To Stay Home or Not To Stay Home, That Is The Question

This morning I woke up with a bad stomach ache. It's been coming on for a few days, but I was hoping it would get better, not worse. No such luck....

I was scheduled for a chiropractor appointment early today, but decided that, #1: I shouldn't be around anybody, that way they can't catch what I have; #2: I really don't feel good enough to go anywhere; so, I called and canceled the appointment.

So the question is, when are you too sick to either go to work, or to get to wherever you're supposed to be? I know there are lots of different thoughts on this. It seems like a lot of people choose to go wherever they are supposed to be, instead of staying at home and taking care of themselves.

I am not a proponent of that idea.

Unfortunately, I am one of those people who catches everything under the sun. It's probably due to my asthma and allergies. My immune system is always slightly compromised, because it's always on high alert.

If you're sick. Please - stay home. You may think that the issue at hand can't survive without you, but trust me - it can. (Okay. There are a very small handful of exceptions.) Think about all the people who could possibly become sick because you went to work, or the store, or to the appointment, when you were sick. Also, think about how much faster you will recover, by staying home and taking care of yourself.

And then sometimes, there is the employer who gets upset when you call out sick. I understand they are looking at their bottom line and they have businesses to run. But, when I come across an employee who is under the weather, all I can think of is, did they touch anything that I just touched and am I going to pick up whatever they have?

And of course, then there is the hypochondriac. Even if they're not really sick, they think they are, and they call out too frequently.

The bottom line for me - if you're genuinely sick - stay home. For those of us who can't fight off all the bugs that come our way, please, take the day off and stay in bed and come back healthy!