I had to go to the doctor today for the first time since 2005 (cold which turned into a respiratory infection, it seems). I felt awful on Sunday and spent most of the day on the couch, sleeping part of the time. Yet I dragged myself into work yesterday even though there was nothing going on and I now work in a place where you are encouraged to stay home and get better if you are indeed sick. So why did I drag myself into work yesterday? Dunno about everyone else, but most of the places I worked at over the past decade had the expectation that unless you had actually lost a limb or were unconscious, you would be at your desk. I can't remember how many times I sucked it up and worked for a week or more sick when a day or two in bed would have seen me better. And now that I am working for a more enlightened employer it has all become so ingrained that my first reaction to getting sick was to be at my desk, come hell or high water. How toxic is that? Anyway, just another reason to insulate myself from dependence on any employer.
