Sick of Work or Too Sick to Work

WSJ This Morning Staff

As flu season approaches, people soon will wake up to a tricky calculation: Should you drag yourself into work feeling awful? Or can you get away with staying home to heal? Staying in bed poses a risk of falling behind or being seen as a slacker. But showing up sick, and grossing out or infecting colleagues, can be worse, and a growing number of employers are setting policies to discourage it.

“People get really, really ticked off at co-workers spreading germs in the workplace. There’s nothing worse than being Typhoid Mary,” says Annie Stevens, a managing partner at ClearRock, a Boston leadership-development and career-transition consultant.

This year’s outbreak of whooping cough, or pertussis—projected to be the worst in 53 years—brings a new, highly contagious risk to the workplace, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recent outbreaks of hantavirus and norovirus are also raising concerns about transmissible diseases. The Wall Street Journal’s Sue Shellenbarger explains to Gordon Deal the code of conduct for calling in sick to work.

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About WSJ This Morning

Wake up with America’s first news – The Wall Street Journal This Morning. Host Gordon Deal and news anchor Gina Cervetti go beyond the headlines with the day’s first look at news and business news from the U.S. and around the world; bringing a lively blend of intelligent information, humor, and expert analysis to morning radio.

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Biographies

Gordon Deal Before taking the helm at The Wall Street Journal This Morning in November 2005, Gordon was well-known to New York City radio listeners, having worked at both WINS-AM and WCBS-AM where he honed his writing skills and developed his distinctive on-air reporting style. He also served as New York City bureau chief for Metro Networks where his reports aired on WOR-AM and WABC-AM.

Gina Cervetti has an extensive radio news anchoring and reporting background including several years at Boston NPR affiliate WBUR-FM where she anchored the local production of "All Things Considered" and "Here and Now." Gina is an Associated Press Award-winning broadcaster, whose reports have been heard all over New England, including WRKO Boston and WTAG Worcester. She graduated from Boston University.

Mike Gavin oversees the production of the show which includes coordinating segments with WSJ reporters, editors, and outside newsmakers. He also oversees the sound and content of the show including all music and sound elements. Mike had spent a decade in radio programming and production before finding a home at WSJ Radio in 2007. He lives at the Jersey Shore with his wife and son.