Today I rang into my retail job due to experiencing covid symptoms and anxiety (complex’s mental health but we won’t go into that) to protect myself, my coworkers and the members of the public, you know, like decent people do.
Manager: “isolating isn’t mandatory so you still have to come in”
Me: “so I’ll just have to pass it around to everyone in the shop then?”
Manager: “Essentially yeah…”
Me: “sorry, I don’t feel comfortable doing that.”
Manager: Tone changes to pissed off very quickly “so you’re ringing in sick”
Me: “essentially, yes”
Manager: “ok, bye” puts phone down.
Why should we be made to feel bad for being ill AND protecting those around us? Why should we be made to feel guilty for taking the time we need to heal from our illnesses. I’m sat with such stress and anxiety today – is it even worth it anymore if our health deteriorates BECAUSE of work.