Typhoid coworkers

14th June 2007

posted in Child Care, Working Moms, Office Rants |

“Back away from my mouse.”

I actually said that to a coworker this week. He was sniffling and coughing in my office trying to show me something on my computer screen and well, after recently enduring the bronchitis epidemic of 2007, I really didn’t want to catch his sickness for fear that I could potentially pass it along to my son.

See that’s one of the problems with this working mom thing - I now have more places to catch icky germs. It’s bad enough that at Mommy and Me classes and restaurants and the park shared drool and messy handprints are the norm. Now, I have to fight off pesky coworkers who decide it’s okay to come to work a little bit under the weather. And then stand in my office.

You can call me paranoid, you can call me crazy, but if you’ve just come off two weeks of sleepless nights and puke and ear aches, you’d understand where I’m coming from. So please, if you’re not feeling well, just call me on the phone. We don’t really need to talk in person now, do we?

Tags: sick, coworkers, germs, colds, office

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1 On June 14th, 2007, AMom said:

I used to have a coworker who kept a can of lysol with her at all times. She would also travel with antibacterial wipes. One can never be too careful, can one? I noticed my baby girl gnawing on the handle of the shopping cart at Target today and got totally grossed out by that. Next time I go I am totally bringing my clorox wipes.

2 On June 15th, 2007, Shannanb said:

I can’t stand it when people come to work sick. I too keep a can of lysol at my desk and hand sanitizer in my pusre in the winter. I have little ones to worry about. If they get sick I miss work, and that’s not good.

3 On June 18th, 2007, Gini said:

Guilty as charged! I went to work sick and when I couldn’t handle it anymore I went to tell my boss. I walked in and said, “I’m not feeling well…” She immediately put her hand out to stop me from entering her office! And so I went home.

4 On June 19th, 2007, bianca said:

I am so with you on this, manners be damned. It made me crazy when the guy over the cube at my old place of work was doing his quarterly *coughing snorting hacking sputum yet i am so essential to this place i can’t possibly take a day off* thing. Now I have to contend with friends who stop by, sit at my dining table, share my wine and play with the baby THEN tell me after that they were up all night two days prior vomiting from a bug going around the office. Just wanted to spread the love to me and my 8 month old, I guess.

5 On July 11th, 2007, A Room With a View » Self-Made Mom said:

[…] Having an interior office is such a tease. Yes, I have a place where I can shut the door on sick coworkers, but I am constantly reminded that I haven’t quite achieved greatness a window view […]