Hypothetical dilemma question
8Hypothetically, if you found out you had an underlying medical condition that could cause complications due to Covid-19, and your work is willing to pay you to stay home for 2-4 weeks, depending.
Would you take the time off now? Later because shit hasn’t hit the fan yet, but you’re worried that they might drop the emergency leave because a lot of places are going back to work? Not at all because it’s all a hoax?
Just curious.
Would your answer change if the medical condition wasn’t serious in day to day life?
- 16 comments, 15 replies
- Comment
Too many variables and unknowns.
Depends on condition. Risks. Potential seriousness. Assessment of work policies, politics, and environment. Career and financial risks.
Certainly I would try to think all this thru. Depending on circumstances, the decision doesn’t sound “clear cut” from here. Sounds like an individual assessment.
Also, consult with physician if can.
Any of our answers might vary from one detailed scenario to the next.
@f00l here’s a little more info.
What if your coworker took a month off, and now they are back. No penalty for taking off.
@RiotDemon
Depends on the purported severity of the medical risk, as things were medically understood a month ago. I suppose.
As little as we know now of this rather complex viral risk, we knew less a month ago.
A month ago we were much more worried about having to triage necessary medical equipment and care. We were worried about becoming Brooklyn or Wuhan, nationwide.
infection rates are still increasing in some places. I expect that some rural and semi-rural areas will be hit hard.
We still don’t know what we’re doing with this medical risk.
OTOH… I know some people who are way into using this risk as (what seems to me to be) an excuse for sitting on their asses.
I’m not any sort of medical expert.
Re time off: errors will be made and will be abused in all directions. Some people who need not to be at work have to be. others who don’t need PTO will abuse it.
Same with the govt funding for businesses etc. lots of assholes out there. Lots of people who aren’t assholes also.
If I thought someone were just slacking, or doing “medical excuse slacking”, I’d be pissed.
I would say now because there will be better treatment options and hopefully better control of spread as they do more research. Wait, did I just sound like an optimist?
I would also look at what others in the same industry are doing. And HR policies. What risk is there to both your life and your job? Have seen ‘furloughs’ based on whether you are currently at work or not. How essential is your job, etc. In addition to the medical stuff.
I think I would wait until it was needed. But that’s a really hard choice.
Are you able to work from home?
If I understand, your work is willing to offer time off to stay healthy now, but didn’t have any sick leave before, and might take it away when they ramp up re-opening and SHTF and you have COVID-19 with complications?
Would they let you go if you had COVID-19 during round #2? If not, you’ll have the same sick leave and healthcare you have now.
Make sure you remember in November that Trump is still doing everything he can to get rid of the ACA and might do it before then (and Covid-19 round #2).
Based solely on the information you presented in the OP and the various bits of personal context you’ve dropped on the board, I would continue going in to work for the time being.
Two to four weeks is not a lot of time. States are just opening back up. I think the state you’re in hasn’t been hit too hard yet, but is full of people who are going to immediately start acting like everything is normal. Infection rates are going to go up. I’d wait until then to take the leave.
UNLESS-- You think you consider just quitting your job and staying home an option. It’s not for a lot of people.
It’s certainly possible they could drop the leave later, but I kind of doubt they’ll do that in a case where infection rates are climbing.
@Limewater I agree that the infection rates are going to climb, especially since something like 23 states still have climbing rates right now, are nowhere close to meeting criteria to reopen and are opening back up anyway. Estimates I have read on medical personnel lists is that mid to late June is likely when the climb will start to be noticeable (incubation rate, etc.).
@RiotDemon That is a real dilemma you are facing. I’d think you’d want to be off when the infection rate locally is at its worst yet there is no way for sure to know when exactly that will be. Maybe your doctor will give you a couple of good surgical masks to wear at work? Or get your employer to let you work in an area that has fewer customers or has good air circulation (a recent hospital study showed good air circulation rooms had fewer viruses than rooms that did not)? Be careful with buying N95’s online that come from China. I just read in the Washington Post that 36 Chinese companies were denied medical certification with the ones they made because they failed testing. I’d guess they will try to unload them online without disclosing that. On the other hand if there was a way to find out if they failed only by a tiny bit they’d still be better for you at work than a cloth mask. Good luck with your decision.
@Kidsandliz @Limewater @RiotDemon I agree. I strongly suspect the infection rate is going to jump in the next few weeks with the new openings (and that we may have another later spike). I’d aim at taking leave in about three or four weeks and hope they re-offer leave during any following spike. (Disclaimer: There’s a possibility that all the rules might change and you might be left high and dry for leave by delaying, but that’s uncertain. The increase in the virus’s infection rate in the next few weeks is much more plausible.)
I hope whatever you decide that it works out for the best!
@RiotDemon this is a download that lists the n95 masks that passed (so, as we all already know, should be saved for medical professionals).
https://www.fda.gov/media/136663/download
If you see one for sale online and they aren’t on this list, realize they failed and so they may or may not be better than a cloth mask or a surgical mask. Apparently they can be sold as face masks, just not N95 ones. I had been looking for the actual tests to see by how much some failed. Ones that just barely failed would be good to buy (realizing that proper air tight fitting needs to happen to take advantage of their filtration efficiency). So far haven’t been able to find the list of those that failed and the actual test results that caused them to fail.
As discussed on one of the other threads here there are 2 shop towels (Toolbox blue shop roll and Zep industrial blue) that can be used as filters that increase the filtration efficiency to around surgical masks levels.
Take the time now. They may change the policy. They may offer more time off later. The Earth could get hit by a giant whipped-cream pie, ending life as we know it.
@yeppers
/giphy whipped cream
I’d hold off until you need it, when the second round comes. Worst case, no second round comes and you just didn’t take a month off, but best case you can use it when there’s a second round of shtf that many people are predicting. If you’re used to being busy, a month is a loooong time to stay at home; right now when the world seems to be waking up again would seem to be a tough time to go inside (although it may be a smart time Real Soon Now).
I would take the money and write the review.
@therealjrn dude, it’s a hundred bucks. How could you not?
Also, I have multiple underlying medical issues. I would have already been taking off.
Can other options be done, like changing your hours? So if it’s a 9-5 office and the place is empty go in when it’s empty and work. Then you aren’t around others and can disinfect your work space before touching anything. This is of course if working from home isn’t an option.
I understand what you mean by them taking back those 2 -4 weeks free. We’ve had a lot of that going on here. No more working from home or administrative leave for anyone anymore. I think they have even removed the option to stay home and use your sick leave to be cautious. Now you need to be sick and have a drs note after 3 days off in a row.
When we tried to split up employees for a month what I did on my days not in the office was go in in the evening to grab paperwork and do the stuff that I had to be there for. Then I took what I could home. So I was able to still do a majority of my job without being around others. Of course my coworker thinks the place won’t function without her and kept coming in during my days to work. Kind of defeating the point. We’ve gone back to full staff since the county only ever had 2 cases.
@remo28 Your county needs to build a wall at your borders to keep your infection rate at that nice low level! No one in no one out. Or if you go out you can’t go back in. All deliveries are at the “gate”. Of course not practical…
@Kidsandliz @remo28
And WTF do you think the tribal police have been doing at the checkpoints that go in or through tribal lands?
Sioux tribe rejects South Dakota governor request to remove Covid-19 checkpoints
@mike808 Well doing that hasn’t solved the tribal infection problem, although I would imagine they set it up after the problem and not before.
@Kidsandliz Neither has decades of HHS and CDC classifying Native Americans as “other” in racial reporting which is then statistically discarded from studies, and thus severely under-represents and disproportionately suppresses the impact of healthcare needed or given to tribal nations.
Thanks all. I have a lot to think about.
I would consider my personal thoughts on the future exposure compared to the current risk. My state has a high number of cases reported but not in my area. I think I will be at higher risk after places start reopening and people let their guard down. I work retail so no work from home options. I can take unpaid leave or use my vacation now without penalty (I am told). If I am diagnosed I get paid leave. I don’t remember if there is an end date for those options stated.
This information might be useful. Says face shields are pretty protective from the virus with respect to being exposed from others.
https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=230978&ecd=mnl_spc_043020
FAUCI SAYS NO MASKS
I guess my answer depends on a lot of things:
How’s the work environment?
How’s the infection rate in your state and the county/city where you are?
Is your area more gung-ho about re-opening, or are they more rigorous about re-opening when criteria are safely met?
How’s unemployment in your area- if it’s not a trainwreck, how are they are handling people who have been told to stay home?
Is working from home an option?
Is there a way you can do a split schedule (1 week at home, 1 in the office )?
@dashcloud
It’s retail. It sucks.
It seemed to even out, and now climbing slowly
Gung ho. It’s Florida.
They are doing unemployment. I would not get unemployment. This paid time off would be paid by corporate with all the funds they got from the government.
No
No
@dashcloud @RiotDemon
We can’t weigh the med issues.
How serious is the risk? What does a healthcare provider recommend? How is your current health? If my current health were already fragile, I’d factor that in.
Can you get decent masks? Is work providing them? Is your work environment trying to be protective of employees? Are they doing a good job?
What damage might be done to someone’s work/promotion/reputation prospects if someone in your position took this leave?
Would an unusually serious medical situation make a difference to the employee reputation consequences at work?
Ideally, no one would face this dilemma; but things ain’t ideal right now.
@dashcloud @f00l
If I catch it and a ventilator is necessary, risk is high.
Stay home. Ideally after a few weeks because the shit hasn’t hit the fan yet.
It’s ok/fair?
They provide masks. My homemade ones are better. I have a respirator I could wear but it’s impossible to do my job wearing it.
Sort of. No. My coworkers stand right next to you. It’s impossible to eat lunch without being next to someone. It is too busy for customers to social distance. They are also not required to wear masks.
I have no desire to be promoted anytime soon. Already went that route. My coworker was out without any drawbacks as far as I can tell.
Not sure.
@dashcloud @RiotDemon
Maybe have a talk w HR. Explain your situation. Tell them you might wanna use this if things get bad.
Med doc, such as a physician letter, might help.
Re my remark earlier in this topic about possibly being annoyed by people who would use this by leaning in on unnecessary “medical risk excuse” factors:
There’s no way an outsider, or co-worker, can judge this sort of thing in a medical sense.
The only reason I would suspect someone of doing that is, if I had already observed that the person was a habitual slacker and excuse-abuser. (Co-workers can judge this)
If you need it, use it. Just prepare your co-workers and supervisors and HR first.