Higher ed instructors who are unwell have to cancel class or beg their friends to cover for them for no pay, out of the goodness of their hearts. There are no paid substitutes to call upon (at least not at my institution or at any that I know of). There is stigma attached to canceling more than one class in a row, or canceling more than once or twice per semester. I frequently see ill professors (coughing, running a fever, in pain, etc.) conducting class because they don’t want to be seen as slackers by their supervisors and/or their own students.
Academia Absurdia 