Public Service Announcement
Too often people work when they are sick because of economic necessity and cultural mores. In academia there is this attitude of YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BE WORKING. And with the realities of the job market and increasing emphasis on conspicuous production, the default setting should be "productive."
But guess what, when you are sick, usually the most productive thing you can be doing is getting well- at home, with soup. And the second most productive thing you can be doing is not germing up the lab, office, and classroom.
I learned this the hard way. As a post-doc I caught a cold. Convinced that my contribution to the research was so important that it could not afford me taking a few days off to get well, I "pushed through" working half days, feeling crappy and infecting and then being re-infected by my lab-mates. This lasted for weeks until one weekend night I ended up in urgent care with a serious bacterial infection. Lame Lame Lame.
Since then when I start to feel that creeping exhaustion, that upper-respiratory constriction, that painful throat frog, I get ahead of that freight train lickety-split with a shock and awe cocktail of vitamins, juice, soup, zicam, sleep, and netflix. Some of this may be placebo, some of this may be legitimate. But every time I have pursued this strategy I have been back at work bright eyed and bushy tailed within 2-3 days.
And every time I have not respected the signals my body is sending, I have been near useless for 1-2 weeks. And guess what, like other animals, I am effing adapted to alter my behavior in response to illness! For realisies. No foolies.
Not getting enough sleep can also reduce immune function. Not to mention that getting home late at night can be sketchy. This is why my students shouldn't feel as though I expect them to be at the office crazy late at night. Some people work better giving into their night owl tendencies, more power to them. But my estimation of a grad student's dedication is not predicated on them compromising their physical and mental health. Being productive is measured in PRODUCTS, not presence, and not pain. Who's with me?
But guess what, when you are sick, usually the most productive thing you can be doing is getting well- at home, with soup. And the second most productive thing you can be doing is not germing up the lab, office, and classroom.
I learned this the hard way. As a post-doc I caught a cold. Convinced that my contribution to the research was so important that it could not afford me taking a few days off to get well, I "pushed through" working half days, feeling crappy and infecting and then being re-infected by my lab-mates. This lasted for weeks until one weekend night I ended up in urgent care with a serious bacterial infection. Lame Lame Lame.
Since then when I start to feel that creeping exhaustion, that upper-respiratory constriction, that painful throat frog, I get ahead of that freight train lickety-split with a shock and awe cocktail of vitamins, juice, soup, zicam, sleep, and netflix. Some of this may be placebo, some of this may be legitimate. But every time I have pursued this strategy I have been back at work bright eyed and bushy tailed within 2-3 days.
Which is why this decision rule flowchart hangs in our lab:
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