"You were going to drink anyway." Prejudice that afflicts infected people March 1, 20:54

A man infected with the new coronavirus.

During my stay in the hospital, I needed an oxygen mask for a while, suffered from high fever and piercing chest pain, and did not go through food.

I returned to work as soon as possible because I didn't want to bother the company, but the prejudice in the workplace has further squeezed me.

(Social Department reporter Marie Mano)

Occupational accident certification is also monitored by GPS ...

“I can't sleep at night because of mental stress, and I'm suffering from tinnitus,”

says a man in his 40s who works for a real estate company.

A man was infected with the new coronavirus last summer.

Although the infection route could not be identified, it was recognized as an industrial accident because it is highly possible that the person was infected by work.

It is said that the company was reluctant to apply for an industrial accident, but he said that something unexpected happened after he was recognized as an industrial accident.

Male in his 40s

"A terminal with a GPS function was lent to everyone so that they could see their behavior history when infected. I felt that the employees were not trusted, so I decided to monitor it. I'm done. "

I guess I was going to drink anyway

The reason for the distrust was the company's response after the infection was confirmed.

The man had reported to the company his behavioral records for two weeks before the infection, but the president told him he was lying and was telling it to others.

A man in his 40s

"I apologized for the inconvenience immediately after returning to work, but the president did not say" I'm glad I was fine "or welcomed the return. He told an employee of the store that "(I wrote) the behavior record for the two weeks before the infection did not make sense. I didn't tell the truth." "I wonder if I was going to drink anyway." I was shocked to hear it. "

Continued to work even in the corona wreck ...

Even though the infection continued to spread, it was difficult for men to switch to telework due to work reasons, and they continued to work.

The job of a real estate company is to deal with an unspecified number of people, such as providing information on properties and accompanying a preview.

No matter how careful I was, at that time the other person wasn't wearing a mask, so I was worried that I might get infected.

And last summer, suddenly I got a fever of 38 degrees 5 minutes.

After consulting with my family doctor many times and about 10 days later, I was finally able to undergo a PCR test and the infection was confirmed.

The man who was hospitalized immediately was judged to have pneumonia and was "moderate", and was temporarily put on an oxygen mask, treated, and discharged about two weeks later.

I didn't want to bother my company and colleagues as much as possible, so I wanted to get back to work as soon as possible, but for about 10 days after I was discharged, my physical strength did not recover and I was forced to take medical treatment at home.

A man in his 40s

"I was worried that I would not be able to see my family as it was while I was in the hospital, and I felt like praying that it wouldn't get worse anymore. About 10 days after I was hospitalized, my appetite gradually began to appear. But by the time I was discharged, I had lost 10 kilograms and was suffocating just walking. "

If infected, "unpaid"?

!!

I was also mentally shocked.

A man who was worried about his work while he was in the hospital.

It is said that he found a certain "notice" when he looked at the bulletin board on the Internet, which employees can freely view and also use for communication.

I was informed about "changes in work rules".

"If you are infected with the new coronavirus and take a rest, the company is not obliged to pay the leave allowance."

There was no direct explanation from the company, but the man felt that the contact was triggered by his infection.

At the same time, he felt that he was told that he was unpaid if he was infected.

Suffering from high fever and piercing chest pain, the man was anxious about the future as he did not go through food.

A man in his 40s

"I was shocked when I saw the text while I was alone in the hospital. At that time, I didn't know how long I would be hospitalized, and with the possibility of sequelae, my life and my family's life I was very worried about what would happen. "

When I checked with the person in charge of the company again after leaving the hospital, there was an explanation that if I was infected with the new coronavirus and took a rest, I would take "injury and illness allowance" or "annual paid leave" permitted by the Labor Standards Act. It is called Ta.

The company is reluctant to apply for work-related accidents

However, the man was wondering if he was infected at work.

In addition to his wife and children who live with the man, acquaintances who ate within two weeks were all confirmed to be "negative" by PCR.

On the other hand, among the employees who worked at the same store, there were other people who were confirmed to be infected with the new corona besides men.

For this reason, he decided to apply for an industrial accident, but the company said he was reluctant.

"It is difficult for the real estate industry to apply for an industrial accident."

"It takes time

for an industrial accident to

be recognized."

For various reasons, I felt that I was being guided to avoid applying for work-related accidents as much as possible.

Work accident application There are few real estate industries

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has indicated that if the infection route is unknown, medical professionals, etc. will, in principle, recognize it as an industrial accident, but even for those engaged in other jobs, "when multiple infected persons are confirmed in the workplace" "And" when there are many opportunities to approach or contact customers ", it is judged individually that there is a high possibility of infection due to work.

The number of industrial accident applications is by far the largest at 4144 for medical professionals, but other than that, it is 1228, and for the real estate industry, it is only 24.

(As of February 19, 2021)

Experts have pointed out that if an employee is recognized as an industrial accident, it may be considered that the company has failed, and there are cases where the application is not cooperative.

In that case, it is said that employees hesitate to apply.

The "prejudiced eyes" that I have been waiting for after returning to work

Another male colleague who was infected also responded to the interview.

This man also suffered from "prejudiced eyes" after returning to work.

Another employee said,

"The president told me that I wouldn't go out to play," and my colleague sometimes asked me, "Isn't he going to drink?" It seems that the atmosphere of "evil" is being created, and it has become difficult to work. It was very difficult to deal with it even though I was not infected because I liked it. I also thought about quitting. I crossed the road. "

Two people working at the same real estate company were interviewed on condition of anonymity, so it was not possible to directly confirm with the company why they took such measures.

What is the required support for infected people?

According to experts, there

are consultations such as

"I am

afraid that my infected colleague is being swearing at work and I am also infected" and

"The infected colleague has quit my job"

.

Japan Industrial Counselor Association Senior Industrial Counselor Tokumi Ito

"Because I am careful to prevent infection, if an infected person comes out

near

me, I think I will blame him for why he got infected." However, there are many cases where the infection route is unknown, and some infected people are suffering from "why they got infected" and "inconvenienced the workplace." Those who recovered by snooping on the circumstances of the infection. Uncomfortable words and deeds can also be harassment. "

On top of that, it is important to be close to the feelings of the other person.

Japan Industrial Counselor Association Senior Industrial Counselor Tokumi Ito

"Even if you are careful to prevent infection, you may get infected. When you return to work, you will be welcomed and even if you apologize, your boss will It's also important to say, "It doesn't matter who gets it. You don't have to feel sorry for the inconvenience." On top of that, everyone is willing to be careful to prevent infection. We need to create an atmosphere. "

Temperature measurement, disinfection, ventilation, telework, droplet prevention sheet, self-restraint of dinner.

The atmosphere in the workplace has changed significantly since last year.

When I found out that I was infected, there was a tense atmosphere in my workplace.

Now that the corona is terrible, the difficult situation of society as a whole continues for a long time, and it is unclear when it will end.

Because of this,

"what kind of situation would you have if you were infected?"

"

What kind of

response would make you feel uncomfortable at work?" After

taking a breath, you can think about the feelings and situation of the other person. I felt it was important again.

Social Affairs Department Reporter

Marie Mano