I can understand your issue and I agree, but sadly we live in a world where people are not compassionate enough to allow a person who is ill to stay home without them receiving consequences. The last job I had was horrible. There were no sick days, you could miss 4 days in 6 months and then after that you were written up. So, people showed up sick, got everyone else sick and so on. In fact, I used all my days up within 6 months and I literally went to work, put my head down on my desk and I stayed there like that for the whole time. A doctor's note wasn't even taken into consideration. So, I had people complaining the whole time because I had numerous infections but I could not go home because then I would be on probabtion to where I could not be late or miss a day of work for 3 months straight or I would be wrote up again.

I can relate. My sociology professor sent someone home last week about 15 min into the class...got his email address so she could send him a copy of the lecture notes. The whole class sighed with relief.

There is always someone in an office who seems to have some fatal disease and is intent on giving it to you a few times per year. It's always a toss-up whether he/she is there for the right reasons, but ultimately all you want is not to catch the disease yourself. Some people just don't get this...and I have no idea why.
I used to work with this woman who would get sick two or three times per year... and come into work. We each took turns telling her she should go home, but getting the work out was always her excuse... and she really did seem sincere. Finally I was elected to talk to her and I explained very plainly that no one wanted to get her germs when she was hacking and sneezing. After I told her., her eyes filled with tears and she told me that her life at home was very bad and that her husband required her to work if she were home. The whole story was so ghastly, that after I shared it, no one had the heart to kick her out. We finally just put her in a vacant office during the time she was sick and stayed away from her. You wouldn't believe how grateful she was.

Ugh lil, that's awful. I wouldn't have lasted the hour you did. I would've been up and moved a lot sooner than that! And he would've gotten a dirty look from me.

That is so sad Eleuthera. I hope she left him...HE is the unhealthy part of her life.

Oh, and my previous job the salaried employees had unlimited sick days. People still came in half-dead.

At one hospital I worked at, if you called in sick they would tell you to come in so they could treat you but HR stopped that practice. Sort of victimized the health professionals---I mean---If you are too sick to come in then why would you come in for them to treat you--and who would know better than a health professional? Harassment. Bed rest is usually the best remedy.

Many of my co workers come in sick and are proud of it. I work with a lot of people with martyr complexes. They like to be able to say things like, "I have to deal with all this crap and I came in sick today!" like it is some huge sacrifice and we should all kiss their feet in thanks.

One of my co workers has been out sick for a a couple of days with a cold and another girl I work with scoffed and rolled her eyes, "We all come in with colds!" Yeah, and you give them to everybody else, are miserable the whole time and make sure everybody knows you are suffering and in turn make every one around you suffers for your "sacrifice."

I don't play the martyr. I have over a hundred sick hours. If I am ill, I stay home. We work with the public. The patrons don't want us coughing all over their books.

I work with a lot of people with martyr complexes.

Oh my gosh, I've never put that in to words, but it is SO true. We have a few of those here (e.g. I was working on this until 1 a.m. last night).

I always just thought many those with the "matyr" complexes are just disorganized.

Most of the time if they didn't slack off all day they'd have time do their work and go home at a decent hour!

But that's the thing haus, she goes home on time, she gets in late, yet she still claims she's working till 1 am!

Cheeky I wish my professor would have made him leave. I think it was fairly obvious I was in physical discomfort... there was a lot of wincing every time he hacked. What I don't get is that most uni students love to miss class because they're sick. Heck, they love to miss class when they're not sick.

I think the worst part of last night (and the event that made me move) had to have been when he bent over to tie his shoes and continued to cough. I felt the air from the cough on my back.

Monique I can relate to the not being allowed to leave due to illness (I had this happen when I worked at a grooming salon in a large pet store chain). In those types of cases I would sympathize with the worker. Last night was just too close for comfort for me in the squished lecture hall

I have soo many coworkers like that, Sy. People who voluntarily woork late or do work above their pay scale but then act like victims about it. "This place couldn't run with out me! I do all these reports that I am not even paid to do!" If these extra tasks and hours were forced on them it would be one thing but when they volunteer for the extra load, it is another.

I had a coworker that CONSTANTLY went on and on about how the whole world would stop if she didn't come in--and a patient overheard and mumbled loudly, "Get over yourself lady" and I stood there trying not to laugh. My coworker shut up about that for a couple of weeks and then I started praying for that patient to come back in and set her straight again.

lildorothy--this class is part of a "healthcare degree program" and my instructor gave us all a talking to about infection control--and not to bother coming in like that as it is irresponsible.
You and I know that is common sense BUT last session I had a TIA and missed a class because I was a patient in the ICU...the instructor for THAT class would not let me do a make-up even with a note from the hospital and the neurologist. My husband had even gone to class in my place to let her know why I wasn't there. I went to the dean and she was forced to allow my make-up...grudgingly--and I am certain my grade suffered because she was so mad.
Two professors--two different ideas about illness.

"Cheeky I wish my professor would have made him leave. I think it was fairly obvious I was in physical discomfort... there was a lot of wincing every time he hacked. What I don't get is that most uni students love to miss class because they're sick. Heck, they love to miss class when they're not sick."

I will not miss class unless I'm dying or dead. I mean, when you pay 1000$ per class, per semester, I'm not going to miss it. Maybe because I'm paying for my classes, not my parents. Also, 3 hour class is hard to make up, even with prof. notes.. in which a number of profs. don't give out.

As for work, we don't get sick days. We get a weeks of vacation that we're forced to use up in July, until you've been at work for years. And many can't afford to take a day with out pay.

So, I can understand and relate to those that are forced to go to work/school when sick.

I just wonder...if you are that sick, what are you really getting out of that class that you are sitting in? Or how much are you REALLY contributing to your employer?

Someone who is hacking how Lil describes can't possibly be able to concentrate on the lecture and all they are really accomplishing is making it impossible for the other students in the class to concentrate as well, and quite possibly, distracting the professor from his lecture.

I paid for my education and stayed home when I was sick (not with a little cold, but if I was as sick as the person Lil is describing here). I got notes from others in the class if I needed to and asked the professor for clarification when I needed it.

I've also worked places where I didn't have sick time. I would have rather missed a day's pay to stay home and rest when I needed to rather than have to pay for a doctor's visit (I also had no medical insurance) AND miss a day of work to go there because I didn't give my body the rest it needed to heal, thus making myself sicker than I needed to be.

Boy o boy...I have paid for my education repeatedly...so I won't go there. Spending my retirement to repeat classes I already taken should be criminal. Another topic for another time.

I will admit that hospitals say "stay home when your sick" officially---but sideways out of their mouth they are whispering "we will make life hell 4 you if you do" and as a result I have gone in and took care of my patients but wore a mask. You'd be surprised by the reactions to me wearing a mask with patients. Patients were relieved I had it on when I explained I had a cold---but my supervisor would give me glares and actually attempted to write me up. Unlike nursing staff, someone couldn't step in and cover for me---my patients would have to all be rescheduled. I had to be pretty sick to stay home, and when I did I felt guilty about being too sick to do my job.

In other cultures people wear masks everywhere and we assume they are germ-phobic but perhaps they are just smart.

"I will not miss class unless I'm dying or dead. I mean, when you pay 1000$ per class, per semester, I'm not going to miss it. Maybe because I'm paying for my classes, not my parents."

I pay for my own education as well, but I have enough respect for my fellow classmates NOT to come to class if I'm truly sick. Martini listed some great, responsible options for students who are sick.

(Oh and for the record, the student I described in my original post did not take notes throughout the entirety of the class. He was too busy coughing on me.)

I would also like to point out that technically there is a world wide pandemic at the moment. Both my university and my employer have strict policies about not staying home if you have flu or flu-like symptoms.

I have a job taking care of children with Autism, so unless I'm dying I can't call in sick. Multiple people have to be in the house 24 hours a day, if you call in an no one can cover it would be illegal to leave them alone. Also I work by the hour and frankly I can't afford to, which sucks because I have Crohn's and get sick, not always contagious sick, quite often. My immune system sucks, but I have no option if I want to not be homeless. I don't want to get other people sick, but I have to take care of myself, I don't have anyone else.

Some people can't miss work. I suppose those masks should come in fashion colors Cheeky!

Hmmm...that is an idea...a pretty good idea.

I hear you. Some people can be so annoying. They know it's best to stay home and keep their germs to themselves but they don't. Then they disrupt everyone else they come into contact with.

If you don't lay out of work or school when you don't need to be then you can take a sick day without any problems. And you wouldn't have to bug your employer about giving you an extra sick day that you honestly don't deserve. Most responsible people like to store their sick days up anyway.