To Work or Not to Work

How do you decide whether you are fit enough to go to work or not?

I find this can be a difficult decision.

You can wake up feeling OK, go to work and wish you hadn' t cos you feel really bad all day, lose your cool and have to stop yourself resigning. You of course struggle through the day as you are there & have to see it through.

Next day (now on antibiotics having rung GP for a script previous day) wake up feeling exhausted, not feeling at all good so am not going in to work today; only to spend most of the day feeling guilty cos you don't feel as ill as yesterday afternoon.

I just don't get it

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sorry cathy can't really help you their as I am worlds worst for being in work when should be off sick. even line manager has said I should be at home. I was discharged from costa on wed 2 /52 ago and was back in work on the Monday.

all I can suggest is you get to know your own body if you can function well enough to do your job i would say go in. if you are in the slightest doubt about how well you would cope in work stay off.

katharine x

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Cathy, I have to say please don't feel guilty for not going into work. I also have a habit of pushing myself to work regardless of how I feel and am trying to get out of this habit as I have seen the damage it has done to me when I have been in hospital one day and back in work the next, usually just to land myself straight back in costa. I'm in a new job now and have already been told by my boss that if anything, I come back to work too soon still!

The chances are that if you've got an infection, your body needs to rest. It'll probably do you a lot more good to be at home and resting, building up the strength to then manage when you do go back to work than if you'd exhausted yourself by working today. It's likely that if you weren't resting then you would feel as bad as yesterday afternoon anyway !

As for how to make the decision in the morning - it's a tough one and I certainly don't always get it right as so often I can feel ok in the morning and terrible by the time I've made it into the office (almost 2 hours later as I commute into London). I don't think we'll ever know for sure when to stay home and when to go into work but we just need to learn to be kind to oursleves - don't beat yourself up on not going in because you don't feel so bad comparatively but instead think about the fact that it's probably doing you a lot of good !

Ramble over now, I hope that makes some senses to you !!! Take care of yourself and I hope you're over the infection and feeling much better soon.

love Fi x

[yaf_user681_26410]

I too tend to go into work when I should be off sick. Partly because work are keeping a record of how often I'm off with my asthma. I have had to compromise though and agree that when I have been bad enough to go to cas or be sent home from work then I will take at least 2 days off sick afterwards to recover. It isn't always easy to decide when you are getting up in the morning because if you are like me you are pretty useless until about 9am anyway. In my job there is always the problem of not being able to find cover at short notice and so you feel guilty if you phone in at 7am to say you wont be there for shift at 7.30. I think it will always be a conundrum - are you better at work or at home doing very little. That was probably why you felt so much better when you did go off sick Cathy.

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Cathy,

completely know where you're coming from and also the guilt if you're off - I do it too, am hardly ever off sick, but as a result am also constantly ill and as a result - constantly ineffective which I think is even worse than being off - at least when you're off you give yourself chance to recover properly rather than pushing your luck and end up taking 3 times as long to recuperate and feeling rough for ages after!

Good luck, and hope you feel better soon

Cal x

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Hi Cathy

I think I have finally learnt (well, maybe) that I am better off staying home when I am not so good, than trying to keep going and ending up in hospital. In Feb I was posting on the doctors forum saying how I was struggling and being told for goodness sake go into hosp but I was still tryig ot be at work! It is hard not to feel guilty when you are off and think you could maybe manage, but you will be off less in total if you take time early rather than letting it get too bad. Easy to say, not do, says the one who was coughing through all her teaching this morning, and got constant are you all right comments!

s

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Thanks for your messages. I have been back at work since Monday and seem to be coping OK thouigh I am exhausted when I get home and cant wait to get to bed.

[yaf_user681_26410]

Know that feeling well Cathy

Ange xx

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well i feel the same

i understand totally how you feel as i feel the same

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totally understand how you feel Cathy,

Had to take today off due to my sunday jaunt to A&E but am feeling guilty already so will prob drag myself in tomorrow to at least show my face, even though I probably shouldn't! GOod luck and hope you feeling better soon Cal x