Gesundheit!
Hark,
that's no herald.
AH-CHOO!
It's
the latest contribution from this Girl, resounding through the office corridors
these last couple of days.
I've
been sitting at my work station since Monday in a mess of strewn tissues, eyes
watering sheets, sneezing in triplicate, muttering incoherently, and
generally becoming increasingly crazed.
It's just the common cold, but I pleaded with the chemist for Sudafed and waiting for it
to kick in, I've packed it in, and stayed in bed for the day.
Do you take time off work when
you're poorly?
On
this matter, I'm historically a poor performer.
With
the eye and nose irritation combo, I can barely make out my computer
screen, so I'm not very useful. Then there's the glazed puffy eyes and red
nose, which is just quietly, not a look I enjoy in public view.
Vanity
aside, I sit in the middle of a team that I manage and where I
have been spreading disease and sounding, disgusting.
I
don’t expect that they come to work when they’re not well and I don't want to
make them sick either. So, it's a good thing I'm tucked up in my pajamas, but I'm also
wondering why it took me three days to take a day off.
"Everybody
here can be replaced. [Turns to an enormous muscle-bound minion] I even have
backup for you! It's called a rhinoceros!"
My
approach to this is a cocktail with equal parts Protestant work ethic and
insecurity.
How sick do you have to be before
you don't go to work?
There's
the dynamic about what decisions are made in your absence that you have no control
over (OMG!), the fact you're not indispensable (WTF!), a work load careering
out of control (FFS!) and the perennial issue that you're worth looking
after (oh, that old chestnut).
So if the cold is so common, why
aren't we better at dealing with it?
I
liken a sick day to accepting a compliment. You need to value yourself to
accept one. Staying in bed when you're poorly is the same, you need to value
yourself to recognise you need to rest. And it's respectful of the people
around you too.
I
had a great boss once who told me no one is going to look out for your health
except you.
 |
| Me, tomorrow morning.... |
I
have his voice in my head each time I get
a cold or infection, and I think that each time, I get a little bit better at looking after me.
What about you?
