A Guide To Stop Working When You’re Sick

A checklist for myself and hopefully someone else.

Full disclaimer: I’m sitting here at my desk, completely congested because I refused to take time off and worked overtime. I’d also like to call out that at the time of writing, I’m employed with paid sick leave and able-bodied.

The day was Monday. Dreaded as per usual, I got out of bed and immediately recognized that my body felt very different than the night before. I woke up with a sore throat, cough, runny nose, muscle aches — the works. I knew exactly what happened, I hadn’t let myself get enough rest the week before, my weekend was super busy, and ultimately, I left my window open Sunday night, which meant I slept in a room that dropped to about 4 degrees celsius. My body was telling me it had enough.

One thing I find really interesting about getting sick is that rather than listening to our bodies, many of us deny that it’s happening. We’ve all heard it, “you’ll be fine, it’s just a cold, pop some Advil Cold and Sinus.” Unless it’s something serious, there’s a mentality that we need to “push through”.

For workaholics like myself, that means continuing to work. Especially when you have the luxury of working remotely, it’s easy to convince yourself that working while you’re sick is the right thing to do. After all, if you’re at home, you can technically work from your bed, you’re not at risk of infecting your colleagues, and doesn’t it make you look even more committed that you’re continuing to do your job when you’re unwell?

Here’s the problem with working when you’re sick — your body dictates what you can and cannot do. When you push through and don’t give yourself time to heal, you’re often prolonging your condition and putting your health at a greater risk. Not to mention that you’re also not operating at 100%. Maybe you’re hitting 60%… maybe.

When we’re not optimizing our health, mistakes are made. We can’t think as clearly as we do when our bodies are at their best. It’s why having a healthy diet and making sure we drink enough water every day are equally important. To excel, we need to set ourselves up for success. That starts at a primal level.

So why do we have this mentality? I’m sure most of us reading this are well aware that we need to take time off when we’re under the weather. So why don’t we?

The idea of sacrifice first comes to mind when considering why this mentality takes place. We’re shown from a young age that hard work and grit are keys to success. We watch movies of heroes who push through unimaginable physical conditions and still manage to have a fairytale ending. So when we’re sick, could it be that we subconsciously want to play the hero and keep working to feel like we’re contributing to a greater good?

Mercilessly pushing through does make for a better story than saying, “fuck it, I’m going back to bed”, but it’s not based in reality.

At the end of the day, our lives aren’t movies. They’re a series of stories we tell ourselves, one chaotic line of ups and downs. The key is finding balance and consistency. So in that vein, the right decision is always to say, “fuck it, I’m going back to bed.”

So, if you’re feeling under the weather, I’ve created a short list of questions to help all of us take the time we need:

• Will I feel better tomorrow if I take time off today?
• What can I do to make myself feel better immediately?
• What led me here? (Consider the factors you could have influenced to support your immune system. If you don’t have any that’s fine, but oftentimes, there are behavioural changes we can make to increase our health.)
• What impact will it have on my team if I continue to work while I’m sick?
• [If you lead a team], what does continuing to work while sick show the other members of your team? (*Hint: It’s not resilience).
• How good will my output be if I work while I’m sick?
• Will continuing to work prolong my illness?

Thesis: Take time off when you’re sick. It’s not cool to work through illness, it’s stupid. It makes you less productive, signals to your colleagues that it’s okay to work while sick, and ultimately, has a negative effect on your health. And if you don’t have your health — you don’t have anything.