Showing posts with label staying home while sick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label staying home while sick. Show all posts

Friday, February 18, 2011

Sick doctors who work are doing more harm to their patients than good

Doctors: if you’re sick, don’t go to work.

The stereotype of doctors is that they go to work, despite whatever symptoms ail them. Calling in sick places strain on colleagues. Especially in residency, where team members are expected to pick up the slack.

In a recent column, the New York Times’ Pauline Chen discusses the image of self-sacrifice that a sick doctor going to work portrays:

Hacking, febrile or racked with the sequelae of chronic illnesses, doctors who are sick have continued for generations to see their patients. Although published reports for over a decade have linked patient illnesses like the flu, whooping cough and resistant bacterial infections to sick health care workers, as many as 80 percent of physicians continue to work through their own ailments, even though they would have excused patients in the same condition.

In today’s age of H1N1 influenza and other assorted public health worries, presenteeism is being looked at. Interestingly,

researchers in the business world have begun to question this assumption. Instead of focusing on problems incurred by absenteeism, these researchers have analyzed the impact of what’s been called presenteeism, or working despite being ill. And it turns out, at least in early studies, that those employees who choose to go to work sick are expensive. Presenteeism costs companies more than $150 billion a year in lost worker productivity.

--

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******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

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Sunday, November 21, 2010

How to call in sick without jeopardizing your job - CNN.com

Eric McCoole, 38, called in sick on St. Patrick's Day in 2000, and no, he didn't have a cold, the flu, or a sinus infection. He didn't even have the sniffles.

"Being of Irish descent, I wanted to take the day off," says McCoole, a government employee in Alpine, California.

He called early enough so he could leave a message and skip the awkward talk with his boss. "The next day a supervisor came over the PA system and announced, 'Two people called in sick yesterday, St. Patrick's Day: Eric McCoole and Brian O'Malley.' Luckily, everyone laughed," McCoole recalls. "He said next year we should flip a coin to decide who takes that day off."

Ah, the good old days. Few folks in today's workplace are calling in sick even if they have a cold, the flu, or a sinus infection. Given the economic meltdown, the highest unemployment rate in years, and layoffs around every corner, workers are more likely to drag themselves into the office even when they feel like death warmed over.

Health.com: Is it a cold, flu, or something else?

The fear? If they call in sick, they won't have an office to drag themselves into the next day.

Why you should call in sick

While they might feel heroic, sick employees who come to work -- a phenomenon known as presenteeism -- can actually hurt companies. Even if you're not scheduled to scrub into the ER and save lives, you can still endanger others by showing up for work in a cloud of germs.

"You always have to weigh the risks and the benefits," says Dr. Aaron E. Glatt, M.D., a spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America and president and CEO of the New Island Hospital in Bethpage, New York.

Glatt suggests asking yourself, "What greater good can I do by being there?" If it's not essential for you to go in, and you know you won't be productive, stay home.

Health.com: Is your job making you sick?

People who are coughing or sneezing (symptoms of illnesses spread by airborne transmission) should probably stay home anyhow, according to Glatt, as should anyone with an open wound or those incapable of keeping good hygiene. "We have to be conscious that we are not only taking care of our own health, but the health of other people," he says.

--

Any questions, please drop me a line.

******************************************************
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******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.howtostartanursingagency.com
http://www.jocularity.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Food workers, nurses forced to work sick - CNN.com

A group of leaders in the food service industry gathered in Washington, D.C., recently to discuss the alarming findings of a new survey. The study, conducted by Restaurant Opportunities Centers United -- a national organization that represents and supports restaurant workers -- found that two-thirds of restaurant workers go to work when sick.

The study sheds light on some serious underlying issues in the food service industry: Nearly 90 percent of workers reported they get no paid sick days and 60 percent said they did not receive any form of health insurance. But the study also highlights an obvious problem for diners who eat the food handled by sick workers.

June Lindsey, a Detroit woman with more than 30 years of experience in the food service industry, knows a lot about going in to work sick. She shared the following story in the study:

"[One day] I had a really bad cold. My nose was running, I was sneezing, [and] I had a bad cough and a fever. I could not call in sick because no work meant no money and I couldn't afford it at that time. My kids were very young, so I went to work to see if I can make it through the day.

CareerBuilder.com: Have an incompetent boss? You're not alone

"Halfway through the day, the sneezing, coughing and runny nose got worse. I asked the manager, 'I am really sick and need to go because I could make others sick and I am dealing with food.' She laughed and told me, 'Try not to cough, then.' So I had to work that day sick, and who knows how many customers I got sick because I couldn't go to the back and leave the counter to wash my hands after every sneeze or nose wipe. Later on, all of us got sick one by one, and all this came from another worker that came to work sick like me, but was not allowed to leave work."

While food service is the most recent industry to address the problem, it's not exclusively theirs. According to the website for MomsRising, a group that pushes for reform on issues like maternity leave, fair wages and paid family illness days, 55 percent of workers in the retail industry and 48 percent of workers employed in the general private sector don't receive paid sick days.

If you come in sick, there's a good chance your co-workers and customers will get sick, too -- and in some cases, passing on your illness can cause potentially life-threatening situations.

Take the case of Amy, for example. As the mother of a young son who is being treated for a blood disease -- his recovery from which depends on his avoidance of illness -- Amy pays vigilant attention to those who enter her son's room at the renowned children's hospital where he is staying.

CareerBuilder.com: Conflicting career advice: Which is right

Recently, the poor health of one of the hospital's staff members compromised the well-being of Amy's son: "On Saturday, as I woke up, I noticed that our nurse was sick," she says. "No one is supposed to be allowed on our floor if they are sick and definitely not in our rooms. This is a nurse whom we really like and who has been with us from the beginning.

"When I wouldn't allow him back in the room, he explained that the hospital does have a policy that the nurses have to call in if they are sick. Unfortunately, the hospital has another policy that causes nurses to be written up if they call in sick. It's a Catch-22 that puts kids at risk." Amy and her family are trying to get the hospital policy changed, since she says it caused "a good nurse to make a poor choice."

While Amy's incident may seem like it would be an isolated one in the health care field, a recent study by the Journal of the American Medical Association says otherwise. This summer, the AMA published the findings of a survey of 537 medical residents from around the country, in which 57 percent of residents said they'd worked while sick, the Kansas City Star reports.

With the advent of flu season, it can be tough to know what to do when you know you are too sick to go to work, but are worried about the repercussions of skipping a day. Here are a few ideas to help you find a better alternative to working while you're sick:

CareerBuilder.com: How to self-promote without being obnoxious

1. Switch shifts: If you work in a restaurant, hospital or retail environment where workers are scheduled in shifts, try switching hours with a co-worker. Create a list of all your co-workers' phone numbers and keep it at home. That way, if you're feeling too sick to work, you can call a colleague and ask if she can cover your shift. Just make sure that you offer to cover one of hers in return, or to repay the favor when she isn't feeling well.

2. Get a doctor's note: Though asking your doctor for a note may make you feel like you're back in the fifth grade, doing so will lessen your chances of being reprimanded -- and provide you proof of your illness should your employer think you were playing hooky.

3. Work from home: If you have a desk job or another occupation that doesn't necessarily require your physical presence, working from home can be a good alternative for those who don't want to -- or can't -- take a sick day. It will prevent you from spreading your condition to colleagues and clients, and will also allow you to get your work done while you recuperate.

4. Check out the legalities: While the Healthy Families Act -- which would require employers to provide employees with one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked -- has recently been reintroduced in Congress, it has yet to pass. In the meantime, many employers do have guidelines when it comes to working while sick, which means you might have the right to -- or might be required to -- take the day off if you're not feeling well. Most large employers, for instance, must legally allow workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid sick leave per year, under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

5. Ask for a substitute duty: If you think you must go to work while sick, talk to your employer about alternative duties. Instead of working directly with customers at a retail store, for example, ask if you can work in the stockroom instead. If you work at a hospital, ask to cover a floor that won't put you in contact with patients that have compromised immune systems.

It is a scary situation when you are intimidated into working sick when you know it may result in you passing along what you have to others, or getting what your patients are being treated for.

--

Any questions, please drop me a line.

******************************************************
Follow us on:

Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Facebook:
http://www.nursefriendly.com/facebook

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

Twitter!
http://www.nursefriendly.com/twitter

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.howtostartanursingagency.com
http://www.jocularity.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Food workers, nurses forced to work sick - CNN.com

A group of leaders in the food service industry gathered in Washington, D.C., recently to discuss the alarming findings of a new survey. The study, conducted by Restaurant Opportunities Centers United -- a national organization that represents and supports restaurant workers -- found that two-thirds of restaurant workers go to work when sick.

The study sheds light on some serious underlying issues in the food service industry: Nearly 90 percent of workers reported they get no paid sick days and 60 percent said they did not receive any form of health insurance. But the study also highlights an obvious problem for diners who eat the food handled by sick workers.

June Lindsey, a Detroit woman with more than 30 years of experience in the food service industry, knows a lot about going in to work sick. She shared the following story in the study:

"[One day] I had a really bad cold. My nose was running, I was sneezing, [and] I had a bad cough and a fever. I could not call in sick because no work meant no money and I couldn't afford it at that time. My kids were very young, so I went to work to see if I can make it through the day.

CareerBuilder.com: Have an incompetent boss? You're not alone

"Halfway through the day, the sneezing, coughing and runny nose got worse. I asked the manager, 'I am really sick and need to go because I could make others sick and I am dealing with food.' She laughed and told me, 'Try not to cough, then.' So I had to work that day sick, and who knows how many customers I got sick because I couldn't go to the back and leave the counter to wash my hands after every sneeze or nose wipe. Later on, all of us got sick one by one, and all this came from another worker that came to work sick like me, but was not allowed to leave work."

While food service is the most recent industry to address the problem, it's not exclusively theirs. According to the website for MomsRising, a group that pushes for reform on issues like maternity leave, fair wages and paid family illness days, 55 percent of workers in the retail industry and 48 percent of workers employed in the general private sector don't receive paid sick days.

If you come in sick, there's a good chance your co-workers and customers will get sick, too -- and in some cases, passing on your illness can cause potentially life-threatening situations.

Take the case of Amy, for example. As the mother of a young son who is being treated for a blood disease -- his recovery from which depends on his avoidance of illness -- Amy pays vigilant attention to those who enter her son's room at the renowned children's hospital where he is staying.

CareerBuilder.com: Conflicting career advice: Which is right

Recently, the poor health of one of the hospital's staff members compromised the well-being of Amy's son: "On Saturday, as I woke up, I noticed that our nurse was sick," she says. "No one is supposed to be allowed on our floor if they are sick and definitely not in our rooms. This is a nurse whom we really like and who has been with us from the beginning.

"When I wouldn't allow him back in the room, he explained that the hospital does have a policy that the nurses have to call in if they are sick. Unfortunately, the hospital has another policy that causes nurses to be written up if they call in sick. It's a Catch-22 that puts kids at risk." Amy and her family are trying to get the hospital policy changed, since she says it caused "a good nurse to make a poor choice."

While Amy's incident may seem like it would be an isolated one in the health care field, a recent study by the Journal of the American Medical Association says otherwise. This summer, the AMA published the findings of a survey of 537 medical residents from around the country, in which 57 percent of residents said they'd worked while sick, the Kansas City Star reports.

With the advent of flu season, it can be tough to know what to do when you know you are too sick to go to work, but are worried about the repercussions of skipping a day. Here are a few ideas to help you find a better alternative to working while you're sick:

CareerBuilder.com: How to self-promote without being obnoxious

1. Switch shifts: If you work in a restaurant, hospital or retail environment where workers are scheduled in shifts, try switching hours with a co-worker. Create a list of all your co-workers' phone numbers and keep it at home. That way, if you're feeling too sick to work, you can call a colleague and ask if she can cover your shift. Just make sure that you offer to cover one of hers in return, or to repay the favor when she isn't feeling well.

2. Get a doctor's note: Though asking your doctor for a note may make you feel like you're back in the fifth grade, doing so will lessen your chances of being reprimanded -- and provide you proof of your illness should your employer think you were playing hooky.

3. Work from home: If you have a desk job or another occupation that doesn't necessarily require your physical presence, working from home can be a good alternative for those who don't want to -- or can't -- take a sick day. It will prevent you from spreading your condition to colleagues and clients, and will also allow you to get your work done while you recuperate.

4. Check out the legalities: While the Healthy Families Act -- which would require employers to provide employees with one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked -- has recently been reintroduced in Congress, it has yet to pass. In the meantime, many employers do have guidelines when it comes to working while sick, which means you might have the right to -- or might be required to -- take the day off if you're not feeling well. Most large employers, for instance, must legally allow workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid sick leave per year, under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

5. Ask for a substitute duty: If you think you must go to work while sick, talk to your employer about alternative duties. Instead of working directly with customers at a retail store, for example, ask if you can work in the stockroom instead. If you work at a hospital, ask to cover a floor that won't put you in contact with patients that have compromised immune systems.

It is a scary situation when you are intimidated into working sick when you know it may result in you passing along what you have to others, or getting what you patients are being treated for.

--

Any questions, please drop me a line.

******************************************************
Follow us on:

Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Facebook:
http://www.nursefriendly.com/facebook

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

Twitter!
http://www.nursefriendly.com/twitter

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.howtostartanursingagency.com
http://www.jocularity.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Food workers, nurses forced to work sick - CNN.com

A group of leaders in the food service industry gathered in Washington, D.C., recently to discuss the alarming findings of a new survey. The study, conducted by Restaurant Opportunities Centers United -- a national organization that represents and supports restaurant workers -- found that two-thirds of restaurant workers go to work when sick.

The study sheds light on some serious underlying issues in the food service industry: Nearly 90 percent of workers reported they get no paid sick days and 60 percent said they did not receive any form of health insurance. But the study also highlights an obvious problem for diners who eat the food handled by sick workers.

June Lindsey, a Detroit woman with more than 30 years of experience in the food service industry, knows a lot about going in to work sick. She shared the following story in the study:

"[One day] I had a really bad cold. My nose was running, I was sneezing, [and] I had a bad cough and a fever. I could not call in sick because no work meant no money and I couldn't afford it at that time. My kids were very young, so I went to work to see if I can make it through the day.

CareerBuilder.com: Have an incompetent boss? You're not alone

"Halfway through the day, the sneezing, coughing and runny nose got worse. I asked the manager, 'I am really sick and need to go because I could make others sick and I am dealing with food.' She laughed and told me, 'Try not to cough, then.' So I had to work that day sick, and who knows how many customers I got sick because I couldn't go to the back and leave the counter to wash my hands after every sneeze or nose wipe. Later on, all of us got sick one by one, and all this came from another worker that came to work sick like me, but was not allowed to leave work."

While food service is the most recent industry to address the problem, it's not exclusively theirs. According to the website for MomsRising, a group that pushes for reform on issues like maternity leave, fair wages and paid family illness days, 55 percent of workers in the retail industry and 48 percent of workers employed in the general private sector don't receive paid sick days.

If you come in sick, there's a good chance your co-workers and customers will get sick, too -- and in some cases, passing on your illness can cause potentially life-threatening situations.

Take the case of Amy, for example. As the mother of a young son who is being treated for a blood disease -- his recovery from which depends on his avoidance of illness -- Amy pays vigilant attention to those who enter her son's room at the renowned children's hospital where he is staying.

CareerBuilder.com: Conflicting career advice: Which is right

Recently, the poor health of one of the hospital's staff members compromised the well-being of Amy's son: "On Saturday, as I woke up, I noticed that our nurse was sick," she says. "No one is supposed to be allowed on our floor if they are sick and definitely not in our rooms. This is a nurse whom we really like and who has been with us from the beginning.

"When I wouldn't allow him back in the room, he explained that the hospital does have a policy that the nurses have to call in if they are sick. Unfortunately, the hospital has another policy that causes nurses to be written up if they call in sick. It's a Catch-22 that puts kids at risk." Amy and her family are trying to get the hospital policy changed, since she says it caused "a good nurse to make a poor choice."

While Amy's incident may seem like it would be an isolated one in the health care field, a recent study by the Journal of the American Medical Association says otherwise. This summer, the AMA published the findings of a survey of 537 medical residents from around the country, in which 57 percent of residents said they'd worked while sick, the Kansas City Star reports.

With the advent of flu season, it can be tough to know what to do when you know you are too sick to go to work, but are worried about the repercussions of skipping a day. Here are a few ideas to help you find a better alternative to working while you're sick:

CareerBuilder.com: How to self-promote without being obnoxious

1. Switch shifts: If you work in a restaurant, hospital or retail environment where workers are scheduled in shifts, try switching hours with a co-worker. Create a list of all your co-workers' phone numbers and keep it at home. That way, if you're feeling too sick to work, you can call a colleague and ask if she can cover your shift. Just make sure that you offer to cover one of hers in return, or to repay the favor when she isn't feeling well.

2. Get a doctor's note: Though asking your doctor for a note may make you feel like you're back in the fifth grade, doing so will lessen your chances of being reprimanded -- and provide you proof of your illness should your employer think you were playing hooky.

3. Work from home: If you have a desk job or another occupation that doesn't necessarily require your physical presence, working from home can be a good alternative for those who don't want to -- or can't -- take a sick day. It will prevent you from spreading your condition to colleagues and clients, and will also allow you to get your work done while you recuperate.

4. Check out the legalities: While the Healthy Families Act -- which would require employers to provide employees with one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked -- has recently been reintroduced in Congress, it has yet to pass. In the meantime, many employers do have guidelines when it comes to working while sick, which means you might have the right to -- or might be required to -- take the day off if you're not feeling well. Most large employers, for instance, must legally allow workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid sick leave per year, under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

5. Ask for a substitute duty: If you think you must go to work while sick, talk to your employer about alternative duties. Instead of working directly with customers at a retail store, for example, ask if you can work in the stockroom instead. If you work at a hospital, ask to cover a floor that won't put you in contact with patients that have compromised immune systems.

It is a scary situation when you are intimidated into working sick when you know it may result in you passing along what you have to others, or getting what your patients are being treated for.

--

Any questions, please drop me a line.

******************************************************
Follow us on:

Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Facebook:
http://www.nursefriendly.com/facebook

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

Twitter!
http://www.nursefriendly.com/twitter

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.howtostartanursingagency.com
http://www.jocularity.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Food workers, nurses forced to work sick - CNN.com

A group of leaders in the food service industry gathered in Washington, D.C., recently to discuss the alarming findings of a new survey. The study, conducted by Restaurant Opportunities Centers United -- a national organization that represents and supports restaurant workers -- found that two-thirds of restaurant workers go to work when sick.

The study sheds light on some serious underlying issues in the food service industry: Nearly 90 percent of workers reported they get no paid sick days and 60 percent said they did not receive any form of health insurance. But the study also highlights an obvious problem for diners who eat the food handled by sick workers.

June Lindsey, a Detroit woman with more than 30 years of experience in the food service industry, knows a lot about going in to work sick. She shared the following story in the study:

"[One day] I had a really bad cold. My nose was running, I was sneezing, [and] I had a bad cough and a fever. I could not call in sick because no work meant no money and I couldn't afford it at that time. My kids were very young, so I went to work to see if I can make it through the day.

CareerBuilder.com: Have an incompetent boss? You're not alone

"Halfway through the day, the sneezing, coughing and runny nose got worse. I asked the manager, 'I am really sick and need to go because I could make others sick and I am dealing with food.' She laughed and told me, 'Try not to cough, then.' So I had to work that day sick, and who knows how many customers I got sick because I couldn't go to the back and leave the counter to wash my hands after every sneeze or nose wipe. Later on, all of us got sick one by one, and all this came from another worker that came to work sick like me, but was not allowed to leave work."

While food service is the most recent industry to address the problem, it's not exclusively theirs. According to the website for MomsRising, a group that pushes for reform on issues like maternity leave, fair wages and paid family illness days, 55 percent of workers in the retail industry and 48 percent of workers employed in the general private sector don't receive paid sick days.

If you come in sick, there's a good chance your co-workers and customers will get sick, too -- and in some cases, passing on your illness can cause potentially life-threatening situations.

Take the case of Amy, for example. As the mother of a young son who is being treated for a blood disease -- his recovery from which depends on his avoidance of illness -- Amy pays vigilant attention to those who enter her son's room at the renowned children's hospital where he is staying.

CareerBuilder.com: Conflicting career advice: Which is right

Recently, the poor health of one of the hospital's staff members compromised the well-being of Amy's son: "On Saturday, as I woke up, I noticed that our nurse was sick," she says. "No one is supposed to be allowed on our floor if they are sick and definitely not in our rooms. This is a nurse whom we really like and who has been with us from the beginning.

"When I wouldn't allow him back in the room, he explained that the hospital does have a policy that the nurses have to call in if they are sick. Unfortunately, the hospital has another policy that causes nurses to be written up if they call in sick. It's a Catch-22 that puts kids at risk." Amy and her family are trying to get the hospital policy changed, since she says it caused "a good nurse to make a poor choice."

While Amy's incident may seem like it would be an isolated one in the health care field, a recent study by the Journal of the American Medical Association says otherwise. This summer, the AMA published the findings of a survey of 537 medical residents from around the country, in which 57 percent of residents said they'd worked while sick, the Kansas City Star reports.

With the advent of flu season, it can be tough to know what to do when you know you are too sick to go to work, but are worried about the repercussions of skipping a day. Here are a few ideas to help you find a better alternative to working while you're sick:

CareerBuilder.com: How to self-promote without being obnoxious

1. Switch shifts: If you work in a restaurant, hospital or retail environment where workers are scheduled in shifts, try switching hours with a co-worker. Create a list of all your co-workers' phone numbers and keep it at home. That way, if you're feeling too sick to work, you can call a colleague and ask if she can cover your shift. Just make sure that you offer to cover one of hers in return, or to repay the favor when she isn't feeling well.

2. Get a doctor's note: Though asking your doctor for a note may make you feel like you're back in the fifth grade, doing so will lessen your chances of being reprimanded -- and provide you proof of your illness should your employer think you were playing hooky.

3. Work from home: If you have a desk job or another occupation that doesn't necessarily require your physical presence, working from home can be a good alternative for those who don't want to -- or can't -- take a sick day. It will prevent you from spreading your condition to colleagues and clients, and will also allow you to get your work done while you recuperate.

4. Check out the legalities: While the Healthy Families Act -- which would require employers to provide employees with one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked -- has recently been reintroduced in Congress, it has yet to pass. In the meantime, many employers do have guidelines when it comes to working while sick, which means you might have the right to -- or might be required to -- take the day off if you're not feeling well. Most large employers, for instance, must legally allow workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid sick leave per year, under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

5. Ask for a substitute duty: If you think you must go to work while sick, talk to your employer about alternative duties. Instead of working directly with customers at a retail store, for example, ask if you can work in the stockroom instead. If you work at a hospital, ask to cover a floor that won't put you in contact with patients that have compromised immune systems.

It is a scary situation when you are intimidated into working sick when you know it may result in you passing along what you have to others, or getting what your patients are being treated for.

--

Any questions, please drop me a line.

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Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
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