Sick, Dude

Okay, reader, I'll warn you right now – this blog post is going to sound a bit rant-y. I'm not going to hit the caps lock button or use too many exclamation points or swear words, but the tone is going to be critical. With that in mind, here we go.

I've been sick for about four days now. I get sick maybe 3-5 times a year - less now than I used to when I was eating crap and gaining weight, but still. It started out on Monday morning with a sore throat, stuffy nose, drainage, sneezing, and coughing. As the week progressed, the congestion has moved lower and is now settling in my chest, and I have also lost my voice. Allergy medication hasn't helped, so I can only assume it's either a cold, sinus infection, or a light case of walking pneumonia (I've had all three at some point in the past, and they feel relatively similar).

While sick this time, I've worked at two different jobs, once substitute teaching at a local elementary school, and once at a restaurant. Here's where it gets a little rant-y. At both places, I informed the person above me that I was not feeling well but that I could still work if needed. And both places had me work the entire shift. Now, I am not the most hygienic person in the world (I do fine), but something seems wrong about that picture. If I were a parent and my child's substitute teacher were sick with an infectious illness, I would want a different sub called in. If I were ordering food from a restaurant, I wouldn't want someone who felt like death warmed over preparing my food for me. And yet, there I was.

I've been in school environments enough to know that many teachers get ill just as often as students, if not more so. In fact, when I student taught as an undergrad, I got sick twice in a six-week period. Both times, I took a day or two off from student teaching so I could rest and come back ready to give my best work. Plus, I didn't want to transmit whatever it was I had to any of the students. Unfortunately, both times, I was told off by one of my supervising professors for “not giving it my all” or “slacking off” instead of pushing through the pain and the ick.

I've also worked countless hours in food service since I was sixteen, and there have been many shifts where I couldn't find someone to come in for me, so I just worked while sick.

Personally, I feel there ought to be more concern in both places not just over the health of the worker, but also the likelihood of transmission to either a student or a customer. It's not safe, it's not hygienic, and it's really just plain gross. Can you imagine receiving a sundae prepared by someone who's been coughing up phlegm all night? Or having your child come home and regale you with stories about how the sub couldn't stop sneezing for half the day? Especially when both scenarios could have been prevented by a little extra work from the person in charge. The secretary at the school could have called around and found someone to replace me for at least half the day. The manager at the restaurant could have sent me home and done with one less person on staff for the night (we weren't all that busy).

Now, I've never been on the other side of the issue – I've never managed a restaurant, I've never been a school secretary. Maybe I'd think differently if I were the one who had to take 20 minutes to call around and find a replacement sub. Maybe I'd see things in a new light if it fell to me to manage a smaller staff and hope we didn't get a bus. Still, I'd like to think that I'd handle things differently and put the health of both the workers and the students/customers before the inconvenience of doing without.