I reckon people should (be allowed to) stay at home if they're sick. Problem is, like someone said here, their bosses tend to give them a hard time. This can be done aggressively, but more often it's a subtle kind of guilt trip ("Oh, I don't know if I will be able to find anyone...'how could you do this to me?'). In a very competitive workplace people are probably afraid to take real time off in case they are ousted by those coming up the career ladder. Remember there was an ad on telly a few years back. This bloke (middle aged) has a cold, his desk is piled high but he needs to take time off to get better. The younger man is all smug when the older guy gets back to work, having tried to take his place. But the older man had a secret weapon - some flu remedy or another - that allowed him to be sick AND to work at the same time. The punchline of the ad was "xxxxx - for when you don't have time to get sick" There's something very unnatural and sick with that kind of world view to begin with.