You wake up with your head pounding, your stomach swirling and your body weak and shaky. You didn’t overindulge the night before, but you feel like death. Do you reach for the phone, call in sick and stay in bed — or do you try to power through?
Illness strikes everyone. Even the hardiest of people have to battle sickness from time to time. So how do you decide whether or not to take a day off? There are many factors to think about, but here are the top five to keep in mind.
1. Did You Get Sick Very Suddenly?
A sharp, sudden onset of acute symptoms can sometimes signify a serious disease such as bacterial meningitis, which causes long-term negative effects in half of all patients. Prompt medical treatment is necessary since you’ll need IV antibiotics, so it’s best to call the boss if you wake up with nausea, fever, headache and a stiff neck.
Even if you don’t have a serious disease, you’re the most contagious the day before and the first few days after getting sick. You’ll avoid spreading your germs around the office by calling in when symptoms first appear, if possible.
2. Are Your Symptoms Below the Neck?
Even if you primarily eat a plant-based diet and hit the gym on a regular basis, sickness can still strike. Take a tip from exercise physiologists: Just as you should skip the gym on days you feel sick from the chest down, follow the same rule for calling into work.
Trying to power through with gastrointestinal upset can prove difficult and potentially embarrassing. Deep, heavy chest coughs may indicate bronchitis, or worse, pneumonia. Severe lung infections can take months to clear up, so if you have more than a scratchy throat, cough and runny nose, call in sick.
3. Are You Running a Temperature?
Fevers result from chemicals called “pyrogens” circulating in your bloodstream. These travel to your brain and bind to your hypothalamus, the tiny gland responsible for regulating your body’s temperature.
Medical experts disagree on whether you should try to reduce the fever with aspirin or let it run its course in hopes higher temperatures will kill bacteria and viruses. Regardless, a fever is a sure sign your body is fighting an infectious disease of some sort, so spare your coworkers your misery. Make the call, and keep an eye on your fever.
4. Are You Feeling the Pressure of Your Rent?
If there’s anything the government shutdown taught people, it’s that the majority of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck. You’re not alone if missing even one day makes you come up short on rent. If you find yourself in a position where you can’t go into the office but can’t afford not to, contact your employer to see if telecommuting could work for at least a few days while you recover.
Of course, this suggestion won’t mean much if you’re in customer care, but if you’re in an office, working from home will help you power through. If your main job is more public, consider a side hustle you can do from home. That way, you have a second income stream when money is tight.
5. Would Calling in Sick Get You Fired?
This is a sensitive subject for people in the chronic disease community, especially for women, many of whom fight for years to convince doctors about their pain. As a result, many struggle through repeated job losses for years, harming their resumes through no fault of their own. In an attempt to avoid losing another position, many power through pain levels that would knock other people on their back.
However, if you’ve received reprimands for calling in sick in the past, you know to tread carefully. If you have to call in due to the severity of your symptoms, try to visit a health care professional for treatment and request verification to provide your employer. Though employers can justify letting you go for repeated absences, a note showing you were in the hospital the day you called in can go a long way toward smoothing things over with HR.
Should You Go to Work?
Deciding whether or not to call in sick is a stressful decision. But there are times when protecting your health is more important. By practicing proper self-care, you can return to work healed, refreshed and ready to tackle your next assignment.
Dylan Bartlett is a men’s lifestyle blogger from the City of Brotherly Love. He runs the site Just a Regular Guide, looking at other topics related to health and wellness, relationships, the outdoors and DIY. You can follow him on Twitter @a_regular_guide to get frequent updates on his work.
