I'm not feeling so good. *cough* *cough* I guess I should go to work!
sickos Flu season is serious, and it's different
every year, which is why we keep needing flu shots. But flu shots don't stop every infection
every time, which is why WHEN YOU'RE SICK STAY HOME. Trust me, no one is so important
at their job that they can get everyone sick. "Oh, Trace, I'll just go sit at my desk, no
one will get sick! I just won't touch them!" WRONG.
A study by the American Society for Microbiology found within 2 to 4 hours of putting a little
contaminant on a doorknob, coffee pot handle, or tabletop, 40 to 60 percent of workers were
infected. BOOM. One. Doorknob. They used a virus called MS-2 which doesn't infect humans,
but can spread in the same way as any human pathogen; and the researchers said, quote,
"It spread like crazy." The researchers tested up to 100 fomites -- places where infections
can live, like "light switches, bed rails, table tops, countertops, push buttons, coffee
pots handles, sink tap handles, door knobs, phones and computer equipment" -- and found
them everywhere, and it only took hours to get from a tabletop onto people's skin!
Virus contamination moves quickly and gets on everything. This might come as a shock
to some of you, but the word "viral" comes from how quickly viruses can spread… just
like an Ellen tweet from the Oscars. Hands are everywhere, keyboards, desks and things
all over your school or office. Plus, you touch your face an average of every three
minutes.
In a natural environment -- not when an experimenter puts it there -- viruses can survive on surfaces
for hours, or simply travel through the air. When a sick coworker coughs or sneezes they're
throwing about 1.5 liters of air out of their lungs and between 3,000 and 40,000 droplets
of saliva tainted with pathogens. If those droplets are small enough, less than four
microns, they can live in the air, waiting to be inhaled by passersby, even hours later.
The larger droplets fall onto surfaces, where they are picked up and moved around by human
activity… When people touch a surface we pick up between 30 and 50 percent of the organisms
on that surface. You're welcome for the nightmares.
Remember, viruses and bacteria live in the world all the time, we're constantly coming
in contact with them, not just around sick people. The thing is, most are fought off
by the immune system every day, constantly; this is actually a good thing, because it
keeps our defenses strong! But once a sick person enters our midst those sneeze and surface
droplets aren't just testing our defenses… That person is carrying a pathogen that has
somehow circumvented their immune responses, so it can probably do the same to us!
Researchers at Cornell found people who come to work sick account for 60 percent of health
costs for businesses. But why do people come to work? Because people can tell when you're
absent. Absenteeism is a serious issue for employee productivity and thus is often studied,
but now science is catching on to presenteeism, or the act of working while sick. New studies
in this area have found, you're not helping, you're hurting! One study in Population Health
Management found 1600 dollars are lost per employee annually for presenteeism, and the
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found a 2.3 to 1 ratio of productivity
to medical costs… it's actually cheaper for you to stay home than to come to work!
PLUS you're not infecting other employees (which drives costs up further). SO STAY HOME.
STOP COMING TO THE OFFICE. We work in a digital-friendly age, and at digital-friendly offices people
can often work from home, keeping their sickness to themselves! Which is important.
In studies of people with chronic illnesses, researchers find it's better to take a sick
day and be refreshed than work debilitated without a break. Presenteeism is new, as is
the idea that we can work from home, so researchers are struggling to find hard and fast costs
to support business policies; the Harvard Business Review said "Without a standard tool
for measurement, 'there is a lot of confusion about what we’re even measuring.'"
More research is needed, but in the meantime, if you're sick, and you insist on being at
work, keep in mind, you're spreading your sickness around; avoid physical contact others
and wash your hands often. If you're at work with sick people and you're NOT sick. Make
sure you wash your hands often too, and be aware of common fomites: the biggest being
handles (doors, but also the handles of microwaves, coffee pots, fridges and sinks); also buttons
on water fountains, vending machines, and keyboards. It's important to clean your surfaces
too! I mean, by the numbers, keyboards are dirtier than toilets! But to be honest, the
FEAR of these illnesses spreads faster even than the disease. So don't go bubble-boy on
us; just be aware, wash your hands, and you'll be fine.
Plus, you're made of viruses, so you shouldn't be THAT afraid of them. What, you… didn't
know that?? Julia explains how you are completely filled with viruses here
Do you go to work sick?! WHY?! WHY DO YOU DO THAT? Really, tell us your motivation,
let's break down some stereotypes. For example, contractors don't get sick days; that's messed
up!