Who has more of a right? (work issue, need legal opinions)

[SundancePass]

You are probably not going to like this, but here goes.

You have no evidence that your co-worker has anything contagious, and thus that you are in a an "unsafe" environment.

Further, you have no right to know anything about his medical situation.

You have been arguably harassing him, and if I was him, I would have complained about you to HR already.

Your fears sound a bit irrational - just because you have no sick days left, doesn't mean you deserve a sterile environment in which to work. I could not even count the number of potential exposures to sickness that most people encounter just by living their lives every day in the world. It is just a fact of life that people get sick. How could you even know for certain where any particular illness came from?

Eventually, if this has not happened already (and I suspect it has because your manager does not sound like she's being very tolerant of you), you are going to be viewed as a problem employee who is a complainer and a troublemaker.

Finally, I suspect you are gearing up for taking some sick days, and then trying to protest when they write you up because after all, you only got sick because they refused to send your co-worker home. Please don't go there - I don't see a good end to that argument for you.

Jane

MTE

 

[PaddingtonBear]

Isn't is also not polite to BE icky around other people.

So, someone blows snot rockets on the floor around you and you're just supposed to put up with it? If more people were called on their poor behavior, there would be less of it.

OP - did you talk to your boss from the perspective on how this is disruptive to your work and productivity? You don't need absolute silence but constant, all day snorting is really unacceptable.

I don't think the OP mentioned that the co-worker was littering the floor with bodily fluids? Neither did I in my post. No, I wouldn't tolerate bodily fluids on the floor, I might call the boss about that.

Assuming however, that its merely gross and nothing more, yes my obligation is to shut my mouth. My coworker's rudeness doesn't afford me an excuse to be rude. If her coworker has allergies or truly has the flu, he may not be able to help much of his nastyness.

If you can't manage to muddle through and work while someone else is snorting you have attention span issues that you need to deal with. Buy an iPod for goodness sakes, problem solved. That's how I've handeled things here.

 

[Missy1961]

You are probably not going to like this, but here goes.

You have no evidence that your co-worker has anything contagious, and thus that you are in a an "unsafe" environment.

Further, you have no right to know anything about his medical situation.

You have been arguably harassing him, and if I was him, I would have complained about you to HR already.

Your fears sound a bit irrational - just because you have no sick days left, doesn't mean you deserve a sterile environment in which to work. I could not even count the number of potential exposures to sickness that most people encounter just by living their lives every day in the world. It is just a fact of life that people get sick. How could you even know for certain where any particular illness came from?

Eventually, if this has not happened already (and I suspect it has because your manager does not sound like she's being very tolerant of you), you are going to be viewed as a problem employee who is a complainer and a troublemaker.

Finally, I suspect you are gearing up for taking some sick days, and then trying to protest when they write you up because after all, you only got sick because they refused to send your co-worker home. Please don't go there - I don't see a good end to that argument for you.

Jane

Sorry, OP, but this post is spot on. It really sounds like this guy has allergies, not the flu, and you're going to be seen as the troublemaker. Get some headphones & listen to the music instead of him.

 

[DizBelle]

Sorry, OP, but this post is spot on. It really sounds like this guy has allergies, not the flu, and you're going to be seen as the troublemaker. Get some headphones & listen to the music instead of him.

What if part of the OP's job is to listen for and answer the phone? In this case she can't just wear headphones because she won't be able to hear the phone. What if she has to continually ask the person on the other end of the line to repeat themselves because she can't hear them over the guy's snorting?

"Muddling through" is not acceptable. If it is affecting people's performane and productivity, it needs to be addressed.

If the guy has allergies, why isn't he doing anything to control his symptoms?

 

[DizBelle]

I don't think the OP mentioned that the co-worker was littering the floor with bodily fluids? Neither did I in my post. No, I wouldn't tolerate bodily fluids on the floor, I might call the boss about that.

Assuming however, that its merely gross and nothing more, yes my obligation is to shut my mouth. My coworker's rudeness doesn't afford me an excuse to be rude. If her coworker has allergies or truly has the flu, he may not be able to help much of his nastyness.

If you can't manage to muddle through and work while someone else is snorting you have attention span issues that you need to deal with. Buy an iPod for goodness sakes, problem solved. That's how I've handeled things here.

I was responding to your post which stated "common courtesy and manners dictate that its not polite to point out someone else's icky". Which means that no matter what they do, you just have to put up with it. This would include snot-rockets in your vicinity.

 

[janey99]

"Muddling through" is not acceptable. If it is affecting people's performane and productivity, it needs to be addressed.

Sorry, but I disagree. Another poster was spot on when she mentioned "attention span" issues. Very few people work in a dead silent environment with no occurrences that someone somewhere wouldn't consider a distraction. As working adults, we are expected to be competent and efficient while experiencing a certain amount of "distraction." It seems the OP has permitted these distractions to preoccupy her - which is HER problem, not her sniffling coworker's.

I think many people forget that in most cases, they serve at the pleasure of their employers. When employing them becomes more difficult than their contribution warrants, their usefulness will be re-examined. There are actually very few legally prescribed requirements in the workplace, and a snort-free environment certainly isn't one of them!

Jane

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

How do you know he is "sick" and he is "contagious".

After 9 days of sitting next to him doing this, I would expect that you would have caught something by now.

The world cannot stop just b/c someone "MIGHT" have a cold. IF he has no fever, he isn't fighting infection and he may not have any sick time left.

That being said--you don't know what his diagnosis is.

I have allergies--sometimes they get...phlegmy. Sometimes my child with allergy--gets the water red eyes. I always feel like we have to play defense to explain ourselves so as not to be improperly labeld "sick".

Without knowing this gentleman's private diagnosis--I would say his right to privacy trumps the OP's rights to be cootie free in an environment.

At this point, he has a troublesome cough that distracts you--and at that point, it becomes your problem. I would suggest either an IPOD to listen to or noise cancelling headphones. For whatever reason he can't help what he has and some colds in some people (if that is what he has) can go on for months.

The other thought--maybe he's a smoker? Smoker's can have lung issues that aren't an issue of contamination but rather unhealthy lungs that make it difficult to breathe.

But after 9 days, I'd say you seem to be doing fine except for a distraction and you being out of sick days is your issue, not his.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

If the guy has allergies, why isn't he doing anything to control his symptoms?

How do you know he isn't and perhaps it isn't working?

And how would it be anybody's business?

 

[DizBelle]

Sorry, but I disagree. Another poster was spot on when she mentioned "attention span" issues. Very few people work in a dead silent environment with no occurrences that someone somewhere wouldn't consider a distraction. As working adults, we are expected to be competent and efficient while experiencing a certain amount of "distraction." It seems the OP has permitted these distractions to preoccupy her - which is HER problem, not her sniffling coworker's.

I think many people forget that in most cases, they serve at the pleasure of their employers. When employing them becomes more difficult than their contribution warrants, their usefulness will be re-examined. There are actually very few legally prescribed requirements in the workplace, and a snort-free environment certainly isn't one of them!

Jane

I already said that she should not be expecting a silent environment. But, everyone in an open environment has a responsibility to be a good citizen of said environment and not engage in behavior that could be excessively distracting to the others that share the space. This would include excessive perfume and/or b.o., playing a radio too loud, talking excessively loud for long periods of time and noisy bodily functions. This guy is just not being a good citizen.

I agree that, at this point, the contagiousness isn't really an issue. Anything that she might have caught from the guy, she already would have.

That said, if the contagiousness is what concerns you, OP, rather than the noise, I don't think you need to worry about it. Are there other folks around that find the noise distracting?

 

[DizBelle]

Also, you should talk to your HR department rather than your boss.