for a video game. Gross.), but I haven't been there in over a week, and I am sick. I am wondering if it came from the 2-year-old's party I was at on Saturday, or if I got it elsewhere, but I am sick.

I know I have germs and I feel bad about it, but this is the first day for our team being short a person and I knew better than to call out. I feel like hell, I can't think and I'm pretty sure if I look at food I will get sick, but what am I supposed to do? I told my boyfriend that I was going to have him come get me if there wasn't anything major going on, but then my boss scheduled a meeting this afternoon.

Hopefully I will keep my germs in my office (which I am not leaving except for the meeting), and I will feel better tomorrow. If not, I will probably stay home.

If I throw up, meeting or not, I am making Chris come get me. I also sent him to get me some chicken soup for supper.

[Gromit]

I was down for the count not last week but the week before.

You all are making me appreciate my organization and boss even more!

Seriously, if I am sick I stay home. I'm not saving lives here and I have atendency to end up in the hospital with serious upper respiratory issues if I don't take care of myslef right away.

The thing I had the other week was AWFUL. I had a fever of 101 for three days and realized that I had better get myself to the Drs office. I was seriously down for the count.

Hubby brought it home form his office where folks were coming to work sick.

The nice thing is that we're both set up to work from home if needed.

Rick I totally like your approach and while it may cost you some $$$ the reality is that it probably keeps good people working for you.

Like my boss says-- your work speaks for itself. Either you're doing your job well or you're not. Greatness is rewarded, practicing "presentism" isn't.

[NoWorriesMom]

Great thread! What came to mind for me was my own personal sick leave evolution. Just out of college and still wanting beach time on the east coast meant that a "sick" day morphed into sick days so they REALLY thought you were sick. Then the years of going to work with all manner of illness (hangovers included) to prove one's worth. Now I call the shots and I'm aware of all the tricks so good luck putting one past me in that department!