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&lt;p&gt;There is a belief among some people that if they come into work every day, they might earn some perfect attendance record for their “work first” mentality.&#160; These people show up to work sick – sneezing without covering their mouth and complaining about strep throat before filling their thin-nozzle water bottle under the water cooler to share their germs with their co-workers.&#160; Sharing is not always caring.&#160; In addition, they complain about how sick they are, hoping someone will recognize how much a martyr they are and give them a raise or promotion.&#160; That’s not how things work.&#160; If you’re sick, there is only one thing you should do – stay home.&#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I was once one of those people.&#160; I remember proudly telling an HR rep at my old job, “I work hard no matter what.&#160; I never take off.&#160; I can be coughing up a lung and you better believe I will be at my desk.”&#160; She looked at me, as if to say, ‘don’t think of bringing those germs around me.’&#160; It was the opposite reaction from what I thought I would receive.&#160; She then went on to scold me for what I thought was my amazing work ethic and explained why I should stay home when I’m sick.&#160; Here are some reasons she gave:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Think of others.&lt;/strong&gt;&#160; You are contagious in the early stages of a cold.&#160; You might think you are able to operate sick, but you’re co-workers might not be Supermen like you.&#160; By passing around your germs, you risk hurting the efficiency of everyone in the office and therefore could be hurting your company’s productivity, as a whole, no matter how well you think you are performing between tissue-blowing sessions.&#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Think of yourself.&lt;/strong&gt;&#160; You think you can operate while sick, but you can’t.&#160; The aches, the pains, the number of times you have to look up and twitch your nose around to fight a sneeze or worse (yes, it just got gross) are certainly affecting your performance.&#160; The more days you push yourself to get to work, the longer it is going to take you to get better.&#160; You will actually be doing yourself a service by staying home just one day.&#160; Stay in bed.&#160; Drink lots of fluids.&#160; Relax and watch a little television.&#160; By the time you wake up the next morning, you’ll feel more energized and ready for the work ahead than you would if you chose to “tough it out.”&#160; And if you wake up still sick, then you should just go to a doctor, because work is definitely out of the question.&#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;You’re not that special.&lt;/strong&gt;&#160; The company will not fall apart if you call in sick one day because of a cold.&#160; They will get by fine without you.&#160; No, they will.&#160; I promise.&#160; Don’t be that person who is so arrogant, they think, “I have to come in…who can do my job if I don’t.”&#160; Bob, the guy in the cubicle next to you, was highly offended by that belief.&#160; And now he’s got a cold, because of you, too.&#160; You better hope he doesn’t get you in the company’s next Secret Santa.&#160; A box of tissues, sanitizer and a bottle of anti-bacterial Windex are not fun gifts at all.&#160; That was not a fun Christmas for me at all.&#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;You can work from home.&lt;/strong&gt;&#160; If you have to work, just do it from the comfort of your bedroom…in your pajamas.&#160; Not only are you getting rest; you’re not getting everyone sick; you’re satisfying your need to get the job done; and you might be helping your company by still being there despite not being physically present.&#160; We live in an age where we can literally work from home every day if we wanted to.&#160; There are some people who can get so much more done from home without the distractions of noisy co-workers present.&#160; So, at least when we’re sick, we should be able to take advantage of this opportunity.&#160; And you get to work in your pajamas.&#160; Who doesn’t like that?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;They give you time off…take it!&lt;/strong&gt;&#160; When you join the company, they explain the whole package to you – soup to nuts – and that package includes vacation days (which you should be taking), personal days and sick days.&#160; They are basically telling you that if you are sick, don’t come in…at least three to five times a year, depending on the company.&#160; It’s your responsibility to only be sick for that many days and if you are, just stay home – Billy, don’t be a hero!&#160; That’s a song title, but you get my point.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;--Jon Minners, Vault.com &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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