This Flu Season Mind Your Cold

I'm so mad I could sneeze (or cough), but at least it would be in the privacy of my own home, not sitting next to you at a dinner party because "I've been so looking forward to this, even though I'm sick, I just couldn't miss it."

This was pretty much the self-satisfied excuse given by the sniffling wife and her hacking husband at a sit down dinner that I attended last week. Then, I was annoyed , now sitting here writing this, having acquired their cold, I'm really steamed--and stuffed up.

When did the book, Emily Post's Etiquette, change its position on the acceptability of exposing other people to your germs, just so you could enjoy a social event? It hasn't.

Let's face it; none of us like to miss the good times. However just because you don't have a fever does not mean you've got the etiquette "A-Okay" to go to the party, and party.

It's during those first few days when you're "just coming down with something" that you're the most contagious. Oh, and saying, "Don't kiss me, I have a cold," does not magically make you a virus free zone. If you think people really do understand and don't mind; you're wrong.

According to Dr. Mary Capelli-Schellpfeffer, medical director of Loyola University Health System Occupational Health Services, people who come to work sick are more likely to hinder than help their company.

"An organization can be severely impacted by people coming to work when they're sick. We know illness can spread from person to person causing entire work groups to be impacted. But less obvious is how job performance, organization, productivity, creativity and financial stability can all be affected," said Capelli-Schellpfeffer.

People often think because they wash their hands or take over-the-counter medications, they aren't spreading the illness. Not so.

"Just being in a room and breathing when a person is sick can spread the illness not to mention coughing and sneezing. If you're sick you shouldn't be in the workplace. It interrupts business and puts others at risk of infection," said Capelli-Schellpfeffer.

Sickness can interrupt productivity by creating a distraction and causing both the infected person and coworkers to focus on the illness instead of their jobs. It also blurs the lines between personal and professional lives and relationships.

"It's good for people to feel like a team and care about each other, but it's not healthy for people to be invasive of each other's privacy, including their medical privacy," said Capelli-Schellpfeffer. "It disrupts the interactions of the team and can be corrosive, even setting the stage for future judgments, misunderstandings and biases."

So for all the talk about controlling the avian flu this season, people don't even want to stay home when they have the common cold.

I realize some people don't believe that germs are the instigator of illness--they feel that a weakened immune system, due to stress, poor eating habits or a bad attitude are the culprit. I agree to a degree; these things do factor into our ability to fend off illness. Still, my morning routine of yogurt and yoga may not be enough to keep me from getting your cold--especially if you are coughing in my organic decaf coffee. So if you're sick, please--stay home. We'll all thank you.

Please note that this article is copyrighted by Karen Leland. If you would like to reprint any or all of it on your blog or website for non-commercial purposes, you are welcome to do so, provided you give credit and a live link back to this post.

Karen Leland is author of Watercooler Wisdom: How Smart People Prosper in the Face of Conflict, Pressure and Change. Read more at www.karenleland.com

 

 

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Comments

[Ergon]

At least where a damn surgical mask, like the far more polite Japanese adn Chinese people do.

[goddess1871]

I completely agree with you, but I'd like to play devil's advocate for a moment...I teach at the college level, where believe me, students need no excuse to cut class. I certainly agree that if you are a germy mess you shouldn't come to class and "share the joy" with those around you, but waking up with a headache is also not a reason to act like you're at death's door and can't come to class. (These students also often manage to stage a "miraculous recovery" at the end of the day when it's time for social clubs, sports, etc.)

[GrmaPat]

Wonderful, common sense post. There's no reason to share illness with people at a social gathering. It's not so simple in the workplace, even with sick leave. I had pneumonia some years ago. I'd been sick for two weeks, barely making it back and forth to work (being made fun of by my Director for "still being sick") & twice visited the doctor when I slid into the abyss that is pneumonia. I gasped, wheezed, and coughed through a phone call notifying my Fortune 100 workplace that I was in the hospital on IV medications. Then I spent about 7 calendar days in complete oblivion, fighting for every breath.

When I was released from the hospital, I called my employer to let them know. 7 business days after the first call, doctor's release in hand at work, I was "in trouble" for not calling in sick every day. No one from work had called my home or hospital to see if I was dead or alive, but I had a note in my personnel record for not calling in every day, although that requirement wasn't written in employee policies. My "team" was all informed at a meeting that it cost the company money when they were sick, and were fully expected to come in "unless you are dying." I guess being in a hospital bed with IVs stuck in your arm and oxygen didn't count. Illness and injury are equated with weakness, which is not tolerated in the corporate environment.

[tlgeiger62]

"So for all the talk about controlling the avian flu this season..."

AVIAN???? Is THAT also going around? I am alsmost paralyzed with fear of getting any flu. I've been hospitalized three times over the last several years due to incredibly debilitating symptoms (especially vomiting). A doctor told my husband at his martial arts class that the vaccine does, indeed, give 1 in 10 the illness. Not great odds.

If I could lock myself at home from Sept to April each year, I would; it's that bad with me. Instead I am nuts when it comes to hand washing, hand sanitizer, and questioning anyone who wants to come over for even the briefest of visits. Of course, having a 10 yr old doesn't help since she will likely come down with it from school.

[Sheldon101]

"A doctor told my husband at his martial arts class that the vaccine does, indeed, give 1 in 10 the illness."

Huh? The chance of getting influenza from the influenza vaccine is zero. The flu vaccine is made from a strain of the virus that's been grown in an egg and then killed. It's dead. It's not a Norwegian Blue; it's just dead.

[karengbb]

I agree. There is no sense admonishing people to stay home from work until we pass paid sick leave -feel free to admonish people about going to parties though!

[PresterJohn]

Stay home when I'm sick? I'd love to. Not an option.

Most people get in trouble when they call in sick to work, regardless of whether or not they're actually ill. I'm ill right now, and I'm at work, because I really don't have a choice. Am I happy about spreading my cold (and thank the gods it IS only a cold) around? No, I hate doing that, because I know it WILL impact my workplace. But it's that or earn a black mark for calling in.

[doubtingfoo]

Thanks for a common sense article that doesn't promote woo. I've noticed that many of the posts on this site are just nonsense but yours was spot on. At my office if someone comes in sick we all use peer pressure to get them to go home. Fortunately, we have a liberal "work from home" policy and decent benefits. Some people aren't so lucky, though.