Working Class Heroine

 

I used this past (long) weekend to try and become my normal chirpy self. It was in fact the third (!) weekend in a row that I tried to focus on that and we're hopefully getting there. I am just not used to being sick and this cold that segued into a lateral pharyngitis (never had that before, can not recommend) was something else and definitely felt worse than the three times I have had Covid, combined. As I didn't have a temperature at any point and otherwise didn't feel too sick or weak to work from home, either, I did just that. 10 days into unpleasant symptoms I went to see a doctor and he prescribed me antibiotics, along with other medication. The drugs immediately seemed to work, probably because the last time I got prescribed antibiotics was when I worked in Sydney in 2011 and my left foot got swollen and itchy from what must have been an insect bite. I was euphoric and even though I took it easy on the weekend, I otherwise did normal stuff and also ate ice-cream as my throat didn't hurt any more. Last Monday I felt like sh** again and my sore throat had come back with a vengeance. I really did not feel up to working, least of all facilitating a virtual workshop, but as always it was not a "good" time to be sick and I soldiered through. I did make a point of telling my manager that I should be on sick leave, not that she encouraged me to do so, rather telling me to try and do what I could get done under the circumstances. When my symptoms got a bit scary I vowed not to be so stupid again and take it easy even with what seemed like a common cold, because as I learnt the hard way, this could develop into something way nastier that I definitely didn't want to become chronic. Would the company go bankrupt if I took a sick day or two: nope. One more reason why I secretly admire Gen Z colleagues a bit, who mostly wouldn't think twice to put their physical and mental health first. Somehow, this weird work ethos is embedded in many people of our generation and it often takes a bit of a wake-up call to reconsider it.