The New-Look Sick Day
Remember when you used to make the extra effort to push through those flu-like symptoms and go to work anyway, even though you felt like pooh?
Or how your runny nose and hacking cough was no match for your determination to show your dedication to the company?
Well, this H1N1 thing has really flipped that on its head, hasn't it?
Businesses and schools are making all kinds of concessions to make sure that H1N1 is as contained as possible. If you feel ill you are emphatically encouraged to stay home. And if you sound ill, your peers and colleagues will beg you (either to your face or behind your back) to GO HOME!
In all seriousness, I find it interesting that it takes a Swine Flu to make people change their outlook on the Sick Day. Instead of it being a sign of weakness, it is now a noble use of time and company money. I'm not sure how many flu seasons this trend will last, or if it can persist between flu seasons, but I like it.
And by the way, what do we do when people won't admit they are too sick for work?
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4 comments:
I agree. H1N1 is a "get out of work free" card - a passport to absenteeism. I see it with my students: I can't come to class because I've been diagnosed with swine flu. Then two days later they're back in their seats, appearing none the worse for wear. Isn't H1N1 supposed to be felling people worldwide by the thousands? Whatever.
I've never been impressed with macho displays of loyalty and toughing it out through sickness anyway, so if this causes a reassessment, so be it.
When I've gone to work on days that I should stay home, I've wasted everyone's time and done little more than spread germs. A day of rest is so much more useful to me the next day and the next than showing up sick could possibly be worth, especially with how easy it is to work from home in most cases.
Yeah, so you have the group who needs the sick day and uses it well. You have the group who fakes it. And you have the group who isn't self-aware enough to know they need it. I don't think those groups (and others) have changed much. I suppose there is more abuse now - or at least more opportunity for abuse. But given the management support of sick day -- which IS a change -- it may be awhile before they crack down on the abuse since 'we can't be too careful.'
That said, H1N1 is nasty, and I def think it is extremely irresponsible to come to work or school or church when you have the symptoms. I'd rather people abuse the system if that's what it takes.
Here's another twist though. I think with technological advances its becoming easier to work from home. Just check out a laptop with the IT guy, get a wireless card and bam, you can work a full day from home while you're sick. I think this phenomenon may have something to do with the shifting perception of the Sick Day, i.e. you get the best of both worlds, you're away from the office, but you're still working.
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