It's cold outside...

[lnr]

I have a cold. On Monday I was very bunged up, with a sore throat and feeling grim. On Tuesday I was snotty, blowing my nose every five minutes. Today I'm a bit less runny-nosed but coughing. I've had a mild headache on and off all week, and I'm knackered.

I don't have a fever and it's certainly not the flu. I get the impression quite a few people would go into work in this state: "it's only a cold". What do you think? [Poll #1287169]

Comments

[monkeyhands.livejournal.com]

For all of my employed jobs (as opposed to my freelance jobs), the office culture has been about presenteeism rather than productivity. For a lot of them, my actual work was either ill-defined or pointless or impossible or metaphorically torn up in front of me every day.

I think that unless you're blessed enough to work for a small, relatively unbureaucratic organisation where your contribution is valued, nobody will really notice if you have a rather unproductive day in the office. Whereas a day off sick goes on your employment record. So crawl in, spend the day drinking Lemsip and go home early.

I think employees, especially the kind of high-achievers on our LJ flists, get hung up on having to do their work really well, and worrying about infecting other people, and end up taking a day off sick for the good of the company. But a day off sick for the good of the company looks the same as any other day off sick on your employment record. I could name a friend of ours who's been thoroughly bitten in the arse by this.

(Freelancing is a completely different kettle of fish because you get paid to do a specific job and you have a responsibility to manage expectations if you genuinely don't think you'll be well enough.)

[lnr]

Can I just say I think that's a very interesting way of looking at it, and not one I'd considered.

Personally if I stay home it's definitely more for my benefit than for the company's - and I'm glad I work somewhere that doesn't make me feel bad for doing so. I'm really not in the high achiever mindset though.

To be honest the bulk sick leave when I was depressed is probably rather more significant on my record than the odd few days a year with colds.

Mind you without access to a kettle lemsip in the office would be a nuisance, I'd have to take my mug up to the canteen and ask them to fill it for me.