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If you get a cold and decide to stay at home because you have a cough and don't let anyone know, then yes, you may be dragged into a room for a session of medieval bloodletting.
But if you're deathly ill or are in an accident that puts you in the hospital, no one's going to say anything and will generally show sympathy for you.
In a non-extreme scenario (the majority of cases), you can probably get by with reducing your hours and/or not coming in so long as other people are covering for you and you've informed your team what is going on.
Tip: getting a note from the doctor saying you really can't go in helps a lot. Bankers can be kind of insane at times, but they're not stupid... they would rather have you miss a few days vs. going in and then dying or missing a whole month because you get so sick as a result.
I agree with dosk, there are three types of illness that occur.
Hangover: If you don't come in and anyone has any inclination that you were out drinking the night before, there really is no excuse not to come in. If you actually happen to be sick, and not hung over, come in and look miserable and then leave. This goes for senior bankers as well, I have known MDs to go out and get fucked up and catch shit for not coming in because they were hungover.
"I'm sick:" Your parents, teachers, friends relatives etc may accept any number of illnesses as a reason to not come in, bankers will not. These include any cold, flu, cough, food poisoning, etc where you can still function. That is, you are expected to be in under reduced functionality or reduced hours as long as you can still get anything done. If you can't gauge how sick you look or are, someone in the office above you may tell you to get out of the office and get some sleep.
Actually sick, dying, in the hospital: These are acceptable reasons to not come in, but only if you tell people what is going on, and make sure people are covering your work. I have known people develop heart problems (a murmur), bleeding ulcers, get appendicitis, have car accidents, etc. All these people still had to find people to cover their work, dial in to a few calls from home, etc. They were allowed to stay home and recuperate though.
In any case of sickness, a doctor's note, or a visit to the on site physician (many banks have them) will give you much more credibility. Keep in mind, bankers are sympathetic when things aren't hitting the fan, when the shit starts flying believe me the kid who hasn't slept in two weeks will have absolutely no sympathy for your illness.
So yes, you can go home sick, but don't make a habit of it.
>So yes, you can go home sick, but don't make a habit of it.
gee thanks i'll try not to make a habit out of getting sick, you twat
The ironic part about all of this (especially on the S&T side) is that while you are fully expected to come in every day unless you are actually admitted to the hospital, the minute you get to work every single senior person will yell at you to stay away from them so you don't get them sick.
So you are basically quarantined to a corner somewhere, where you will do practically nothing all day. That said, you damn well better be there.....No, it doesn't make sense, but tis the nature of finance....
There's always the tough guy in you that tries to work through a sickness. And it's very doable. I had a pretty bad cold and cough for about two weeks when I first started banking. It was compounded by the fact that I was working 90 or 100 hour weeks and getting 2 hours of sleep a night. At one point, the head of the group told me to go home as he was leaving for the night, but I thought I'd tough it out and keep working. Rookie mistake - not because my work suffered or anything like that..in fact, I think alot of people gave me more respect for staying and working.
But then they all hated me when everyone else in the bullpen got sick, too. Go home.
I agree with most of what others have pointed out. In my experience, if you're sick and need (or want) to miss work, get in front of the situation as fast as you can, make sure you have people covering for you, and do what it takes to make yourself accessible. Some things might be to come into the office for at least a few hours (so that people can see that you're sick and send you home), or to offer to work remotely if possible. With most illnesses, you aren't going to get better just by grinding it out - your body needs to recover - so if there's a legitimate need to stay at home AND the situation at work isn't so bad such that other people can cover for you, take the time off. Just make sure to let everyone know what's going on and that you're available to take care of stuff if sh*t hits the fan.
In my case I haven't seen anyone get punished for staying home and being sick. Though if you stay home you're still expected to work from home.
Worst case for me was when I stayed home for two days with fever, but I still worked till 3 am both days. I fell asleep for 30 minutes during the afternoon one of the days and woke up to 30-something emails. So not much rest either way.
Agree with GameTheory
The only bigger crime than getting sick and not doing your work, is getting other people sick and not doing their work. If it's contagious, get out. If it's the sniffles, buy a box of tissues.
Amazing how serious some of you take this issue. If you're sick and if your common sense tells you it's ok to take a day off, then do so. Do you really care that much? It's only your job, and you'll get a job anywhere if you're really a banker.
Posts by people like skins1 is very amusing.
I am guessing you have had a long and storied career in finance.
to some extent; definitely, if common sense dictates that it's ok to take a day off, and you think you can without getting too much crap for it, then why not? i.e., if you're lightly staffed, or you just finished a set of projects/deals, etc etc; i don't think anyone has issue with this. i know a guy who left work everyday at like 3:00pm cause his staffer didn't realize he was staffed; i've had plenty of days where i'm not doing anything, or where there just isn't as much going on. it happens, and especially in this market (especially if you're in lev fin or something), it is easy for it to happen. now, when you do have alot of work on your plate, that is where it gets tough, and even if you are sick, it is difficult to get out without being physically unable to function; at the least, you may have to work from home. although, again, this depends on how intelligent and reasonable your team is.
I tend to agree with this. As an individual have to exercise a certain level of discretion and self-awareness. You want to position yourself as someone who's hard-working, diligent, and dedicated -- and this is a reputation that is built over the course of months, not days. This way, when it comes down to needing to take a day off because of sickness, assuming that the circumstances make sense, you should feel comfortable asking for it without hesitation. If you don't ask for something, you probably won't get it. It's not totally because finance professionals are insensitive, either -- it's because everyone's too busy with their own stuff to be aware of your situation, and that's why it's essential to get in front of a situation when it arises, rather than to just "grind it out" and think that everyone else will notice (because they probably won't).
Sick at work (Originally Posted: 03/18/2010)
Can we get a ruling on showing up to work sick?
I have been in bed for the last two days because our analyst wanted to be a hero, and came in 'feeling like shit.'
Not only do I not respect him for 'being a trooper,' I actually kind of hate him right now for my current condition.
My ruling--don't come in if you're sick. You're not doing anyone a favour, especially if you're an analyst. When you're sick, not only are you not adding value, but you're seriously detracting from the rest of the team through your presence alone.
I actually think it's selfish to come into work sick. You're attempting to make yourself seem 'driven,' when in reality, you're displaying your utter lack of decision-making skills.
If you're reading this, you know who you are.
sucks but maybe they don't want to get fired. I don't think people are very forgiving of you not getting work done even if you are sick.
he shouldve worn a sars mask
didn't age well
It all depends on how critical your presence is. I've at time come in sick as fuck and other times I've stayed home. Depends on your situation / culture. Even if I'm home sick, I'm still working and on the phone the entire time. Its not like you're getting any real rest.
On another note... who told you to be so god damn delicate and fragile. You have the flu, suck it up and grow a pair. Its not like he gave you AIDS.
Haha, perfect.
Tbh, if I was sick I would take meds to hide the symptoms and show up. And I would tell anyone to try to do the same. You say this now, but I doubt you would be understanding if it was the other way around. Honestly- you would be thinking 'lazy fuck' ...or maybe 'lying bastard'
coming down with the cold (Originally Posted: 01/02/2008)
what do you guys do when you catch a cold? are you still expected to come to the office (it may make sense to take 1/2 days off, at least for the sake of other analysts)?
Cold-FX has saved me several times already. I went from skeptic to swearing by it.
depends on what you are working on, how bad the cold is, etc. in general, ive found you can take off for 1 day or leave early, etc. if you are sick and dont have anything pressing that needs to be done.
If your busy though, all bets are off. I had bronchitis at one point but still had to crank out a 100hr work-week cause of some time sensitive projects. Luckily, I was on antibiotics and other meds which may have helped to stop the spread of the germs to rest of the bullpen.
Airborne (sp?) seems to work really well for me.
The taste isn't good, but it’s not horrible either.
I never took a sick day while I worked in banking. Whenever I was sickest I was also the busiest. Working back to back 6AM nights while fighting a cold is not ideal. And unfortunately, I was probably ground zero for the entire analyst and associate bullpen getting sick last year.
I highly recommend you guys take protein shakes, they boost your immune system. Its been over a year now since I've catched the cold.
.
My wife has had a really bad cold for a week or so, and Odwalla's "Wellness" juice drink has been my lifeblood. I've managed to fend off the cold (ok, I'm a little stuffed up) despite a lot of late nights (I'm working round the clock on b-school apps). Chase it with red bull and dayquil to clear your nose/head and give you energy.
.
Navy - what was your daily caloric intake and daily protein intake?
I'm curious because I'm in the middle of an O-Lifting circuit and have seriously upped the calories. I drink alot of milk, with 1 protein shake and 1 weight gainer a day. I'm at around 5000 calories per day at 185 lbs.
I don't want to be sick more than I have to.
i've been using cold-fx, but i guess you have to follow a regiment
is it one pill a day when you're not sick?
i gotta become healthier and start washing my hands... this cold is killing me
I started using nasal spray since it cut down on my sniffles. The only time I stayed home from a cold was when I went to work and they told me to go home. I was so happy they said that, I felt like I was dying. I ended up staying home for three days.
********"Babies don't cost money, they MAKE money." - Jerri Blank********
If you truly are near the point of dying or at least look like it, get a note from your doctor stating that to be the case and that you can't work for xx days.
I've never been this under the weather but my friend used this and it worked - obviously you have to be TRULY sick for them to believe you, but banks would much rather lose you for a few days and avoid literally ending your life.
If you just get a normal cold, I wouldn't even try to find a way of taking the day off. One thing you have to get used to is that no one in this industry really cares about you personally - they just want the work to get done. So unless you're on your deathbed, I wouldn't try anything.
.
nah, swimming does the trick.
I'm getting sick way too often! (Originally Posted: 02/22/2008)
I don't know what the hell is going on, but I am getting bronchitis/flus/etc like crazy for the past year!
I just don't understand how this keep happening! I work out regularly, take my vitamins and eat right, yet I just got bronchitis for like the 3rd time this year! Its getting me annoyed! My grades are plummeting down the toilet so fast my head spins. The pills the doctor gave me help a little, but the side affects are probably worse than the actual sickness. One of the bottles say "May cause Insomnia(check, I'm wired right now and have class in 5 hours), Lack of focus(check!), drowsiness (yep), nausea, headaches and sudden unconsciousness (During an exam for the love of peet!).
I can't shake it either. Its like a bunch of nasty compsci kids are following me around and sneezing on me or something. I can't think of any other reasons behind it. I mean, I'm not exactly accustomed to Northern weather (I am from Miami) but this is ridiculous!
"Rant off"
It could be AIDS.
Wash your hands more.
********"Babies don't cost money, they MAKE money." - Jerri Blank********
I'm going to lean towards washing my hands more.
Whats the policy on wearing sars masks in school because a lot of the people that go here are just plain disgusting. I feel like half of them never learned that coughing/sneezing on other people could spread things.
wear it if you want to....but I'm sure that ppl will think you're weird.....it makes sense though.
********"Babies don't cost money, they MAKE money." - Jerri Blank********
Maybe wear a bubble.
have you tried airborne?
Question while on the topic - while I hope this never happens, I have thought of it. If a family member passed away while you are staffed on a deal, are you able to take time off (given you let the team know what is going on)? Or are you expected to come in and push through?
Way to revive a 13 year old thread. I've seen it happen once in my experience, and they guy was able to take a weekend off but was "available" if anything came up. We as a team worked our hardest to make sure he didn't have to work.
I wonder how banks will treat coming to work with a mask vs doing WFH in the future.
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