I don’t know why, but people love going to work sick. I avoid this almost always.
Sure you can make excuses that they don’t have enough sick days, or that with the stress/pressure people feel they don’t have a choice. Ultimately someone who doesn’t take care of themselves becomes a burden to others and needs others to take care of them.
What makes this even worse is when people spread their sickness to others. They love to say that they don’t want to get others sick, then why come to work? Actions speak louder than words. So whenever someone says something that doesn’t agree with their actions, guess which one I listen to?
It is simple. People’s behavior shows their values. We all have a choice in how we behave. If we want to stay up late, not take care of our health, and get sick, that is a value that someone has. I don’t have that value. To me, I want to take care of myself because I know how wonderful it feels to be healthy. I wouldn’t trade my health for anything. Not a false sense of job security, not a relationship, and not for any short-term fun.
I am not saying people who trade their health for other things are bad or wrong. It is everyone’s individual choice. Some people use their health to get rich and then spend money trying to get healthy again. Some people use their health for charity or a cause, and then end up needing those charities that they helped. To me, taking care of yourself is the first duty of a reasonable person and then you can help take care of others.
I find it interesting when companies limit the number of sick days. This goes back to the old idea that people need to be treated like children. The most intelligent people want to work the hardest and don’t need external measures of their productivity. How slow companies are to realize those employees who are intrinsically motivated.