#49 Taking Airborne
Sep 9th, 2009 by pfi
With H1N1 in the news, accountants are not taking any chances. Accountants are buying Airborne under the impression that it confers some sort of benefits. The amazing thing is that it is not even peak flu season, AKA winter, yet.
Preventative medication is important as accountants are too busy to ever go to the doctor, let alone ever get sick. Seeing a doctor or having less time for workpapers is not an option. The reality (as harsh as it is) is that sick people get bad performance reviews and don’t stay with the company as long. That is why getting sick carries a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. This means, if an accountant gets sick, they need to work through the pain. Yes, this is truly a sign of progressive work-life balance in practice.
Instead of following common sense – such as exposure to sunlight daily, exercising regularly, and eating healthy – accountants rely on a concoction of Airborne and mineral water for their health needs. Accountants will buy tubes and tubes of this stuff despite unsubstantiated benefits.
Airborne also doesn’t address the actual cause of illness during busy season: a lack of sleep in cubicles (read: close proximity) with other accountants who are also highly susceptible to illness due to bad practices (no exercise, repetitive tasks, etc).
Airborne’s taste is subjective, but that doesn’t mean it tastes great. Have you heard of Redbull? That is another product accountants depend on, and it’s not for the taste.
If an accountant is feeling unwell, you should offer them some genuine advice as a friend. Tell them to put down the Airborne and get more than 4 hours of sleep.
Hardly ever got sick before I began working for a CPA firm. My very first busy season I got the flu so bad I could barely get out of bed for three days straight. My boyfriend kept me stocked on Pedialyte since I couldn’t keep anything else down. As soon as I could walk I went to the doc to confirm it was only the flu and then headed back to work. Couldn’t eat “normal” food for several weeks.
Now I get the company-sponsored flu shot every year – problem solved!
True, true, god forbid u get sick, there is too much pressure not to. Everyone stocks on handsanitizer and vitamine C. Having fever and cough have never prevented anyone I know from working a 16 hour day at Big 4. You must work until your mind and body completely shuts down. Then you can go home and work from there.
This is the main reason I love http://www.stuffaccountantslike.com. Killer post.
Is this product still available? I mean, I didn’t see it around, since 2010. And, although I’m not an accountant myself, I think that it could help me a lot.
14hr days with minimal sleep is very easy to get sick because the body needs sleep to fight viruses