New job and I'm sick..

[AlexzandraLove]

So as I mentioned in another post, I'm working at a Barnes & Noble now..since October. I love it and it's overall going really well, actually.

I got sick the week of Thanksgiving and had to call out, my manager was very understandable with it and even suggested the Urgent Care that I should go to and he said to stay home like doctor's note said.

Now, since Saturday night (Sunday & today being my days off after 5 days working in a row) I'm sick AGAIN...I have a fever, the chills, a headache, bad congestion, low fatigue, everything, I feel awful.

I also have an issue with my Medicaid as in they claimed not to get my "recertify" papers and cut it off, and I haven't had time to go to the office to get it back since I've been working...

So I feel incredibly awful and it sucks and I'm scared to call out even if it just for a day, I don't want to lose my job..even if that does sound silly. And it'd be harder for me to get looked at right now because of no insurance...

Somebody please advise me what to do here.....one of my friends just told me to risk my health and the health of others and call out.

[CoolBee]

What a horrible dilemma.

The right thing to do is take time off to recover. However, I fully understand how you may be feeling in the context of a new job.

Do you SOUND ill? If you called out sick, would your manager be able to hear it in your voice?

How far from your work do you live? Is it conceivable that your manager or HR person could come see you to confirm for him/herself that you are genuinely sick? Given the way you are feeling, is there anyway you could actually go to work so s/he can see for him/herself and get yourself sent home?

I became very ill from working through sickness due to budgetary constraints, staff shortages, I felt obliged to take insufficient time off to recover from surgery which basically lead to a downward spiral. I was pressurized into going to work with influenza and made me even more ill.

Take care of yourself first and foremost, but I do realize in your situation, you have more than health concerns to 'take care of'.

[learnalifetime]

No matter what other people say, only do what you think/feel is good.

I personally think there is only one thing you should do, and that is rest. It's better to lose your job than getting hospitalized.
I had the same problem a couple of weeks ago. I had a fever but started working again when I felt only 'okay'. Two weeks later I was sick again, so it's better to stay in bed until you're fully recovered.
And yes, you can get fired if you've just started. But health should always be your first priority.

I hope you'll get better soon!

[CoolBee]

Found the B&N benefits package online

Barnes & Noble Booksellers

so I'm guessing given you are new in the job, you are not getting paid for your time off sick so (a) there's no reason why you should be faking and (b) this does give you a real dilemma if you are not getting medicare.

[learnalifetime]

Originally Posted by CoolBee

Found the B&N benefits package online

Barnes & Noble Booksellers

so I'm guessing given you are new in the job, you are not getting paid for your time off sick so (a) there's no reason why you should be faking and (b) this does give you a real dilemma if you are not getting medicare.

Wow not getting paid... I didn't know that was possible. But then again, health is much more important than business. If you continue your work, and your health decreases, you'll probably have much more costs in the long run.

[CoolBee]

The US is not as generous with benefits, leave etc as the UK, Europe or even Egypt!!

[AlexzandraLove]

Thanks for all your responses!

What ended up happening is I went to the E.R. and I did call out of work..and they gave me a note for me to stay home today, tomorrow and go back Thursday to work..the conversation between me & the manager went something like this after he was told i had to call out..
"I just came from the E.R. and they said this is a upper respiratory infection/common cold."
"Oh no" and he did sound genuinely concerned.
Then I told him they gave me a note to be out till Thursday and I apologized for the inconvenience and he said that there was not much he could do about it and that he'd see me on the 15th.
I don't know why I interpret the first line as something negative, but that's not so bad right?
I got everything that I needed that they told me to get and I'll be focusing on getting better in the next 24 hours and several extra hours and back to work I go.
Right now I feel like hell and feel very cloudy as far as my head goes, so I guess I better stay in bed!

[rawxstasy]

It does sound like you are really sick. Hope you feel better soon. When you get back to work, just put forth your best effort. That will help your manager have faith in you. And if you can come in and work when they need some extra hands helps to.

Maybe consider if you have been under a lot of stress, that might be contributing to getting sick so often.

[MariconesUnited]

Originally Posted by rawxstasy

Maybe consider if you have been under a lot of stress, that might be contributing to getting sick so often.

I would think so. Seems that way to me from here anyway.

Alexzandra, Love, take some mental time off today. Stay in, enjoy a warm cup of hot chocolate, watch your favourite feel good movie and listen to your most uplifting music. You did everything you could do to advise your manager, you know you're in the right in this situation. I honestly think you need time to relax, above all.