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Subscribe to RSSIf one of your co-workers is coughing ominously now, don’t be surprised.
A recent survey finds that nearly three-fourths of workers go to work when sick, spreading their germy goodness to the rest of us.
This survey of 3,910 workers was conducted by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder.com late last year.
About half of those surveyed said they go to the work while ill because they feel guilty calling in sick.
Given the weak economy, that’s not surprising. Some may fear that if they call in sick it’ll reflect poorly on them, while others may worry about piling more work on their already overworked colleagues. And if your company doesn’t offer paid sick leave, you may just need the money.
Still, maybe some workers should also worry about spreading their germs around. More than half of the workers surveyed also said they had picked up an illness from a co-worker.
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My wife is a kindergarten teacher for a public school system and she went to work to day with a bad cough and other symptoms. When I asked her why she was going she said that if she didn't go that required paperwork that needed to be completed would not be done in time. So, even though she has paid sick leave as part of her employment contract 9 times out of 10 she forces herself to go so that her students get the instruction they need to advance in their studies.
...and the infection they need
People who judge this have never been classroom teachers. It's reality and if you disagree, homeschool. The amount of pressure on teachers is ridiculous and it's 1000 times more work to call in than to actually go, not to mention the fact that substitute teachers generally suck.
The reality is every single one of us has seen the freeloader at work who abuses sick time. Sick time abuse isn't a rarity either. I work with people who use their sick time year in year out even though they have no children. I knew one lady that went to the doctor or chiropracter multiple times every month, Those of us who don't abuse it have to put up with the nit-picky policies intended to battle their abusing coworkers. Don't blame the company, blame your deadbeat coworkers. Now don't get me started on fraudulent disability claims. My neighbor's back hurt too much to perform his office job. He can operate a snowplow business in the winter and haul his deer stand out to deer hunt but he couldn't lean on a counter to help customers? OKAY, :(
Oh right Chris, only people with children should be allowed to take sick time, right?
Yes, I know there is sick time abuse, but unless you know this lady's circumstances, you may well be overly harsh in your judgement.
Chris, please re-think your assertion that people who take sick leave because they don't have children are somehow irresponsible.
I do not have children. It is a choice I made. If that allows me more sick time for me because I am justifiably sick, and I happen to have scoliosis and need to go to the chiropractor - well that is between me, my medical records and my physician.
Not many things make my blood pressure peak, but reading something like this assertion does. I guarantee you that my contribution to this society and all of its children - through taxes, societal structuring and simple caring - far outweighs what you seem to be having trouble conceiving (pun intended) of.
Chris, some people have to go to the doctor multiple times a month, don't be angry or think someone is lazy because they have a debilitating problem. Yes, some people abuse sick time but for the most part people don't. Just because someone has kids does not give them the right to take more sick time than someone who does not, that really just makes no sense to me. Just because you know of a few people who do abuse it does not mean that some people do not genuinely have problems that they need to take care of regularly. I recently had to go to the dentist 6 times in two weeks because of my teeth, it was excessive but it had to be done. I also suffer from a chronic disability that makes it necessary to visit a doctor more than once a month. Very narrow minded of you to think that a situation like that is sick time abuse. Maybe you are just angry that you care more about your job than your own health and others are happy and able to take a lot more time off than you.
And then she gives her illness to an entire classroom of kindergarten students! I would be angry to find out that my children's teachers put my children at risk for some paperwork!
Especially in the cases of new teachers, Tonya, illness is part of the job. Primary teachers are ALWAYS exposed to new germs through younger kids and thus get sick far more often. Even with adult immune systems, new teachers are not used to being exposed to both familiar and unfamiliar mutations of germs from 10-20 students. They build up their tolerance over time. If the teacher stayed home every time he or she felt sick, then you wouldn't actually have a teacher in the classroom. Simultaneously, children build up their immune system by being exposed to germs. You would much prefer the child get chickenpox when it he or she is younger than when he or she is older.
Oh my goodness Tonya... calm down... parents are guilty of sending their children into school sick because they don't want or can't take the time off of work either. which is probably why the teacher got sick in the first place. Kindergarten classrooms are full of coughing, sneezing, snotty sick germy kids, teachers are exposed to that every day, and one coughing teacher is putting your child at risk? just about as much risk that you pose to your child when you get sick. or are you gonna call out sick of being a mommy?
She probably got it from the kiddos to begin with---They seem to have super germs and marvelous recuperative powers.
hah. my mom tried to expose us kids to chicken pox by sending us to the neighbor kids that had it. My sister unfortunately got them when her kids did. (a bad case). I went to get the shot they have now so I wouldn't get it since I thought none of us three kids got the chicken pox. I had antibodies that showed I'd had it. must have been a really weak case...
In a perfect world we would all be able to stay home whenever we have a little sniffle or ache or fever. But we don't live in a perfect world. We live in a messy, germy, infectious REAL world. Part of real life is illness, you just can't avoid it. I get tired of people complaining about co-workers coming to work with colds and coughs and yet these are the same people who would complain about the extra work they have to do when those sick co-workers stay home sick or stay home with their sick kid.
Sickness happens. If you don't want to get sick, then stay home, but don't gripe about the people who have to get on about their daily business in spite of the sniffles they might be nursing.
Yes, I will gripe about the folks who care more about their paycheck than a co-worker who may be immune system compromised. Your "sniffles" can cause a life threatening illness for a co-worker.
Grow up and act like you know you should!
There's a very high probably that she caught it from one of them, and given the propensity for young kids not to practice good hygiene, they were all exposed already.
Like I said, illness happens, you cannot avoid it. If you don't want to get sick, stay home, or go live in a bubble. The rest of us are going to live our lives.
Jane...so, how exactly do you think immune compromised people would survive without a job? Because that's the only way they can live in a bubble as you propose. It's not a matter of "don't want" to get sick, it's "can't" get sick.
Unless, of course, you're willing to pay your fair share so that they can receive disability and Medicaid. Either be considerate and realize that others are just trying to live their lives too or pay up. Not everyone can play by your rules...
Think about it: is your inconvenience really worth someone's life?
Can we stop being silly here?
If your immune system is so compromised, then it is your responsibility to take measures to protect yourself, not mine. This isn't so different from schools who try to ban peanut products because 1 or 2 kids have some serious peanut allergy. I'm not trying to be inconsiderate or callous or uncaring, just realistic. It is not realistic or practical for me to take an unpaid day off from work for a cold. That is not beneficial for me or my family, especially if I risk losing my job, so now who's being inconsiderate? (BTW, I didn't write the "rules", I just live by them, and I don't blame other people for simply living their lives.)
Most communicable illnesses are contagious long before we start to show symptoms, so me staying home when I am experiencing symptoms doesn't really protect anyone from the initial contagion. Also, many viruses can be picked up from surfaces, so there's really no way to know who is "responsible" for spreading germs. I advise that people simply wash their hands and surfaces more often. Turns out your mother was right.
Silly? That's funny, because it isn't realistic or practical for me to take a day off work either to avoid getting sick because someone else couldn't stay home when they have the flu. That's just living my life.
You avoided my main point, so, I ask again...would you rather have people like me out there trying to support themselves and carry my own health coverage or would you simply like me to retire to my bubble and live off of everyone else? Because you can't have both.
My wife is also facing a day of work when it is obvious she is very sick. It is unfair on other workers but in today's jobs climate it may be the difference of job or no job.
Work in the health care field. They pontificate about employees staying home when they are sick so they don't expose their patients to illness, but yet when the employee DOES stay home sick, they get written up.
Nice.
I have worked on and off for 17 years in restaurants, and we don't get sick time. If we can't get our shift covered, we are expected to show up, and we are fired if we don't.
Makes no sense to me that a restaurant would want ill people working with / around food, but it's common in the entire food service industry as far as I've seen (I've waited tables in many different cities, and it's always the same). I can't tell you how many times I've seen servers come in with a fever and sweats, or periodically running to the bathroom to get sick because they have a virus or the flu. Then they're there grabbing your bread, running your food, getting your drinks.
It's appalling and I've never understood why restaurant managers don't just run short-handed and say, "Sorry folks, we're short-staffed tonight because two servers have the flu and one has bronchitis. I figure you'd rather wait a little while than be exposed to that!" But what do I know?
I recently quit a job (much needed job) after being out sick for almost a week. The only thing the company cared about was that I get a doctor's note. When I first mentioned that I was sick at work and should go home, the team leader asked me if I had a fever. I told her that I usually don't carry a thermometer in my pocket, but that I was feeling rotten and coughing a lot. I mentioned that I was worried about my ability to drive home and for my co-workers as I coughed my lungs out. She said, "Oh, there's that." She then told me that if I felt like I should go, then I should, but that I must get a doctor's note if I was out two days. I went home.
My superiors never asked about my health, my safety, or what I actually had. They called every day although I had already called them, each time telling me to get a note after two days home. I had completely lost my voice, yet they insisted on talking to me for long times every day. After the first full day home, my supervisor told me to get the doctor's note, which I did. I was not allowed to return to work until the following week. My supervisor insisted that I fax him the note. I had to get out and find a fax machine, while sick with a respiratory infection and fever, just because he could not wait two working days for the note. I was so disgusted with the management that I quit the following Monday.
I am still unemployed. I do not even count that as a job since I was only there a short time. When the big boss called me to ask about my reasons for quitting, I was very frank with her. I told her that I had never worked with such blatantly uncaring people in my life. I did not expect them to be my best friends, but I did expect them to actually give a damn whether I was ok. I felt like I was degrading myself by working at a place that was managed by people who treated me that way. She was surprised that I still had no voice, as well. I guess she expected me to have been faking it. I picked up on that and told her that she should not expect the worse from people just because someone had done that in the past. I told her that no one seemed to care that I was probably spreading germs all over that place by being there sick. It is a maze of cubicles placed very closely together. I doubted that they wanted the entire place sick. She seemed surprised that I felt that way. I probably burned a bridge or two, but it was worth it to me and my family. I still get steamed whenever I think about that place.
You sound like a disgruntled worker before any of the subsequent problems occurred with your employer having the gull to check on you each day to see when you were planning on coming back. When you make a comment such as "I told her that I usually don't carry a thermometer in my pocket, but that I was feeling rotten and coughing a lot." you are portraying an extremely poor attitude. I suspect that things weren't going all that well before you got sick. Your comment about your ability to drive home because you were coughing is ridiculous. I'm sure that your previous employer isn't sad to see you quit. Good luck with your poor attitude.
You should have gone to a doctor then. The company policy is normal business.
But instead, you quit, and it's the company's fault you're out of a job.
The new America. Even with a severely depressed job market, some people can't figure the easy stuff out. Good luck on making a decision when you have a BIG problem.
Idaho, pay no attention to these posters criticizing you. They sound just like the idiots who didn't care if you were sick or not. Most likely they're corporate lead-heads anyway, who think the most important thing in the world is checking their Blackberry and making it to the next worthless 3-hour meeting.
@HoldYourHeadUp...Did you READ Idaho's post? He had a Doctor's note.
@Mike...How would Idaho have known if he had a fever? You generally can't tell for sure unless you take your temperature. And as Idaho said, most people don't keep a thermometer in their pocket. Poor attitude??? Why are the bosses here held blameless? Coughing is a pretty clear indication that one is sick, and a little consideration/sympathy would have been the right thing to do.
@Chris...Since Idaho was out for SEVERAL days and had no voice and was coughing his guts out, sounds like there shouldn't have been a question about whether Idaho's illness was real or faked. Putting that aside, Idaho DID get a Doctors excuse. But instead of being left alone to rest and recuperate, his employer continued to harrass him on a daily basis at home, and didn't have the descency or common courtesy to wait until Idaho returned to work to get the Dr's note.
Sorry folks...but I don't blame Idaho for quitting. I wouldn't want to work for a bunch of uncaring dolts like that either.
How can you ignore the comments made in response to Idaho's bleeding heart story. She quit because her employer was asking for something trivial and basic that all companies need from sick employees. Quitting, in my opinion, is in direct relation to her obvious disdane and attitude towards her employer. The comment about the thermometer still is a problem. The manager obviously didn't think he/she had one on her, but was merely asking what it was the last time he/she took it. The response by Idaho to this simple question is uncalled for and unprofessional, at best. His/her attitude was there before this incident. How dare a company ask questions of their employees! It's not like there's a business to run!
I went to work sick lots of times - one time I puked in the drain under my machine, blacked out & cracked my skull on a conveyor line. Happened @ work, treated as a work injury. Crushed my hand on a faulty feeder-tamper, now my right hand is numb - BUT I kept working, right up to the point where my torn shoulder ligaments gave way on the job. The corporation I worked for was self-insured. THEY paid for the policy of requiring us come to work sick. My cousin had a bad cough, went to work @ the restaurant anyway - turned out he had tuberculosis. Girlfriend miscarried @ work, she had no sick leave so she kept working, made a helluva mess at her workstation. 18th-century work ethic in Amerika - all you CONservatives feel better now?
Idaho Fruitcake states "When I first mentioned that I was sick at work and should go home, the team leader asked me if I had a fever. I told her that I usually don't carry a thermometer in my pocket, but that I was feeling rotten and coughing a lot." First of all, asking if you have a fever is a legitimate question -- it's the standard for sending kids home from school and daycare, as well as most businesses -- including those in healthcare. I understand that you didn't have a thermometer in your pocket, but you didn't mention if later you found that you had a fever or not -- was that an accidental omission or did you purposely not mention whether you actually had a fever?
"I mentioned that I was worried about my ability to drive home and for my co-workers as I coughed my lungs out." Wow, that's a new one on me, and I've had pneumonia twice -- and even if that were the case, a cough of that magnitude doesn't come on within a couple of hours such that you could drive to work, but couldn't drive home. P.S. If you were truly coughing to the extent that you couldn't catch your breath and couldn't drive, then you should have had someone take you directly to the ER, you were at risk of having a very low oxygen saturation rate and could have died.
You remind me of my Italian grandma who always had the worst case of everything her entire life -- she lived independently into her late 80's. If she had it her way, her headstone would have read "See, I told you I was sick"
workingmom-
I buy the coughing bit. I had pertussis back when I was in school and the school didn't believe me. Took the doctors weeks to diagnose me. I would cough so much my fingernails would turn blue from lack of oxygen and I'd pass out. I ended up taking out 80 percent of my school and we made the local news. While it is usually not fatal in older adolescents, just extremely distressing, the same does not hold true for my classmates infant brothers and sisters.
Idaho Fruitcake - your previous employer had no business asking about your illness because the HIPPA (sp?) law limits the information they can ask for and get.
I once had a boss who called me at home every time I called in sick. Apparently, he thought that anyone who called in sick must actually be out on a job interview, so he was just checking to see if I was lying - not to see if I was OK. For that reason he is my PREVIOUS employer.
It is all well and good to say that people should stay home if they are ill. But many, many people in the US do NOT get paid when they miss work. And don't for get that many have no health insurance; or even if they do, the deductible or co-pay is so high, that they can't afford to go to the doc.
I used to work as an aide at a school. No sick pay, no medical benefits. I got sick, went to work, got the kids sick, I stayed sicker than I needed to to save money....it is an appalling situation in this supposedly developed country.
Yep, and there are those in Congress who'd love to keep it that way too.
In the absence of a company sick leave policy I either go to work or take personal time off. I go to work regardless of the consequences...
I worked as a supervisor in call centers for over 10 years. Call centers are bad for spreading the flu and things because people are very close to each other all day long. Unfortunately, they also have very strict attendance policies and you can easily be fired for being absent 3-4 times a year. This includes when your kids are sick and you stay home or when you are sick. A Doctor's note helps but doesn't mean your job is safe. Most of us choose to work as we need the job!
A lot of big companies have gone to a "paid time off" program that gives people so many days for vacation/personal/sick/whatever time. This time is accrued throughout the year starting on their service date, so at the beginning of the year, people haven't "earned" much time to be "sick". Anything over 5 consecutive days, people get put on short-term disability, which pays their salary at a rate (and for a period) depending on their years of service. Also, if I take off more than 4 days during the year for illness, I'm eating into my vacation. So, if I can, I come into work.
Big Business does not care about people, only profits.
The well being of their workers doesn't enter into the equation.
I'd cancel my order if I discovered my server was sick. I believe restaurant managers would change their policies if customers refused to accept side orders of influenza. As for jobs where you have sick leave or the ability to work from home, it's just inconsiderate and selfish to come in. I often ask people why they're at work and make it clear I don't want to share their germs. Some do it for the martyr image while others don't like the isolation of staying home. There are also those who feel it strengthens your immune system to be exposed to more germs. However, parents repeatedly get sick from their kids and most 70 year olds still catch bugs, so I think it just means you get sick more often. Sad that adults had to be reminded to cover their coughs and wash their hands when flu shots were low. This should be common knowledge for adults and taught to kids but since it's not, you have to protect yourself with frequent hand washing and avoiding obviously sick, self-centered people.
It would be nice if ADULTS understood the whole hand washing thing but unfortunately gross as it is more than half don't understand it is important to wash hands after going to the bathroom much less when they are ill.
I honestly think the spread of illness in the workplace has more to do with people not washing their hands than it does people coming to work sick. You are contagious before you have symptoms in many cases, you can cary an illness you have no symptoms for. You are far more likely to get an infection from touching then injesting something than from someone's sneezing or coughing on you. I mean, how often do your coworkers cough or sneeze in your face? I worked for a larger company for years, with some very well paid, well educated individuals, and I rarely went to the restroom with out seeing/hearing someone leave without washing their hands. I became neurotic about it because I knew that a disgustingly large percentage of people were walking around with filth, even feces, on their hands.
I read these comments and am SO thankful for my job. I work in a very small office. There are only four of us, but when one of us or one of our kids is sick, we are encouraged to stay home and attend to what's important. The other three employees are salary, but I'm hourly and part-time. I don't get paid when I'm off, but I don't mind. It's just such a relief to know that I can take the time I need without feeling guilty about it.
At one of my previous jobs, during a blizzard, my husband and I were frantically trying to keep up with shoveling the snow (his employers frown upon missing work for any reason) and my daughter was throwing up repeatedly. My boss insisted that I find a way to make it in to work. I looked at my daughter, tears in her eyes, holding her "bucket" ready to get sick again. I told them under no circumstances were they going to guilt me into leaving my sick daughter and risking life and limb to drive across town in a blizzard. They didn't fire me, but I quit a short time later.
LMAO Chris, really? "Most companies"? No, very few companies have that sort of policy. Where I work, we have an "Emergency Plan" yes, but office staff are REQUIRED to come in to work. Even those staff who work in the field are expected to work where they can.
Try working in the healthcare field - that's an education all in its own. Not just hospitals, but nursing homes, home care agencies, and the like. If you're sick? COME TO WORK ANYWAY. Try and take sick time and you get written up.
There's nothing more satisfying than infecting the entire office with your own particular strain of some virus!
when you are sick, stay home---adults and children alike---or one day you will find that only you are at work while everyone else is home w/ the flu you gave them
If I were very sick and my boss sprang some kind of guilt trip on me, I would come in and make sure to cough in her office, and if need be, puke on her shoes. Whatever I needed to do to get my point across. Good grief. Use some common sense, employers.
Oh please, the kids give it to the teachers, not the other way around!
I have no sick leave, or vacation time. I'm either working and get paid, or home and no pay.
I think it's an increasing problem as companies get rid of sick leave and lump it in with paid time off. Most people look at PTO like vacation time, so they do not want to "waste" it for illness unless there is really no way they can work.
Its definitely a catch 22. I switched to a PTO policy a couple of years ago for simplicity sake. Our policy was 2 weeks vacation, 1 week sick time per year but since those who burned through their sick time were allowed to tap into vacation time if they went over 5 days, it hardly seemed worth differentiating any more. The people who commonly stay pretty healthy were getting screwed out of time by the old policy because they aren't the sorts to call in sick unless they are actually sick and the people who call in sick because they just don't feel like coming to work on any given day are going to do so whether the policy is PTO or separate sick and vacation days so this makes record keeping easier for me. As a general rule, though, I won't let an employee schedule all of their allotted time for vacation, they have to leave a few days open for sick days that can be used later in the year for whatever they want if they haven't needed sick time. Seems to work pretty well for my office.
I'm an RN in the ER, and believe it or not, we get sick also. I would love to stay home, but my hospital has an HR policy that says more than 5 sick days or late punch-ins in one calendar year, and you can be fired. We have paid time-off that we COULD use to be home sick, but the hospital will threaten to fire you for using it!
Where is that hospital? I don't want you to lose your job and name it but please give us a heads up. We may need to avoid it one day or perhaps find a way to legally own it due to administrative negligence.
In any case at least warn possible patients by sending (anon) a copy of this policy with the sick restrictions highlighted to every doctor who uses the place.
If enough stop the policy will change.
Lexi, most hospitals are like this. Yeah, they have posters hanging up on the walls telling employees to "stay home when you're sick" yet when the employee DOES call out sick - they give them a hard time about it. Employees get written up for using sick time!
It's like that all over the healthcare field! Doctors are especially guilty of that!
Now I know why I have been sick since having a diagnostic laparoscopy last
Wednesday. Nothing worse than having sutures in your stomach and sneezing uncontrollably, thanks.
Granted, here I am at the office because i'm paranoid to take more time off than I already have for my procedure because i'm now sick AND still recovering. If it was a stronger job market I would but I'd rather work through the cold and discomfort than risk the alternative, trying to afford COBRA payments on unemployment benefits.
I work part time, in a job that involves constant contact with the public, including money handling, and have no health insurance. It irritates the heck of out me when a coworker shows up with a contagious illness, because if I get sick with a run-of-the-mill cold or flu, I can't afford to go to the doctor. On the other hand, if an employer doesn't offer health insurance and yet wants a doctor's note when you call in sick, what are anyone's options?
Since you aren't a liar present your employer with a note and two bills. Yours for keeping the workplace safe and disease free and the dr's so they can pay it. They will appreciate neither but you will have made your point.
AND revamp your resume.
I worked in retail for over three years and never once called in sick, even when in retrospect, I should have. I came down with a bad cold right before a very important out of state job interview. I almost lost my voice and was taking a couple medications just to fight the cold. I had gone to the doctor to get some antibiotics and a note so I could have fluids at the register which was not normally allowed. I really needed to have something warm like coffee or tea at all times but they at least allowed me a bottle of water. They also were understanding when I told them that I needed to limit how much I spoke. I managed to get my voice back and the fever down in time before my flight. I was still on the drugs at the interview but I managed to seem well for the panel.
My ex got the H1N1 flu and was out for over a week. The only time he left the house was to go to the doctor and get a note that a family member dropped off at work. The day he came back feeling about 50 percent he got written up for excessive absenteeism. If he had come to work, he would have infected most of the employees, who were in the high risk group for H1N1. He said he should have came in and infected our manager just out of spite.
My boss is a firm supporter of taking sick time when you are sick. Why? Because he has kids. He does not want to take any germs home to his fam. He does not hesitate to send you home if you are infectious and even before you leave, he is spraying and wiping door knobs with lysol.
Regardless of who "gives" the illness to who, stay home when you are sick! If my kids are sick they stay home, which is in line with the school policy of keeping your sick children at home where they belong. Most schools have a checklist of symptoms that parents can consult to decide whether their kids should stay home. The same should apply for sick adults. When my kids are sick, I miss a day of work to stay at home with them. So, therefore, I should miss work because someone else found it important to play the martyr and go to work while sick? I am not talking about your average, everyday common cold here people! Last year my three children caught the swine flu from school. They (and I) stayed home until they were no longer contagious. If more people stayed home when they were sick, less people would get sick! As for the argument that my kids will have a stronger immune system from getting sick, that may well be, but they will manage to get sick enough this year without needing adults who think they need to be at work and spread their germs around.
In a nurse in a hospital ER, and yes, believe it or not, we get sick also. I would love nothing more than to stay home when ill, however my hospital has an HR policy that states more than 5 unexcused (i.e., calling in sick with less than 48 hours notice) or late punch-ins in a calendar year, and you can be fired. Not many people are able to plan illnesses two days in advance, so we come in to save our jobs. The hospital does give us PTO, just threatens to fire you if you use it!
I was p.o'd when my immediate superior did this recently. Fortunately for her, she was sick while we were all out for snow days (I live in the south). Salaried employees got paid for that; I'm hourly, so I did not. Then, instead of staying home and getting well, she insisted on coming in the last two days of the week (short days) when NOTHING was going on in the office, she can work from home, and she looked and sounded TERRIBLE! said she had the flu. I somewhat rudely said "go home! I can't afford to get sick!" which is true.
Our head boss is in his 80's, and he certainly doesn't need to be around it either! He told her to go home too! She has been here for years and has tons of sick leave built up as well (which, as an hourly worker, I don't get). She came in the next day too, instead of giving herself that day and the long MLK weekend to get well. She is still in there coughing more than a week later. Never went to the doctor or got antibiotics. so self-centered. I went around sanitizing behind her everywhere she went (shared kitchen, phones, etc.) arrrgh...
I used to be that way, too, until one time I kept coming into work sick until I developed pneumonia. And for what, to constantly get kicked in the behind by my employer to produce more?