This morning - an email from a sensible person in our business, saying that he has the horrible lurgy that has been going round and would be working from home today.
Thank goodness for that. Firstly, we are not going to have him sorrowfully asking if anyone has any aloe-vera tissues handy and secondly he is keeping his germs to himself!
There are three things we tell ourselves when we are sick:
“I’m a Brave Warrior Who Does Whatever it Takes to Get My Work Done”
“My Company Will Surely Fall Apart Without Me”
“I’m Not Contagious”
But seriously, a little bit of self awareness, please.
Firstly - You can still be a brave warrior and if you are able, still do your work from home. I don't know about you, but my work is accessible online 24/7. I have three phones, an iPad, a laptop, a PC, oh yes and a good old fashioned land line. There is always a way for people to get hold of me if they need to.
Secondly - I'm fairly sure that I go away on holiday several times (too many some might say) a year and my work world does not fall apart. I have great work colleagues who help when I go away for a week so I'm sure they will help me out if I have a temperature of 103 and no voice!
And finally - self diagnosis. The "I'm fine, not contagious, it's just coming out now" line is a load of guff. If my eyes and nose require more than a pack of the aforementioned soft tissues, I am probably infecting everyone else.
So for those of you who are in your office today and feeling very unwell - please just go home, stop contaminating everyone else and give yourself a break.
Hear endeth the shouts from the (so far) unsick person in the office!
Whenever people walk into the office coughing and sneezing, I’m tempted to approach them and say, “Unless you’re auditioning for a cold commercial, I think it’s in everyone’s best interest that you go home. Now. And don’t touch any doorknobs on the way out.” Look, I get it. As much as I want to send all my sickly co-workers home for the day, I’ve also woken up, questioned if my head always felt this heavy, downed some Dayquil, and headed into the office. And you know why? Because the second we get sick, we all tell ourselves the same three lies. 1. “I’m a Brave Warrior Who Does Whatever it Takes to Get My Work Done” 2. “My Company Will Surely Fall Apart Without Me” 3. “I’m Not Contagious”
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