Why Are We Afraid to Call in Sick?

From acetaminophen to gargling with salt water, most people we know will do anything to recover from being sick… except skip a day of work. But this attitude won’t jibe with the H1N1 virus: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are recommending that Americans who catch swine flu take at least 3-5 days off of work to prevent the illness from spreading. Even the thought of one hour of isolation from our cubicles gives us the jitters, so today, we’re sitting down with clinical psychologist Robin Kerner to try to understand exactly why it is that Americans have such a hard time just staying home.