Viruses spread rapidly during cold season, especially in open-plan offices. We investigated how sensible it is to go to work with a cold and how best to protect yourself from infection in the office and at work.
Going to work with a cold: It also depends on the profession
"Should I go to work with a cold?" Almost every working person has probably asked themselves this question at some point – and most probably several times during cold and flu season. Likewise, everyone is surely familiar with the anxious glance at colleagues, customers, or other professional contacts with colds in the open-plan office: avoiding infections and preventing colds has been an important issue in everyday working life long before the pandemic.
Those who work in places like kindergartens, schools, or nursing professions will find it difficult to consistently protect themselves from potential cold virus infections at work. People who do more physical work, such as in trades or construction, may have more opportunities to keep to themselves at work, whether they have a cold themselves or a colleague is coughing. However, the question of whether to go to work with a cold differs significantly between these professions and those with sedentary jobs in open-plan offices: Anyone performing physically demanding tasks would be well advised to rest, even during mild cold episodes. Otherwise, a cold can become chronic or, in the worst-case scenario, lead to myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle).
Office work is generally not associated with strenuous physical activity and also offers many more opportunities to deal with coughs and other ailments. Especially since the pandemic, working from home has become a viable alternative in most companies, allowing employees to avoid going to work with a cold, even if it's just a slight scratchy throat and runny nose .
Avoiding colds – tips for work and the office
But how can you prevent a cold when there's already coughing and sneezing behind every PC in the open-plan office? If you want to protect yourself from infection, you can try these methods to minimize contact with viruses:
- Keep your distance: Whether in an open-plan office or a private office, when colds are rampant, it's best to avoid shaking hands and maintain a slight distance during conversations. Colds, coughs, and bronchitis are usually transmitted by viruses that spread through droplet infection.
- Pay attention to hygiene: Cold viruses also spread via surfaces that many people come into contact with. Therefore, it's best to disinfect door handles, telephones, keyboards, etc., daily.
- Wash your hands: Thorough handwashing with soap is also a way to protect against cold viruses on your way to work and in the office. Lather your hands vigorously for at least 20 seconds, making sure to clean between your fingers.
- Fresh air: Heated air dries out the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, thus weakening their self-cleaning system. Therefore, especially in open-plan offices, it's best to ventilate by opening windows wide for five minutes several times a day. This also reduces the concentration of cold viruses in the air. Nasal ointments or sprays can also help keep the nasal mucosa moist.
Strengthening the immune system : Sufficient sleep, a vitamin-rich diet and exercise in the fresh air can help to put the body's own defences in place to better resist colds – whether at home or at work in the office.
Working with a cold in an open-plan office: Should you just keep working, go to bed, or work from home first?
Anyone who doesn't want to or can't let a developing cold keep them from work—whether out of principle or because something truly important is coming up—naturally has the option of simply going to work with a cold. Some supervisors still don't like it when employees opt to work from home. However, if you do go to work with a cold, it's advisable to take extra care to avoid infecting others.
Working from home is certainly the better alternative. Besides the reduced risk of infection, it also eliminates the potentially stressful commute, and perhaps even allows for a relaxing power nap or two on the couch at home. All these factors can potentially shorten the duration of a cold – and everyone benefits from that.
Sick leave: When it's better not to go to work with a cold – and what is then allowed
Whether in an open-plan office or working from home, bravely continuing to work has its limits. Even when working in an office with a cold, there's a risk of worsening the illness beyond a certain level of illness and stress. And at the latest when symptoms such as severe fatigue, fever, body aches, or a strong cough with phlegm appear , the old adage "if you're sick, you belong in bed" is absolutely true.
Staying away from open-plan offices and the workplace in general with such cold symptoms should certainly not be an issue. There's also no need to delay seeing a doctor for fear that the sick leave will last longer than necessary for recovery: A sick note protects you from having to go to work with, for example, a severe cold, but it is not a work prohibition. As soon as the symptoms allow, it's perfectly fine to slowly resume work – even in such cases, working from home has clear advantages over an open-plan office.
Having a cold at work, at home, or in the office: Relieve your cough with special ivy extract
If, despite all precautions, an acute cough develops, a herbal remedy from the pharmacy can be used for treatment. For adults, phytotherapeutic remedies for coughs and bronchitis containing a special ivy extract have proven effective, for example, as a cough syrup. Such treatment is not only well-tolerated but also highly effective: the special ivy extract acts as an expectorant and can also soothe the urge to cough – the latter being particularly valuable when returning to work and being around others. For home use, the cough syrup in a bottle is suitable. For the office and when traveling, cough syrup stick sachets are practical , as they can be taken without water or a spoon.