Coming into work sick (maternity leave, IT job, employees, work from home)

[beckerd2]

How many times have you seen people come into work sick? Do you avoid the person like the plague? Do you complain to management?


At my job, they give us personal time off. We can use it if we are sick or if we want to go on vacation or for whatever we want to use it for.
People come in sick all the time because they feel like they are losing "vacation" time if they call in sick. It is so annoying for those of us who are considerate of our coworkers and stay home when we're sick.
I had a co worker just today tell me she didn't feel good and was sick all last night but she didn't want to use her time off because she had things planned for her time off. I tried to avoid her all day and was using hand sanitizer like crazy.

What is your stand on coming into work sick?

[Hemlock140]

We have both sick leave and vacation time, as it should be for everyone. As a manager, if someone seems sick enough to be contagious I will suggest that they go home.

[Botev1912]

That's why vacation and sick days should be separate. People are more willing to use sick days rather than PTO days when they are sick.

[The Dissenter]

If you don’t want people coming into work sick, leave sick time completely separate from vacation time.

[Tencent]

This is why remote work capability is a must. Since I can WFH, I only take sick days when I'm just really unable to function mentally at all. The company benefits more than I do.

[BusinessManIT]

In most of the IT jobs that I had, calling in sick was a big no no. We had sick time, but if you tried to use it then you would be berated about it because "we have so much work to do" or "we are busy beyond belief". It was embarrassing to call in sick because you felt that you weren't pulling your weight and management would get angry. You didn't have to worry about contaminating anyone else at work if you were sick. Because if other workers caught what you had, they still had to come in the office and work just like you, so no loss there. At my last IT job, we had "unlimited" sick time. Just try using it though.

But like other posters have said, I think that sick time and vacation time should be kept separate so that people would be encouraged to use sick time when they get sick.

[gus2]

I come into work sick far more often than I should. I have sick time, but it's never enough. I have 3 kids who inevitably take a big chunk if not all of that, and that doesn't even count the years when I had to use my sick time to get income over maternity leave.

I would happily take vacation for sick leave, if, again, I didn't end up using it for days the schools are closed or I have to be home for a repairman, etc.

As the sole wage earner currently, taking a day of leave without pay, especially at this time of year, is extremely challenging. So I trudge into my office and put a warning note on my closed office door. Many other coworkers do the same.

[Florida2014]

Since I went to working remotely, I have NEVER called in sick in over 12 years, not once. Yet another great benefit to allowing employees to work from home that never gets discussed. I'm not saying I haven't been sick, because I have.....but I can still sit at my desk and get work done in my pajamas while taking ample breaks. If I worked in an office, zero work would get done because I'd simply not come in.

[crd08]

I really only care if they have something like a stomach virus. And even then, you can be contagious for up to two weeks depending on the virus. A coworker has a cold and is here, that I don't care about.


Our sick time and vacation time is separate

[fishbrains]

I agree with all previous posters who say sick and vacation should be separate for this reason. It minimizes the incentive for people to come in when sick.

I have separate sick and vacation balances, and most people at work stay home when sick. I appreciate catching fewer colds.