Though all this is understandable, it is also troubling.Tapping away at a laptop and smartphone from the discomfort of a sick person’s bedroom is not as dangerous as driving a forklift.It nevertheless carries risks―both for the ill-disposed individual and their employer.And it isn’t just covid, whose common symptoms include brain fog.Any bug brings fatigue.Being even mildly sick can impair brain function as much as high altitude, whose effect can feel like a bad hangover.It is difficult to exercise proper judgment if one cannot focus on the task at hand.It is why people with lower oxygen concentration sometimes remove protective clothes atop Mount Everest; some freeze to death.Firing off emails while feeling dizzy and depleted will put the body under further stress and also risk being incoherent.Soldiering on may make the employee both sicker and less productive for longer.Digital presenteeism, for that is what such persisting amounts to, is in no one’s interest.Resisting it is therefore important.You don’t need to have a blood transfusion or liver transplant to feel that you have earned a bit of time off.Sleeping soundly can restore body and spirit.Staring at the ceiling gives you time to take stock of your harried life.Do not worry about being judged to be shirking.True laziness cannot be disguised―if someone is malingering, chances are that their bosses already know.
