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Common Cold: Too Sick to Work?

If you have a cold, are you too sick to work? While you can try to run from a common cold, you can't hide! And you must use common sense before you expose others at work to your cold virus. Findings show that when we're sick with the common cold, we're not very productive. In fact, lost productivity on the job accounts for up to 60% of employer health costs -- more than if the sick employees had taken a sick day.

So, what should you do when you wake up sneezing, congested, and feeling miserable from a common cold?


If you are sniffling, feeling achy and tired, and have a fever, you may be coming down with the common cold or the flu. You are most contagious during the first 24 hours through the first few days of catching a cold virus, and you will feel miserable. With a cold, you will not get much work done, and you'll get well faster if you get some rest. Don't be generous with your germs. Keep your cold to yourself, and stay home!

If you are sniffling but not achy or feverish and feel fine otherwise, you probably have allergies. With allergies, you can go to work. In addition, you might want to see an allergist to find out what's triggering your allergies.

Allergy symptoms can rob you of quality of life, especially when they occur day after day. Your allergist can do allergy tests to find out your allergy triggers. Your allergist may then recommend allergy shots (immunotherapy) to help decrease your allergy symptoms.

Chills and Sweats

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