Working When You Are Sick – 3 Healthy Tips to Energize Your Decisions About Working When Unwell
- by admin
Being stressed and being sick, the old dilemma – which came first the chicken or the egg: you can’t have one without the other.
1) Determine if you have sick time off allotted. Not getting paid while you are at home sick is a huge stress creation. Knowing you have say 24 hours of sick leave available. Also knowing that you must get a doctors ok to come back to work if you are out more them three days in a row, gives you an idea in advance on how to use your sick time wisely. There is no stress if you use this benefit sparingly and with common sense. Be aware to that some employers will dock you in your performance evaluation if you take too many “unexcused” sick days.
2) How sick are you? Would you be mildly contagious to others as in having a cold? Can you take a cold medication and still function properly at your job? You knew your job and you know your tolerance to medications, choice wisely again. Is your illness an irritable non-threatening allergic reaction, lets say, or a light case of nausea? As long as you are not a threat to the health of others around you, you should feel comfortable about working. Remember always use great hand washing techniques, no matter what!!
3) Your responsibilities: Could you do some work from home? Can you postpone meetings, or get notes from someone else? Is there enough people to cover for you? Remember life does go on even when you are not there, the world as you know it will not end because you took a day off because you were unwell.
Your ultimate responsibility is to yourself. Your self nurturing of your mental and physical well being is paramount.
You can’t give 100% to others when you are 100% depleted yourself. Think about it, you must decide your priorities. Looking out for yourself is at the very top.
You can handle and reduce stress much better when you feel good and have a well rested body. Wellness and stress reduction go hand in hand. You owe it to your self to release stresses and promote relaxation and gain health in your life. Remember only you can control this.