"He is also very social when he is sick. He loves stopping by desks to chat. He leans in to show you something on his phone. He offers to help by borrowing your stapler or hovering over your computer screen. Then he coughs into his hand and touches the office door handle, the coffee pot and the communal pen like he is trying to make sure his germs have a full social life, too."
"A few of us have tried gentle hints. We have asked if he is feeling OK. We have mentioned that we can work from home. We have said, politely, that we would really rather not catch whatever he has. Carl just laughs and says he never takes sick days and that he is "toughing it out." He talks about it like it is an achievement, which makes it even harder to respond without sounding like a scold."
"I genuinely like my job and most of the people I work with. We are a small office, so we see a lot of each other, share the same kitchen and bump into one another all day long. Normally that is fine, but lately one co-worker has turned cold and flu season into his own personal hobby. I will call him "Carl.""
A small-office employee reports a coworker named Carl who repeatedly comes to work visibly ill while insisting he is "totally fine" or that symptoms are just allergies. Carl socializes when sick, leans over desks, borrows items, and coughs into his hand before touching communal surfaces. Colleagues have offered gentle hints, suggested working from home, and politely asked him to stay home, but he boasts about never taking sick days and "toughing it out." Coworkers worry about spreading illness to families and an immunocompromised colleague and seek a firm but civil way to address the behavior.
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