Hey Shay,

I understand why you would feel like it would be pointless to call in sick. You’re at home, after all! However, it’s probably not the best idea to be up on Zoom all day, streaming under-the-desk sneezes or trying to do important tasks when you’re exhausted and on cold medicine.

What you need to do is take a sick day, even if it’s from home. Write up a short email to your boss and explain that you’re down with a cold and want to give yourself some proper rest time to recover. Include links to group emails or documents you’re working on so they can understand what you’re doing. Don’t forget to set up your automatic reply on email.

Here’s my opinion, work from home or not – It’s crucial to take some sick time off as you need it. If you don’t like the idea of calling it a “sick day” and instead call it something like “mental health day,” that’s fine too. The bottom line is, we all need time to rest, relax and recoup every once in a while, whether it’s from a cold or just a really tough week. We shouldn’t feel guilty about taking a sick day to do any or all of those things.

Also, understand that you’re most productive when you’re well. There’s no point in forcing yourself to work from the comfort of your own home if you’re not going to feel well. Getting sick can totally throw off your schedule and lower your productivity, which no boss wants to deal with, virtual or otherwise.

At the end of the day, there’s nothing more important than your health and mental well-being, and you need to make sure you’re taking care of yourself. You’ll feel better in the long run if you don’t push through illness and instead give your immune system a chance to kick in.

Previously, it was common to avoid taking a sick day because there was this perceived value of showing up for work “no matter what.” Not only is this mindset toxic for a workplace, but it’s physically dangerous, too. Folks would show up sick and spread germs around an office. Work from home means that as long as your work gets done on time and done correctly, how you accomplish that is up to you. And if you need to take a sick day, your physical presence won’t be missed.

Taking care of yourself is even more important when you’re working from home. Obviously, there’s no office police who can come over with a thermometer and tell you that you need to go home and rest. It’s up to you to listen to your body and take care of yourself so that you can get back on track with your work as soon as possible.

Sniffles Shay, you’ve got this.

Sincerely,
Jenny