5 Reasons to Stay Home When You Are Sick

Day 15 of the 30 Day Of Writing Challenge

I think everyone I know has gone to work sick. And I am sure that you have, and you’ve worked alongside co-workers who had runny noses, were pale with fatigue from a virus, were coughing and just sick. Too sick to be at work. In fact, I’ve heard people ask, “why are you here?” and the sick person mumble something about not having any sick days, or having taken too many days already, or that they have too much work to do. You’ve heard these very reasons yourself. You’ve also likely given these reasons because you’ve likely gone into work sick when you should not have.

Why? Why do we do this to ourselves? Maybe it’s because there’s an important meeting that day. Or you need to a day off next week so you “can’t” take a day off this week. Or you’re worried about not getting paid for a day you take off sick. And maybe you are just worried that others will think you are slacking off.

I understand that taking time off of work to be at home sick is not always easy. Not all employers are understanding, or provide sick days for their employees. I know that many people think we ought suck it up because “it’s just a cold.” I’ve seen colds turn into walking pneumonia. I have a friend whose entire nervous system was affected by a virus and she had to re-learn how to balance, how to walk, how to do simple daily tasks. Being sick isn’t always something you can, or should suck up.

Today I’m going to give you five reasons why you should stay home if you are sick.

Reason One: You’ll Get Others Sick

This is obvious, and yet…we still go to work sick. If you are sneezing and coughing, the virus is likely to infect others. No one is going to thank you for that. If you need to warn others not to sit near you because you’re sick, then you probably shouldn’t be at work. But you know how you can prevent others from getting sick? Stay home if you are sick. I think this is commonly understood, and yet, people don’t. Even now, in the middle of a pandemic, some people refuse to stay home. Hopefully after this pandemic people will have the good sense to stay home when they have a cold or flu.

Reason Two: You’ll Get Better Faster if You Rest

If you stay home and rest and eat healthy foods and get proper sleep, you will actually recover more quickly. Your body can focus on expending energy fighting the virus rather than working. Get a couple extra meals into you and some extra sleep, and you’ll likely be back to work in a day or two instead of dragging yourself sick to work for a week or more.

Reason Three: You Can Become More Sick

Remember that friend I mentioned who got walking pneumonia? Well, she never took sick days for herself. She only took days “sick” when her kids were ill and had to stay home from school. Because she had three kids, that particular winter her kids were sick all the time, and often infected her. Finally, this ended up turning into walking pneumonia. Her immune system was worn down, she was tired, not taking care of herself and a cough turned into a chest infection and the end result was walking pneumonia. You know what? She came to work with that too, because she was still worried about not getting paid if she took too many sick days.

Reason Four: Your Health is More Important Than Money

This is the number one reason people refuse to stay home when they are sick. They don’t get sick days, and so they don’t want to lose out on the money they would otherwise make. My dad was so guilty of this! He rarely ever took a day off because he was sick. But, honestly, your health is more important than money. In order to avoid being caught short changed when you are sick, set a little money aside each week for a sick day. Even if it’s only a few dollars, that does add up over time so that you can stay home that day that you feel like you’re going to cough up a lung.

Reason Five: Would You Keep A Sick Child Home?

Would you keep a sick child home from school? If they were pale, coughing and weak? If the answer is yes, then you should also stay home if you are feeling the same way. Take care of yourself with the same love, attention and concern you would your child. You deserve to be cared for too, and to take care of yourself.

What Covid Can Teach Us

Perhaps the one good thing to come out of this pandemic is that people may start to think about taking better care of themselves when they are sick. Staying home, resting, that is what we need to do if we have the flu. You didn’t ask to get a cold, and yes it may be inconvenient, but you certainly don’t want to share the germs. So take that day off and rest and get better. After Covid, everyone will be understanding.

Share your thoughts in the comments below!