Workplaces with colds/flu/covid

It's over. Move on. Most of the population contracted it and 99.9% recovered.

We were sold a pup, strangely by the same "experts" who have a history of making wrong calls.

Not really practical for a lot of us. Bills to pay etc.

Surely it's in the companys interest for the sick person to stay at home - why would they want a sick person infecting everyone else (covid or not)?

Can you link to that please.

Others have bills to pay as well... So one person coming in sick makes it usually miserable at work for the rest of workers as well. Since we (at my job) work most of the time outside in any kind of weather, it's a pain when because of one person the rest of us gets sick too.

None of this changes the fact that Billy might have a bill to pay. A day's pay can be the difference between keeping your head above water and not. Lofty ideals, civic mindedness and caring for others may be the best way for society to function but it does not pay a bill in the real world.

As far as I know the HSE is guidelines now as opposed to "you must follow this". I think it's really impractical to say that anyone with a cold should stay home - that's a bit crazy. Also you don't know what else might be going on. I suffer from sinusitis so constantly have a blocked or runny nose. If I was to stay off every time it flared, I'd never be in work. I do take steps for it & also when it flares, I do antigen tests to make sure it isn't Covid. Work are happy enough with that.

While the HSE does say to isolate with symptoms it does also give wearing a mask as an option too so you could go that route. Realistically coming into winter, common bugs like colds will be around more & we can't have everyone isolating even if they have negative antigen tests. Even schools you can go in if you only have nasal symptoms but no other.

The easiest thing to do with anyone who is symptomatic of any viral illness; colds, flus, gastroenteritis, Covid, anything at all, is send them home.

At our firm, we have a simple protocol.

Don't come in feeling ill. If you begin to feel ill during the day, leave. You will then get 3 days paid to stay at home and treat yourself with rest, nutrition and medication as necessary. You will not work from home during this time, but focus on recovering.

That may seem like an expensive luxury to a lot of small workplaces, but, we have 27 staff in total. It's far better to have maybe 2 or 3 off sick at once and off the grid for a few days, than 8 or 10 ill and it making everyone sick over the course of a few weeks, when it really would make an impact on the work. Its far more cost effective to pay people to stay away until they are not contagious anymore.

In any case, if the winter weather does begin to lead to hybrid Covid and Influenza outbreaks, the Government will hot hesitate to trigger circuit breakers and mandate working from home and cancel all non-essential congregation, as they should.

Been a few out breaks of bad colds in our local schools which kept some of school and out of matches. No one's checking for COVID anymore.

Our work has overall policy but local managers set the tone tbh. Some want people in regards how bad they are. We have some wfh still (probably going to lose it soon) so some managers want you in, others happy for you to work at home.

It's autumn, people are going to have varying level of colds. If your workplace is happy that someone had done the appropriate tests & they were negative for covid and are allowing people in with some symptoms (I'm presuming cough, sneeze type ones as opposed to temperature), then I think that's probably ok. Look yes the advice is still to isolate but businesses need to run & if they've put in protocols around tests locally & what they're willing to accept, then I'm not sure you have much of an argument with them. Again the advice on the HSE website is guidance not strict rules.

I know my creche will even accept children in with a cough/sneeze if they've had a couple of negative tests. Society has to be able to return to a level of normality & we can't hide from every sneeze or cough. And before anything is said no I don't believe it was all overblown at the time & yes I do have all my vaccines (waiting on the 2nd booster).

Remember when people used to get winter colds ?

the 'change in the weather' ... 'back to school' coughs/sneezes ?

No, now the paranoid think/want everything to be covid....

MOVE ON !!!

It's done. If you are working in hospitality you are in close contact with customers who have colds, bugs, coughs, COVID etc. all day long.

Similar in retail although not quite as close contact.

This idea of people staying home from an office because of a runny nose or cough is nonsense.

Will this happen "again" ???

Its a cold ........

Medicines are improving ? but theres no cure for the 'common' (although not common anymore ? 🤔 ) cold or Flu ....

You might answer my statement.

People in hospitality are exposed to people who have covid and other coughs, splutters and sneezes, in an environment far more packed than any office, on a daily basis.

Are you saying we should keep all these places closed?

Its pointless moaning about people in offices staying at home when sick unless you want all high risk places closed again.

The reality of this nonsense is to shut aviation and hospitality forever.

People are flying on planes with coughs, splutters and covid.

Same as any other sickness I would imagine? If you are too sick to work, you follow whatever procedure your work has. It is no longer a 'must' on the HSE website, it is downgraded, where they are using words like 'should' etc. Same as things were before Covid. It certainly hasn't gone away, but the major effects of it on society are slowly going away (with respect to those who we have lost of course).

I've no idea where you got that from. Seems kind of a weird thing to think?

Anyone tell you along the way that the people "dropping dead on the street" never happened. It was all staged to frighten the bejaysus out of people.

Same way as the "toilet paper shortage" was a social experiment to see how fast chaos would spread around the world. It began in Australia and within 36 hours there were fights in UK supermarkets.!!

Currently in my workplace you can only take sick leave under the following circumstances:

1. You are physically incapable of working and have a medical certificate to prove it
2. You have a medical appointment.

We aren't allowed to work from home due to GDPR concerns as we handle personal data. If you have a positive Covid-19 test you must come in and wear a mask (this is not policed).

At a recent staff meeting, the managing director stated that "Covid is a cold now" and "forget about the new normal, this is the 'real normal'". A few people complained about the policy, but the MD told them that if they aren't happy they should quit - "I pay you 20% above the market rate to work, not complain. If you don't like how I run my business, there are a lot of other jobs out there right now". Nobody has actually resigned (yet).

I think you really pushing it there..