"It's that time of year, again, when everyone appears to be getting sick — your family, your friends, your co-workers," USA Today's Adrianna Rodriguez recently proclaimed writing about the current state of public health in the country.

"You can take your pick this year," says Dr. Steve Furr, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

It's considered "a toss-up this season between the coronavirus, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and other cold viruses," adds Rodriguez.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of the week ending Dec. 16, "half of the states in the U.S. — especially those in the South — have reported high or very high flu activity." Health experts also report that the coronavirus continues to account for most hospitalizations caused by a respiratory virus.

Also lingering around is the common cold and strep throat. Writes Los Angeles Times columnist LZ Granderson, "So far there've been more than 100,000 hospitalizations from flu this season and 6,500 deaths(reported). ... Which is why doctors are advising people to stay home from work if they're sick."

This staying home if you are sick raises an interesting question. While most of the news is about what might make us sick, the question I have is: Is the health care community paying enough attention to recovery and the things that bring us back to a state of wellness?

"Before the pandemic, staying home from work meant something. You were out sick, people knew. Friends would show concern," writes Granderson. "[W]hat does 'too sick to come to the office' even mean for workers who can do their jobs remotely? If you're too sick to go to the office, that should mean too sick to work. Yet, we work because we're not that sick. We're something in between."

"This current wave of illnesses has many hybrid employees in this weird limbo where we're just productive enough to keep going but we're sick and probably should stop," says Granderson.

David Spencer is a professor of economics and political economy at the University of Leeds. "For many, going to work while sick has become the norm, even a necessity," he writes in a theconversation.com opinion piece. "In many cases, illness is no longer seen as a valid reason for not working; rather, it is considered to be something that people must put up with and get over," he adds.

"Fearing the consequences of staying away from work, workers may be sucked back to it, even though doing so is likely to compound their illness. ... Yet, working while ill adds to the costs of organizations. It impairs the performance of workers and results in lower productivity," Spencer concludes.

This is what he had to say — back in November 2015. All these years later, with a pandemic stuck in between, not much has changed. Going to work while sick remains a norm.

According to a recent featured article by Forbes senior contributor Jack Kelly, Americans are still finding it challenging to disconnect from work. "While the shift to remote work during the Covid-19 pandemic brought flexibility to the workplace, it has also complicated employees' relationships to their jobs and establishing boundaries," he wrote back in July. "Staff may feel compelled to show up while sick out of pure guilt for being afforded the luxury of working from home. ... First and foremost, if you are injured or feeling mentally or physically unwell, you must take personal time to get the proper medical attention you need. It is also important to allow yourself time to rest and recover, as you are no good to anybody if you feel run down."

Gavin Francis is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and a fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners. In 2000, he became an emergency room doctor, and later, a primary care physician. "All the way through training in medicine I found it curious that the words 'recovery' and 'convalescence' (were) generally absent from the index of medical textbooks," he writes in a September 2023 opinion piece for Time magazine.

Francis' first experience of the complexities of recovery, and how it can and must take very different forms with different illnesses and between different people, was forged by his childhood experience. The more he explored this issue as an adult and practicing physician, the more he was convinced that no one knows how to truly recover from illness.

"The medicine I was trained in often assumes that once a crisis has passed, the body and mind find ways to heal themselves," says Frances. "But after nearly 30 years of practice I've often found that the reverse is true: guidance and encouragement through the process of recovery can be indispensable. ... Illness is not simply a matter of biology, but one of psychology and sociology. ... I often remind my patients that it's worth giving adequate time and respect to the process of healing. We need to take care over the environment in which we're attempting to heal, celebrating the importance of nature and recognizing the part it can play in hastening recovery."

"Though it can be tempting to resent someone who seems to be recovering more quickly than us, comparisons are rarely helpful," Frances cautions. "Neither should we be anxious to set out a timetable of recovery: it's more important to set achievable goals. ... If we don't modify those ideas, we are unlikely to make time for recovery, or understand the value of rest and recuperation."

Frances closes with this important thought: "For all its irritations, frustrations, and humiliations, illness may teach us all something of value, even if that thing is only to cherish wellness when we feel it or see it in others. From time to time, we all need to learn the art of convalescence."

Follow Chuck Norris through his official social media sites, on Twitter @chucknorris and Facebook's "Official Chuck Norris Page." He blogs at http://chucknorrisnews.blogspot.com. To find out more about Chuck Norris and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.