It starts slowly. The sound of a nose being blown. Then perhaps a sudden sneeze. Before you know it, there is contagion across the company floor. It’s that time of year. It’s officially sniffle season.

Wherever you are and whoever you work with, everyone has dealt with that heroic colleague who refuses to stay home when they come down with something. Will this heroism carry over to an equally valiant effort after a big Thursday night out? No, of course not. This weekday warrior cannot be bothered with consistency.

What in the world are we to do?

First, the golden rule – treat others as you would want to be treated. Next, the platinum rule – treat others as they would want to be treated. Last, a silicon rule for sickness you can institute on your team when the sniffles come rolling in:

• Any team member, regardless of rank or file, has the power to send another team member home for being sick
• Or, depending on the politics of your team, any team member can tap the manager to send the offender home for the day

Most importantly, no one has the authority to overrule the request. If it gets flagged it gets followed and they go home.*

Regrettably, we are not the original implementers of this brilliant solution. But, when we heard there was a way to democratize and deputize the monitoring of colleague sickness we knew it was golden and one any team could proudly follow.

Cheers to a healthier workplace. And a part time hero vanquished.

*If it seems like a more serious illness than the flu or a common cold, consult HR of course. Please and thank you.