It’s a situation every employee has grappled with at some point: do you stay at home or go into work when you’re feeling under the weather? Tempting though it might be to bury yourself under the duvet and settle in for a long session of daytime TV, it may not be feasible to take time off whenever you’re feeling suboptimal.
Unlike more serious illnesses – which surely justify some real recovery time – a bad coldoccupies a tricky grey area. On the one hand, you’re feeling grotty, and may not be working as effectively as normal. On the other hand, you’re probably still capable of turning up at work and soldiering on irrespective.
“Given that coughs and colds are so common, it would be impractical to take time off work with every viral infection,” says Dr Daniel Fenton, clinical director at the walk-in GP clinic, London Doctors Clinic.
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