Said It Here

How to decide if I'm too sick for work

People feel pressured to go into work while sick because they are afraid of missing major events like Open House, have to ration limited sick time for their own children, or worry about how their absence looks. This forces them to choose between risking their coworkers' and kids' health or sacrificing attendance at important professional and family obligations.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

  1. 1
    Staying home
  2. 2
    Wearing a mask following district protocols
  3. 3
    wearing a mask while working despite being contagious
  4. 4
    powering through work due to a lack of sick time

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/Teachers3 people · September 2026

“im unsure about calling out since I have Open House tomorrow for my kids.”source ↗

“Im afraid of getting my coworkers sick as well as the kids but I dont want to miss open house tomorrow.”source ↗

Brief-Factor-5342 · r/Teachers · 5 upvotes

“I have to ration sick time for my own (frequently ill) kid, so I definitely have masked up and powered through on days where I had no real business being there.”source ↗

South-Lab-3991 · r/Teachers · 1 upvotes

“Is going back to school today (Friday) an odd choice?”source ↗

“I honestly feel fine enough to be in public but would’ve ideally had another day to heal.”source ↗

whimvious · r/Teachers

Where this came up

People with this problem also raised