Thanks for Spewing the Flu...

Don't be "That" Co-worker: Office Respect

I was recently housed up due to the fact I was malled by the flu. This occurred after my entire office was attacked by the winter bug. Now, when most of them got sick, what do you think they did? If you think they stayed home and rested, you are WRONG! They came into work coughing, hacking, and spewing whatever they had. Making those around them very susceptible to getting sick as well. And, this leads me to my topic today: co-worker respect and your health.

One may think he is being a trooper coming into work and trying to accomplish his job, but in reality, big picture wise, he is doing more harm than good. If you are in a team atmosphere, do you feel eager to work with your sick cohort as they cough and spread "the sickness"?

So here are some other side-effects of coming in despite being at Death's Door:

1) Prolonging Sickness
By over-exerting oneself while being sick, it takes much longer for one's body to build up the anti-bodies to fight the virus and recovery quicker. So, ignoring the fact you are not in the office, the more important thing, one's health is at risk. Think about it... by not being healthy and well, doing one's job is a lot harder and being able to come to work down the road might be at risk. In addition, mental stamina plummets too. We've all been physically and mentally tired and it is not fun... Add in being sick and we have problems.

2) Angering Everyone Else in the Office
Trust me, when people are sick and come into the office, I am basically down right insulted. I hate to be blunt, but I am and lots of other people share this same sentiment. Basically, a sick person coming to work non-verbally says, "I don't care about anyone else's health. This is about me and I need to come in."

However, I will say, upper management can have employees so scared about missing work that they feel they must come in to keep their jobs. If that is the case, it is hard to do, but by standing one's ground because of health is critical. I don't know about your health care, but my health care costs bank on me being healthy or I am paying quite the pretty penny on being treated. Don't risk becoming worse because of the boss. I know it's hard to do, but remain strong. You owe it, first of all, to yourself, and second of all, to your co-workers.

3) Quality of Work Suffers
Stuffed sinuses, tight chest, aching joints, disheveled looks, and glazed over eyes... these people expect to be productive? Not being 100% affects: productivity, quality of work, the joy of work, and mental stamina tires ten-fold. The chance of errors increases. The ability to think clearly is affected, which could lead to not-making the proper decisions. Why risk messing up a project because you were too busy chugging Day-Quil?

Who wants a Day-Quil stain on that proposal??!

4) Spreading the Epidemic
Finally, coming into work is a catalyst to spreading the germs to more people and affecting the entire office, which then affects everyone's productivity and grounds to do business. Do you want to be blamed for that? I didn't think so.

So, the next time you come down with something, do your co-workers a favor, stay home, but more importantly, you get better quicker. Sure, you may feel like a trooper if you come in, but in the long run, you are affecting the overall office's workings and opening yourself up to a long-term illness.

~The GURU