Why do people insist on coming to work sick?

[LTCNS]

I just started a new job two weeks ago. Last week the nurse I share an office with, a very small, hot office, came to work on Wednesday with diarrhea and vomiting and stayed half the day, then was out the next day and returned Friday. Needless to say I got sick last night and was up all night. I absolutely hated having to call in, especially since I am new, but I'm not one to risk others getting sick. I have a suppressed immune system due to some health issues, so I tend to catch whatever bug is going around.

This is just a pet peeve of mine. What good does it do anybody for a co-worker to come in sick and spread it around?

Guess I'm just feeling bummed out for having to call out. It's been eating at me all day. Just wanted to vent. Thank you for "listening."

[LTCNS, LPN]

My hospital works on a point system on top of PTO. We get four call out points a year. Five is a HR visit and a mark on your record that keeps you from transferring for a year. Six is termination.

I'd rather make someone else sick than lose my job, unfortunately.

We work on a point system as well but can get 24 points before termination. 0-9 points is no action, then after that write ups start up to 24 points. Three warnings then termination.

[dirtyhippiegirl, BSN, RN]

We work on a point system as well but can get 24 points before termination. 0-9 points is no action, then after that write ups start up to 24 points. Three warnings then termination.

!!

I'd love to work where you work. And that does seem a bit unfair to you that the nurse came in sick

when your workplace has such a liberal point system.

But not everyone INSISTS on coming in sick, unfortunately. I've worked the last four nights with a nasty cold because of my workplace's policies.

[LTCNS, LPN]

!!

I'd love to work where you work. And that does seem a bit unfair to you that the nurse came in sick

when your workplace has such a liberal point system.

But not everyone INSISTS on coming in sick, unfortunately. I've worked the last four nights with a nasty cold because of my workplace's policies.

I suppose insist was the wrong word to use now that I've thought about it, as I can understand why people might not have a choice. As I said earlier, the loss of pay for today is going to hurt.

I work in a for profit nursing home, so I would assume their point system has to be liberal since call outs are inevitable in LTC unfortunately. Heck, a person won't even be terminated for a no call/no show. No call/no shows or refusing to work a shift=12 points.

Hope you feel better soon.

[CWONgal]

Sometimes you really want to stay out but you can't. As a person who had multiple cancer surgeries I burned through all of the hours I had accumulated (sick and vacation combined). I had my surgeries scheduled so I would have weekends to recuperate and then I was back at work w/ JP's pinned up beneath my scrubs.

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

Before I was a nurse, I worked for 8.5 years in an office where no one had PTO. We had frequent office epidemics, but no one could afford to call in sick. Old habits die hard.

[KRVRN, BSN, RN]

My hospital works on a point system on top of PTO. We get four call out points a year. Five is a HR visit and a mark on your record that keeps you from transferring for a year. Six is termination.

I'd rather make someone else sick than lose my job, unfortunately.

This. For this reason I see people at work sick. Sick kids aren't allowed at preschool or school. Typical scenario is Mom misses work a few days while kids are sick. If you have more than one kid, they might not be sick at the exact same time. Then, inevitably Mom is sick after the kids are well. You only get so many sick calls. So yes, I've medicated with cold medicine and come to work. It's nice to say "but patients come first!" But no one can deny having a job and paying the mortgage to support one's family isn't pretty important too.

[suanna]

Everywhere I have worked the assumption is: Unless proven otherwise, the employee who calls off ill is faking it and just wants an extra day off at thier co-workers expense. I get sick pay when I call off, but it comes out of my vacation pay. On top of that the pentalties are pretty severe- if you call off around a holliday you lose 2 hours of vacation pay for every one paid as sick time PLUS you have to work extra to make up your time off if it happened on a weekend. After all that, if you call off as much as is needed for one URTI and a doctor visit- you are on the second level of the dicipline ladder and one call off away form possible dismissal. So you come in sick.

[PnutButterJelly]

At least where I work it is the culture. I work in a small clinic with around ten employees. Our nurse manager prides herself on coming in when she is sick and never missing. Because of this she expects it from everyone else and makes the environment toxic when someone does call in.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

I was raised that unless you have a raging fever, are vomiting or have diarrhea so bad you will soil yourself, you go to work. Period. That is a work ethic that is part of who I am. Additionally, my sense of fairness for the staffing on our floor weighs on me heavily. If I wake up at 0525 and am sick, even with one of the above, I am going in. No way am I going to call out one hour before I am due at work. I'll mask up, glove up, show up and if they want to send me home, they can. Of course, they never do.

Additionally we also have the point system. Anything over 4 points is a write up. Anything over 7 is termination. This equates to two sick days per year roughly. When I consider calling in I always feel I have to weigh out in my mind whether calling in this time is going to equate to being unable to call in at another, even sicker, time.

[T-Bird78]

Because when I've called out sick, and another coworker called out sick, I was called to come in anyway. The only reason I didn't go in is because I was headed to the ER for IV fluids and Zofran. And at your annual review you get dinged for attendance despite being covered under intermittent FMLA during a complicated pregnancy. True stories.

[1learning]

Nurses don't get sick..............(sarcasm).

[redhead_NURSE98!, ADN, BSN]

I was raised that unless you have a raging fever, are vomiting or have diarrhea so bad you will soil yourself, you go to work. Period. That is a work ethic that is part of who I am. Additionally, my sense of fairness for the staffing on our floor weighs on me heavily. If I wake up at 0525 and am sick, even with one of the above, I am going in. No way am I going to call out one hour before I am due at work. I'll mask up, glove up, show up and if they want to send me home, they can. Of course, they never do.

Additionally we also have the point system. Anything over 4 points is a write up. Anything over 7 is termination. This equates to two sick days per year roughly. When I consider calling in I always feel I have to weigh out in my mind whether calling in this time is going to equate to being unable to call in at another, even sicker, time.

Yep, this. I come in "sick" because my idea of sick appears to be different than a lot of other people's idea of sick. I wear a mask if it's a sinus/cold thing, but I've come in feeling pretty crappy plenty of times. If I called off every time I felt like butt, I'd be out for a week at a time.

I have been witness to final write ups where people are told that even if they are vomiting, they will be terminated if they do not come to work, or get someone last minute to take their shift. Of course these are final write ups, so these people have enjoyed many many sick days and multiple write ups prior to these, and their stories grow tiresome (i.e. told everyone family and friends were coming in tonight, next day they come in "sick" saying they had a sinus headache last night and didn't get much sleep so they want to go home. I don't consider not getting much sleep to = "sick." Know who doesn't get much sleep? Night shifters.