Should I be working while sick? The answer ideally is no. If I am sick, I should go home and rest. Come back when I feel better. The real world however is not that simple, especially when we are talking about everyday illnesses, such as a cold or a flu.
Every time I feel unwell, I debate whether to take time off or how to work while sick. This is because in the modern world of Paid Time Off and tight deadlines for busy professionals, we have to figure out the tradeoffs between suddenly taking time off vs the impact of it on our work. Here are five key considerations for many of us.
- Can I truly let go of the work and rest if I take sick days. Whether I recover quickly depends on whether I can truly rest. Depending on my work situation, I may stress more if I tried to not work abruptly and rest.
- Taking sick days will eat into my vacation days. Most companies no longer give us sick days separate from our vacation days. Instead we get Paid Time Off (PTO). Therefore, taking 3 days off to recover from a cold, just means 3 less days of vacation that year. Is it worth it?
- Will resting even help me recover? I may choose to take some time off, but it may not help me recover faster, as some colds will just need to take its course. That is sort of why my husband would argue, a cold without a fever is just discomfort, not sickness. Just let it take its course. I cannot rush it anyway.
- Will the work be worse if I went away suddenly? This is a serious consideration. Ever go on vacation and come back to twice amount of work and stress? Well, this would be similar or worse since the time off is unplanned.
- How will this affect my reputation? If I am presenting at an important leadership meeting, can I just say no at the last minute if I am sick? should I? If there is a key deadline coming up, do I have the luxury to take any time off to rest or should I just rest after the deadline is met?
I was sick for about a week just now, which prompted me to write this article. I noticed the internal conflict I had and wondered how many others also struggles with this question – Should I be working while sick?
When the work is light, the answer is simple – I work from home and take it easy until I am better. I don’t need to take time off as the work is mellow enough to let me rest here and there. When the work is hectic, this is where the decision of whether to work and how to work while sick matters. This is also where soft skills like self awareness, self confidence, communication, and delegation can guide me to the right approach every time.
Self Awareness – Know thyself – I know I would have a hard time resting if I all of a sudden took time off for a cold. I would feel guilty especially if I didn’t have a fever. I would end up worrying more about the work that I left behind. How would I catch up? What’s important here is
- Know my health – can I still function? Will working make me much worse?
- Know the way I stress – How will what I decide affect my stress level?
- Know my mind – Can I let it go and truly rest?
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