Elderly Employees Ask Coworker Why He Was Out Sick For 2 Days, Won't Stop Asking Until He Answers With Specifics: 'Were You Sick, or Just Feeling Down?'

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An elderly employee asks his coworker why he was out sick for a couple of days, hoping he'll tell him exactly what was wrong.

My office is full of nosey people. I anticipate several people asking why I was out sick for 2 days. Is there any polite way to tell them it’s personal and not to ask?

I work in an office with conservative people most 50-75+ years old. Not being judgmental, I just notice the difference between this office and the offices I've worked in with younger people and non-conservative offices.
I took today and yesterday off as I'm not recovered from a medical procedure that I had done on Sunday. I had a procedure done last year too which required me to take a day or two off and multiple people asked why I was out sick.
They're not even concerned legit just nosey A coworker that I like and text sometimes already called and texted multiple times asking if I was sick or just feeling down. We
aren't even in the same office/dept so I don't know why it matters, she didn't really seemed concerned either. She asked to call me 8:30 before work right after I replied "no I'm not coming in" to her text asking if I'm on the bus and feeling better.
Maybe it's just me but I don't like being asked personal questions from coworkers especially when I know they don't really care and are just being nosey. There's 1
manager who tells everyone's business especially if you're out sick and another who will ask you 1 question and then a million more based on your answer. She is very loud in a small office too so you're basically telling everyone. This
particular person has a victim complex and will tell it personally if you refuse to share or elaborate.
Is there any way to tell these people that I just needed the time off and it's personal without sounding like an a h le or offending anyone?
Emotional_Half_7679 A simple, thanks for asking after me, but its personal Im not up for talking about it.
meamemg Don't even give them that much. "I'm not up for talking about it" makes it sound like a juicy story. Just "I'm doing better, thanks for asking"
Brilliant-Soup-8169 OP This is the important part. They gossip like high in there I just want a direct, polite but school vague answer.
darth_skipicious your best strategy is to lie about it. if lying is risky then politely tell them its personal but this will still many people off lying is usually better. one well- crafted, believable lie. humans are not safe around other humans
Brilliant-Soup-8169 OP Agree I was thinking about lying but have no clue what to say. Just something short, polite & vague enough to not question further
lunarteamagic My favorite absurd reason has always been "my grandmother needed bailing out" and leaving it at that.
Steve_the_Samurai I can't keep lies straight in my head so I just give the bare minimum and deflect. In your case, I would say, I was out for a procedure. If they push for follow up, I would say it wasn't a big deal just a small thing and share a benign fact about recovery like was feeling better last night and watched that show everyone is watching. Have you seen it?' You can then move the conversation on to something else.
Brilliant-Soup-8169 OP Same I'm not a good liar. It's so much easier telling the truth but these folks make it hard. Crazy how everyone gets sick & needs recovery but when you do it's a drama show
bananahammerredoux "Why are you out sick?" "Because I'd rather be sick at home than sick at work" You're not obligated to answer work texts after work hours. Especially intrusive ones. Just ignore them.
sleepydorian Just be vague. So many illnesses are super similar and boring. You had a bug, you had a cold, you don't even know what it was but you were exhausted. However, it is never a stomach thing, that always leads to follow up questions. If you must answer, these are your go to. Even if you had to go to the doctor, "oh he said it was just a bug/cold" or "he didn't know either and prescribed rest". Doesn't matter if you have cancer, as far as your coworkers know it's a cold, or you went to t
A sick man lies in bed, which is pretty boring and not worth regaling to his coworkers in detail.

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