Should you stay or should you go?

by Katrocket from Rocketradio

Okay, apologies all around for the surprise extended vacation from posting over the past three weeks, but what can I say? I got sick of holiday commercials before I could list a dozen of them. I was hoping you'd be too loaded with holiday cheer to notice.

So on the subject of being sick, there's a bit of controversy this week over a TV ad for Benylin cough syrup - an ad that's been running for over 2 years now, mind you.

Here's a two minute report on the matter from BBC.

It seems that employers and managers are rather upset with the message being delivered in the TV spot and on the Benylin website: if you're a rotten snotty mess, perhaps you should call in sick and try to recover instead of going to your workplace and making everyone else sick/annoyed/utterly disgusted with you.



JWT, the ad agency who created the Take A Benylin Day campaign, insists "We've been advised by health care experts that by taking one or two days off work, staying in bed, you can break that cycle and you can get to work healthy and productive."

Their website offers advice on what to tell your boss when calling in sick, offers video games and puzzles for the bored and lethargic, and reviews the best DVDs to watch while at home. But the UK-based Federation of Small Businesses claims the adverts and website are "outrageous", and have filed a complaint with the UK Advertising Standards Authority.

Absenteeism is a common struggle for all businesses, but personally speaking, I'd prefer that an ill co-worker stay home, rather than hacking up a lung in my face and exposing me to their icky germs. And I'm not a germaphobe, I'm just easily irritable. Sure, there's always some douchebag in the office who will use the slightest sniffle or hangover to excuse themselves from work, but I think if you're just going to be a miserable, whiny mess all day long, you might as well stay far, far away from me.

So what's your stance on this debate? Would you stay or would you go?