This is a pet peeve of mine, but I think I have good reason to be upset when folks come to work sick. My corporate overlords (to their credit) offer sick time for their minions, which is bundled with vacation time (so sick and vacation is pulled from the same pool). Unfortunately there are some folks who consider taking a sick day when they are sick, to be wasting it. Further unfortunately, I have yet to see a manager send a sick person home. In my simplistic opinion, this stems from a lack of respect for what the flu can do to a person (that is, make a week of their lives miserable - or worse) and how it can impact a business.
The flu seems to spread like wildfire around the office where I work, and though I am but a simple idiot, I believe it is due to several factors; poor ventilation, a floor plan out of a roman galley, and people coming to work sick / or management failing to send them home. The good group of folks I work with directly is keenly aware of the problem, so we have stocked up on hand sanitizer, vitamin C, and lately, masks as a last resort (when you have to sit for 8 hours just a 15 feet from somebody with a hacking cough this seems much more reasonable). Myself, I am bracing for another fall of guessing what disease I will get, thanks to folks who just can't stand to sacrifice a few days off for the greater good (and managers who don't send sick folks home). The obvious solution is to demand that sick folks stay home and allow them to telecommute if they feel they can contribute - however this is anathema to my employer.
Unfortunately not everyone has sick days, so some folks have to deal with the worst choice of all - come into work or get fired. That is a problem which California seems to have tried to address in a reasonable way (or maybe it is just part of their plan to implement a socialist utopia). Of course there is an argument that employers should not be burdened with more mandates for their workers. I dunno, but I like the idea that folks can at least have a choice to stay home and get well. *cough*
The flu seems to spread like wildfire around the office where I work, and though I am but a simple idiot, I believe it is due to several factors; poor ventilation, a floor plan out of a roman galley, and people coming to work sick / or management failing to send them home. The good group of folks I work with directly is keenly aware of the problem, so we have stocked up on hand sanitizer, vitamin C, and lately, masks as a last resort (when you have to sit for 8 hours just a 15 feet from somebody with a hacking cough this seems much more reasonable). Myself, I am bracing for another fall of guessing what disease I will get, thanks to folks who just can't stand to sacrifice a few days off for the greater good (and managers who don't send sick folks home). The obvious solution is to demand that sick folks stay home and allow them to telecommute if they feel they can contribute - however this is anathema to my employer.
Unfortunately not everyone has sick days, so some folks have to deal with the worst choice of all - come into work or get fired. That is a problem which California seems to have tried to address in a reasonable way (or maybe it is just part of their plan to implement a socialist utopia). Of course there is an argument that employers should not be burdened with more mandates for their workers. I dunno, but I like the idea that folks can at least have a choice to stay home and get well. *cough*
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