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#Post#: 22254--------------------------------------------------
Being sick = going home?
By: shadowfox79 Date: December 26, 2018, 5:47 am
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This came up at work a few days ago and I wondered what everyone
thought.
I can remember back in school when if you threw up this
automatically meant you got sent home. Similarly, when I briefly
worked bar jobs, this also meant a free pass home since you were
handling food and drinks. However, now that I work an office
job, unless it's a major case of food poisoning, I tend to just
ride it out. I also have a condition (undiagnosed, but my doctor
thinks it's related to my IBS) where I will randomly get
nauseous for no reason, so if I'm feeling sick I'll just get it
over with and go back to my desk.
The other day I arrived at work feeling nauseous, so made a trip
to the bathroom while my computer was logging in. The bathroom
was empty when I got there but I heard someone come in as I was
in the middle of things; I waited a minute afterwards to give
them time to leave, but it turned out to be one of our team
leaders who had decided to wait to see who was being sick. She
told me if I wasn't well I should go home, but I managed to
convince her that I felt better and would go home if it got any
worse.
At least, I thought I'd convinced her, but she apparently went
straight to my own TL, who came to my desk and we had the same
conversation again. Since our sick leave is heavily monitored I
really didn't want to waste a sick day on one bout of vomiting.
Fortunately my TL accepted that I was feeling better now,
although she came by my desk several times to check it hadn't
happened again.
So - is it really necessary, in an office job, to go home
because you threw up once, even when you know it's nothing
contagious?
#Post#: 22255--------------------------------------------------
Re: Being sick = going home?
By: RubyCat Date: December 26, 2018, 6:57 am
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[quote author=shadowfox79 link=topic=894.msg22254#msg22254
date=1545824827]
So - is it really necessary, in an office job, to go home
because you threw up once, even when you know it's nothing
contagious?
[/quote]
No. I can understand people being afraid of catching something
awful like norovirus but there are many causes of
nausea/vomiting that are not contagious. What if someone is
pregnant and suffering with morning sickness? What if you ate
something that disagreed with you? What if you get motion
sickness?
That being said, if a person does have something that is
potentially contagious, they should go home and not risk
infecting those around them. And their manager should allow it.
I once worked at a place where a coworker was vomiting and
feeeling awful but the manager insisted that she finish her
shift. >:(. She sat in the back looking green and the rest of
us covered her work but she should have gone home.
#Post#: 22256--------------------------------------------------
Re: Being sick = going home?
By: AvidReader Date: December 26, 2018, 7:03 am
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I think the stay/go home decision is based on how you feel after
the episode of vomiting. If the episode clears things up and
does not further impact your performance of your duties, then
stay. If you feel that the episode will lead to not feeling
better or feeling worse/contagious as the day goes on, (and thus
impacting your work performance and/or the health of others),
then by all means take the sick day. You are the only person who
can really make that call in the moment. Your TL, in stopping
by several times, was, in my view, just checking to see that you
were indeed feeling better (and not potentially exposing others
to something contagious....it being that time of year).
#Post#: 22283--------------------------------------------------
Re: Being sick = going home?
By: Girlie Date: December 26, 2018, 11:19 am
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Ooh, no.... When I was pregnant with my first child, I threw up
every day for about seven months. Morning sickness is not a
reason to miss work, in my humble opinion.
Not to mention, people like my mom have very sensitive tummies
and will often be sick shortly after eating something that
disagreed with her. After being sick, she usually feels much
better and is ready to get back to work.
If someone is being sick multiple times, if they're running a
fever, if they're also running out of the other end... Then I
think it's time to go home.
#Post#: 22284--------------------------------------------------
Re: Being sick = going home?
By: Dazi Date: December 26, 2018, 11:32 am
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There are many conditions which can cause nausea and vomiting
which are not contagious in the least. I think it's up to the
person who is ill whether they go home, unless it's clear that
this will affect their work day immensely or there is absolutely
no doubt this is contagious (ie you are person number five this
week puking at work/and you are obviously running a fever).
I know two people with gastroparesis who have issues with random
vomiting. I have Celiac disease and occasionally will have
problems with diarrhea and vomiting if I get glutened. It's not
an uncommon migraine symptom either. I've known plenty of
pregnant ladies who've had morning sickness their entire
pregnancies. Not one of these is contagious, and usually once
the person has gotten it out of their system, they feel fine.
#Post#: 22285--------------------------------------------------
Re: Being sick = going home?
By: Chez Miriam Date: December 26, 2018, 11:34 am
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[quote author=Girlie link=topic=894.msg22283#msg22283
date=1545844765]
Ooh, no.... When I was pregnant with my first child, I threw up
every day for about seven months. Morning sickness is not a
reason to miss work, in my humble opinion.
Not to mention, people like my mom have very sensitive tummies
and will often be sick shortly after eating something that
disagreed with her. After being sick, she usually feels much
better and is ready to get back to work.
If someone is being sick multiple times, if they're running a
fever, if they're also running out of the other end... Then I
think it's time to go home.
[/quote]
Totally agree with the bolded!
But I'm a 'puker'*...
Stressed? Yup. Cough too much? Yup. Clearing up after
people's pets? Yup. Too tired? Yup. Migraine? Yup. Boat
travel? Yup. Reading in a car? Yup. My friend [with morning
sickness] telling me about having to run to throw up because a
guy spent 20 minutes clearing out his sinuses in reception? Not
quite, but only because she could see me turning green. ;)
I wouldn't say any of those should mean I miss out on a day's
pay [temps only get paid when they're there (wherever there
is)], with the possible exception of the cough: sometimes I
cough because I don't cope well with badly set-up
air-conditioning [throat gets too dry, especially when I have to
talk] - that shouldn't send me home, but a lurgy should.
* That was a 'diagnosis' from one doctor!
#Post#: 22304--------------------------------------------------
Re: Being sick = going home?
By: DaDancingPsych Date: December 26, 2018, 2:41 pm
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For one of my jobs (not an office job), vomiting means, do the
deed and then go back to work. I cannot leave in the middle like
that.
For the office job, I agree with others that there are many
times that you do feel better afterwards. If you are contagious,
it would be kind to head home.
#Post#: 22306--------------------------------------------------
Re: Being sick = going home?
By: Aleko Date: December 26, 2018, 3:05 pm
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I agree that if as in OP's case the sickness isn't caused by
anything contagious, and doesn't affect her ability to work, she
didn't need to go home and she should feel no pressure to do.
So.
But of course the TLs were absolutely right to check out the
situation, for her and everyone else's sake, and make sure she
wasn't staying at her desk because she felt it would be a bad
mark against her if she went home - that she knew she could
leave if she needed to.
If someone knows that vomiting is sometimes or often something
that happens to them, and several people here say it is for
them, there's an argument for putting their TL in the picture,
so that if and when it occurs they know it's not anything they
have to worry about and they can reassure the rest of the
workforce.
#Post#: 22312--------------------------------------------------
Re: Being sick = going home?
By: Winterlight Date: December 26, 2018, 5:48 pm
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I don't think it's unreasonable for the bosses to check on
someone who's just thrown up, but they should accept that
person's verdict in the absence of other evidence.
#Post#: 22328--------------------------------------------------
Re: Being sick = going home?
By: pierrotlunaire0 Date: December 26, 2018, 8:13 pm
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It's the equivalent of me sneezing violently for less than 5
minutes. No, I do not have a cold and am not contagious. The
dust and dryness here is making me sneeze. I am trying to not be
disgusting (copious tissues to mask any grossness), but if you
let me sneeze for a few minutes, then it will stop, and I will
be fine.
It's nice that supervisors were concerned, but some conditions
are resolved with a few minutes of your body expelling whatever
was irritating it, and then it's onward and upward.
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