Cold and flu season is here, bringing aches, pains, and workplace dilemmas. You may wonder how to avoid getting such illnesses and when to stay home if you do become sick.
While a few employees may use small ailments as an excuse to stay home, most workers feel compelled to go to work when ill which may endanger and will surely annoy co-workers. A survey of U.S. workers 
showed that 35% of workers felt pressured to go to work when they were sick with the flu. Reasons include concerns about work not getting done, no paid sick days, fear of angering a boss or losing their jobs. Web MD’s article, Common Cold: Too Sick To Work ? reports that “lost productivity on the job accounts for up to 60% of employer health costs -- more than if the sick employees had taken a sick day.”
Determining when to stay home can be difficult. Web MD’s Cold Guide offers this advice: “You are most contagious during the first 24 hours through the first few days of catching a cold virus, and you will feel miserable. With a cold, you will not get much work done, and you'll get well faster if you get some rest. Keep your cold to yourself, and stay home!” In WebMD’s Cold & Flu Health Center, Michael Banger, MD , cautions ill workers to stay home “if you work in close quarters with your co-workers – or you work with the elderly or with small children or people with cancer or chronic conditions.”
While it is impossible to always avoid ill co-workers, there are measures one can take to lessen the chance of becoming ill. Experts at Business & Legal Reports advise employees to wash hands frequently or use hand sanitizer especially after shaking hands and sanitize shared work surfaces such as copiers, countertops, phones, and power tools. During cold and flu season, it may be healthier to eat your lunch at your desk rather than in a break room shared with sneezing co-workers. If you need to interact with a co-worker who is at work but ill, speak by phone rather than in person if possible.
If you feel you must go to work when ill, there are some measures you can take to lessen the chance of passing along your illness.
- Phone co-workers rather than visiting their workspaces
- Use tissue rather than cloth handkerchief and dispose of tissues after use
- Join meetings via teleconferencing if possible
- Stay out of areas where co-workers will be eating
- Wash your hands thoroughly and often
Additional Resources:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Beat the Winter Bugs:
How to hold your own against colds and flu
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Questions & Answers: Cold Versus Flu