Am I Too Sick to Go to Work Quiz
How the Scales are Structured
Who Usually Takes This Test?
See How You Compare
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.
Example Questions From the Test
- I have mild soreness only when coughing or moving, and it settles with rest.
- I have no unusual chest pain, pressure, or tightness.
- I have severe or new pressure, pain spreading to another area, or discomfort with sweating or breathlessness.
- The discomfort is persistent or concerning enough that I think prompt clinical advice is appropriate.
- I could focus, though I might work more slowly or need a brief pause.
- I could concentrate about as reliably as I normally do.
- I would lose track repeatedly or make mistakes that could affect my work.
- I cannot stay awake, think clearly, or make essential safety decisions.
- Symptoms are frequent enough that distancing and consistently containing them would be difficult.
- I do not currently have respiratory symptoms likely to expose nearby people.
- I have been told to isolate or stay home because of a confirmed or suspected contagious respiratory illness.
- Symptoms are occasional, and I can consistently use tissues, hand hygiene, and available masking.
Am I Too Sick to Go to Work Quiz - Description and methodology of the test
People deciding whether illness has changed their ability to work can use the Am I Too Sick to Go to Work Quiz as a pause before starting a shift. It suits anyone with symptoms affecting attention, stamina, breathing, alertness, or contact with others. For someone deciding whether to call out of work today, the result from this should i call out of work today quiz can clarify the next step.
What This Assessment Explores
The questionnaire asks about safe functioning, warning signs, and whether symptoms, exposure instructions, contact, and precautions affect attendance or could expose others. In this should i go to work today quiz, the dimensions separate reduced capacity, warning signs, and exposure concerns.
The three result dimensions are:
- Ability to Work Safely (0-15) reads focus, stamina, self-care, breathing, and medicine-related alertness; bands: Baseline check 0, Adjustments may help 1-2, Step back & reassess 3-15.
- Acute Warning Signs (0-15) reads chest, breathing, neurological, hydration, fever, and deterioration concerns; bands: Baseline check 0, Needs attention 1-2, Prompt action 3-15.
- Exposure and Workplace Impact (0-15) reads exposure indicators, workplace contact, containment, and precautions for attendance; bands: Baseline check 0, Precautions deserve attention 1-2, Stay-away guidance may apply 3-15.
Someone using this should i call in sick quiz can consider rest, modified duties, or further guidance.
Methodology and Evidence Base
Each item offers four response choices about function, warning severity, exposure, or precautions. Topics include chest symptoms, concentration, respiratory symptoms, self-care, medicines, fever, contact, gastrointestinal illness, travel, stamina, alertness, hydration, and workplace controls.
Scores are grouped into the dimensions. The questionnaire does not state how individual response choices contribute to each scale total. Any concerning experience matters independently, and a single 3-point red-flag response overrides the total. Do not drive or operate machinery if alertness or coordination is impaired; impaired judgment can make safety decisions unreliable.
A study of work attendance during acute respiratory illness offers context for these situations, but it does not validate this questionnaire. The questionnaire is conceptually consistent with the Work Ability Index, not an adaptation of it. CDC guidance provides context for symptoms, exposure, and staying away; clinical guidance on chest symptoms provides context for seeking attention for new or severe symptoms.
This should i go to work tomorrow quiz remains a self-report aid; bands are unvalidated reflective summaries, not fitness-for-duty cutoffs. Current context, response bias, self-awareness, and missing clinical information can alter results.
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- Gulati M, Levy PD, Mukherjee D, Amsterdam E, Bhatt DL, Birtcher KK, Blankstein R, Boyd J, Bullock-Palmer RP, Conejo T, Diercks DB, Gentile F, Greenwood JP, Hess EP, Hollenberg SM, Jaber WA, Jneid H, Joglar JA, Morrow DA, O'Connor RE, Ross MA, Shaw LJ. 2021 AHA/ACC/ASE/CHEST/SAEM/SCCT/SCMR Guideline for the Evaluation and Diagnosis of Chest Pain: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Circulation. 2021;144(22):e368-e454. 10.1161/CIR.0000000000001029
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