"man Flu", Colds, Coming Into Work
I've seen quite a few debates on so-called "man flu" which is basically a swipe at men saying that they exaggerate how ill they are whereas women just "get on with it". I don't know how much truth there is behind this stereotype.
Basically we have two extreme positions in circulation- one being "I'll have a day off work if I'm even slightly ill, e.g. a few sniffles" and another being "It doesn't matter how ill you are, you should just get on with it and come into work through thick and thin". I suggest that both extremes do more harm than good.
I also think that it's too black and white, for instance, to try to encourage people with colds to come into work, because colds come in hugely differing degrees of severity. This weekend, I've had a headache, coughing and sneezing fits, sleep deprivation, sapped energy, asthmatic complications and a slight temperature. I don't think it's a good idea to encourage people to come into an office while suffering these symptoms- they genuinely do affect one's ability to work, just "getting on with it" can make it take longer to get over the symptoms, and the coughing and sneezing are the perfect recipe for spreading it around the entire office. But I never have qualms about coming into work while I have just sniffles- they don't have much of an effect on my ability to work, and as long as I wash my hands from time to time, I am unlikely to pass them around.
I suggest that a similar analysis applies to other illnesses- people should be expected to work through mild illnesses, but not pronounced ones.
Basically we have two extreme positions in circulation- one being "I'll have a day off work if I'm even slightly ill, e.g. a few sniffles" and another being "It doesn't matter how ill you are, you should just get on with it and come into work through thick and thin". I suggest that both extremes do more harm than good.
I also think that it's too black and white, for instance, to try to encourage people with colds to come into work, because colds come in hugely differing degrees of severity. This weekend, I've had a headache, coughing and sneezing fits, sleep deprivation, sapped energy, asthmatic complications and a slight temperature. I don't think it's a good idea to encourage people to come into an office while suffering these symptoms- they genuinely do affect one's ability to work, just "getting on with it" can make it take longer to get over the symptoms, and the coughing and sneezing are the perfect recipe for spreading it around the entire office. But I never have qualms about coming into work while I have just sniffles- they don't have much of an effect on my ability to work, and as long as I wash my hands from time to time, I am unlikely to pass them around.
I suggest that a similar analysis applies to other illnesses- people should be expected to work through mild illnesses, but not pronounced ones.
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