Sick day
Unless you’re the little boy who cried wolf and have either used up all of your work sick days on playing hooky or just skipped class to watch Jerry Springer, then you’ve got to play the sick day card when you’re contagious. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard people say that they didn’t want to “blow” their sick days on being sick. “I’d rather take a sick day when I’m feeling great and go shopping or just stay at home and do nothing.” You’ve got sick days for a reason, so use them for that reason. Don’t come to work or class if you’re going to get the whole office/class sick and don’t try to play something serious off as an allergy attack or a mild cold.

If you feel that you must go to work or that your job is at stake as a result of your attendance, then you should get creative with your options.

Always inform your boss that you are sick and contagious. Chances are he/she will not want to get sick and will send you home as a result.

If you work on the computer for most of your day, find out if you can use a “remote computer” option to connect to your office’s server and work from home. There are several “work at home” options that you and your boss could utilize.

If you do not use the computer that much, try working at home and trading e-mail as a way of checking in with your boss throughout the day. By taking the initiative to find “work at home” options, your boss may view your efforts in a positive light and remove all doubt that you are trying to scam your way into a “free day” at home.

If you have your own office with a door, you could try to contain yourself to your office. Ask to be excused from all meetings or gatherings that might put you in contact with other co-workers.

If you’re a college student and have not skipped a lot of classes, try emailing or calling your instructor regarding the situation. If you have gone to the doctor, always get a note so any absence from class can be documented as legitimate. Explain to the instructor that you are contagious and that you do not want to get anyone else in the class sick. If you talk to your instructor via phone and you have a horrible voice as a result of your sickness, then your instructor will be more willing to understand the absence and not count it against your grade.

Always call before you miss a class (if at all humanly possible), not after. By informing your instructor ahead of time, you are presenting yourself as a responsible college student. If you casually speak to your instructor the next week after you are no longer sick, it will be less convincing and your instructor may assume that you simply skipped the class.

Balancing the politics of work and school attendance with the courtesy of removing yourself when contagious can be tricky and often difficult, but if you present yourself as a responsible worker or student when you are well, then it is more likely that your instructor/boss will understand and believe you when you call in sick.