BlogBreak

By Nina

January 29, 2007 10:05 AM | Link to this

I don’t think I could ever call in sick without being severly ill even though it’s tempting. I would just get too behind and feel really guilty.

By Kim

January 29, 2007 10:08 AM | Link to this

Sick days can be “sick of work days” for maintaining your mental health too. The 10 days I get a year are part of my total benefits package, so I use them as needed.

By Paws

January 29, 2007 10:16 AM | Link to this

I take every single one of my days off, sick or not. I work my butt off in the office and also check and respond to work email at night and on the weekend. I’m in a support position. You bet that if I need a day off from the grid, I’m taking it. I am given the days, I’m told to use them, so I do. As far as calling in sick and not being sick … yeah, I’ve done it. So what? I work hard, very hard. If I want a day off, I take it.

By sm

January 29, 2007 10:29 AM | Link to this

I go to work when I am sick, unless really sick and contagious, and use my sick days to take care of myself and do the things I want to do during the week, but can’t because I work. They are basically mental health days.

By singleparent

January 29, 2007 10:38 AM | Link to this

Yes, I take sick days when I am well and business is slow. As a single parent, I call them “Mental Health” days, and I just stay home all by myself. I don’t go cruise the mall, don’t go shopping, I don’t do any cleaning or other house chores, I just stay home all by myself. I can watch what I want on tv, take a nap, eat when and where I want, and just take time for me. .

By Sparta

January 29, 2007 10:49 AM | Link to this

Where I work, days out when you aren’t really sick are called “MH” or “Mental Health” days.

I wouldn’t stay out unless I needed it.

By Lou

January 29, 2007 11:14 AM | Link to this

It’s people like “Paws” that make me sick. Totally selfish and juvenile. You’ll go far Paws, you are the kind of employee that should be canned for adsenteeism.

By Spanky

January 29, 2007 11:15 AM | Link to this

What’s the problem?…Every now and then, I’ll take a Wednesday off,..ringin’ it up as a sick day. Whether I’m sick or not is really a big bag of “nunya”! I basically take it as a field trip, just anything to break the rythm of the usual.I’ll go see a movie, see a museum, or go to the Aquarium. I think we all need that from time to time! Maybe Ferris Beuhler was onto something!

By Nikki

January 29, 2007 11:15 AM | Link to this

I think a lot of people take mental health days, and I don’t see anything wrong with it as long as you don’t do it to the detriment of your work. There have been a few mental health days I’ve taken where I would have been distracted and unable to do my work well if I were there, anyway, so it was better to let it wait til I could do my best job.

By belleoftheball

January 29, 2007 11:45 AM | Link to this

We don’t get paid for “sick” days even if we really are deathly ill. I never take off when I am sick unless I really physically can not come in. I suffer with loss of wages and loss of time / productivity. I think bosses should give at least 3 paid sick days a year. And a lunch break would be nice too.

By Paws

January 29, 2007 11:51 AM | Link to this

Dear Lou,

I’m sorry I make you sick. Perhaps you should take a sick day.

I have made a career out of being a very successful executive assistant supporting senior level executives for the past 20 years. Like I said, I work very long hours, so the need for calling in sick comes up now and then.

You need to get over your ‘high and mighty attitude.” At least I’m real, sweetheart.

By Maria

January 29, 2007 11:59 AM | Link to this

I’ve never taken a sick day to just play hooky. It sounds tempting, but every time I think of doing it I get a mental picture in my head of the page in our employee manual that warns us away from doing exactly that. I work for a small company, and I really respect my work and my bosses, and I don’t think I could bring myself to lie to them over the phone.

I have taken sick days as insomnia recovery days. Don’t you hate those Sunday nights when your body resists sleeping for more than an hour or two?

By sick today

January 29, 2007 12:08 PM | Link to this

I’m sick today but I’m going in as soon as I can…really as soon as I am done writing this from bed. We have too much to do at the office for me not to be there if I can possible get in my car and drive, but if I can’t, I’m simply not going to try because it’s much more of a risk and a detriment to my health long-term to wear myself down wastefully. When we need ‘mental-health’ time, we call it the weekend :) Or we schedule some vacation.

By Chuck

January 29, 2007 12:23 PM | Link to this

I had a co-worker once that treated her ‘sick days’ allotment as vacation days. She would burn her vacation days during the year and then take a week during the Christmas time to go home to Chicago and say those days are alloted to her so she can take them! That always burned me! I am salary and take a sick day if i am ill or have a doc appt. Or to take care of a sick child…but i don’t lie about it. I tell them why i am taking the day.

By Dave

January 29, 2007 12:25 PM | Link to this

Sick days are a relic of the authoritarian past. PTO days replaced sick days with a no-excuse day off. All sick days do is encourage lying to your employer and enforce that employees spend money on a doctor they may not need to “write a note”. I will NEVER work for another employer who choses to have sick days rather than PTO.

By Prootwadl

January 29, 2007 12:34 PM | Link to this

We get “unlimited” sick days where I work, but I tend to only take a sick day if I’m actually too sick to work, and since I’m lucky enough to have the option to work from home I will sometimes do that instead of actually taking time off.

If I’m stupid and stay up toom late so I’m too tired to work, I’ll usually take the morning off as Vacation time, not sick time, but I have a lot of vacation time every year (four weeks this year plus a week pushed from last year) so I have that.

More employers in the US need to provide adequate vacation time to their employees. My wife only gets one week of vacation this year, and her first year at her current position she got no paid vacation. That made it costly for us when she acuually got seriously ill for a week — we had to eat a week’s worth of pay.

By Dave

January 29, 2007 12:35 PM | Link to this

Lou, You are part of the old ways of thinking. Keep that callous and partonizing attitude and see how far it will get you. I bet you call your employees “resources”… Yeah and I bet they love being called that too. Next time try having some compassion.

By Agreed

January 29, 2007 12:38 PM | Link to this

I agree with the Mental Health Days angle. I never get sick, but when working for companies that separate sick days and vacation days (instead of just having a pool of days off - regardless of reason), I always used all my sick days.

I don’t lie when I make the call to the office… I simply say, “I need to take a sick day.”

By huh?

January 29, 2007 12:40 PM | Link to this

Lou, proof before posting. Especially if you are going to try and chew someone out, just because they don’t think the way you think they should. Now, that’s juvenile!

By Ilovemyjob

January 29, 2007 12:46 PM | Link to this

When I had the job from Haydes I would call out sick all the time. Just the thought of waking up and having to go to work with those crazy people and the boring job just made me not want to go to work. The sad part was our actual sick days did not kick in till we were out for 3 days!! What is that?? Now I have the perfect job and we get 5 sicks days that we can use anytime. Now that I love my job I never want to call out!

By ATLien

January 29, 2007 12:51 PM | Link to this

At my currnt job, our sick time off is now “sick/personal” time. We can use it for sick time or personal reasons we don’t have to explain. One time, I really just needed a mental health day so I called in “sick” saying I had tripped on my stairs and hurt me knee. Later that day, I started down my stairs, fell and really hurt myself. I had to call in sick a second day! Karma got me!

By Anon.

January 29, 2007 1:03 PM | Link to this

I’m at work SICK right now as we speak. My counterpart called in today. Good thing I didn’t, as there are only 2 of us. She’s been taking A LOT of time off lately, as she’s pregnant, which I understand, as I hope to be soon myself. But she was doing the same thing even before. She’s been doing a lot of leaving early and coming in late, and calling in…while I’ve been here all day, every day…so I’m a little p** off right now. If I tried that, I’d be so behind I’d never recover. I called in 2 times last year. So, if the whole office gets sick because of me…I don’t want to hear about it!

By tlc

January 29, 2007 1:10 PM | Link to this

I’m at work unless I’m sick or schedule the time off. Every time I’ve lied about being sick, I ended up getting ill & having to work cause I’d already told my sick line for the month. Oh yeah, parents, don’t ever lie about your kids…that’s a real NO NO!

By singleparent

January 29, 2007 1:11 PM | Link to this

I personally would like to thank all the sick people who feel as though they HAVE to go to work. Please, stay at home with your bad germs, and get yourself better before you come in and make us all sick. I hate people who think they are so important to the office, that they can’t stay home and take care of themselves. Instead they come into work and everyone else has to take a sick day because the sick person came in with germs and infected everyone.

Also, WASH YOUR HANDS!!! One particular person in my office is ALWAYS sick, but never washes his hands. He comes out of the men’s room, blows his nose in a tissue, then grabs the door handle to leave the building. I run behind him with a can of Lysol……that’s just gross.

And Lou I think you really need a mental health day. Please take one soon!!!!

By Paws

January 29, 2007 1:42 PM | Link to this

To those of you who profess to have never called in sick without really being sick, you really need to lighten up on yourselves. I guess you’ve never mistakenly taken a pen from your employer either? Life is too short … eat dessert first, kiss your kids every day, call in sick every once in a while. If you feel guilty for doing so, then clean out your garage the day you call in, it will help.

By lovelyliz

January 29, 2007 1:46 PM | Link to this

While I’ve never called in sick and then taken the day off to goof around or do whatever, I have occasionally taken a sick and tired day. Sometimes that mental day off to lay about and recharge is just what I need.

Of course the company I work for now have combined the vacation and sick days into paid time off so it’s almost irrelevant.

By PAWS 2

January 29, 2007 1:58 PM | Link to this

I am with PAWS on this one. I too was an Executive Assistant in corporate for 20 years. Even my executives would take a “mental health” a couple times a year. How many times have we seen the news stories about top level executives being at the golf course, or doing some other non-office related activity during normal work hours? Now that I work for myself, I still need that “admin, sick, regroup, mental health, shopping, leave me alone-I am pms..ing day” a couple times a year. I think each of us has a limit to when we began to feel overloaded and for those of us that need that day to regroup, I say…heres to Bon Bons and TV! A better state of mind is better than being non productive and risking health issues due to stress.

By TexasPeach

January 29, 2007 2:12 PM | Link to this

I have to agree with Paws, I have taken a sick day when I wasn’t physically sick. I think that being mentally sick is good enough. What’s the point of going to work if you are not mentally prepared for it? You are not being productive while being there any way.

By Ronda

January 29, 2007 2:23 PM | Link to this

I think slackers don’t deserve to take “mental health days”. Those people that are late, let others do the work, take credit, etc etc.

Sometimes people are under the weather or just run down. Sometimes taking the day keeps you from getting that way or allows you to keep your sanity. If America had the same time allotment as Europe - 5 weeks of vacation a year, there probably wouldn’t be so much sick time off.

Some companies combine it to PTO or paid time off. They figure if people are going to take most of the sick days they are given just lump it all in together. I think its a great idea. People may be less likely to take so many sick days and instead lump them together more and take vacation. But you can never eliminate “mental health” days completely.

BTW, germy sick people should ALWAYS stay home.

By windy

January 29, 2007 2:24 PM | Link to this

Yes. I am in the crowd that uses my sick days and vacation days to the best of my ability! My job can be very hectic as the people can also. So everynow and then whether Im sick or not. I call in a sick day. I don’t there is anything wrong with it at all. Long as you don’t abuse it , things are fine. However every now and then a day needs to be taken just to rest your mind. I think it’s why some people are so tense on the job , take some time off for crying out loud! CHEERS to all of us , who know that a sick day or two is very important to us being the GREAT employees we are!

By Courtney

January 29, 2007 2:48 PM | Link to this

My co-worker call in sick, The Human Rources Director was on the same flight to Jamaica, he nearly crap in his pants. He told HR that he was going to Jamaica for some medicinal treatment.. I don’t think HR believe, the next round of lay off he was in it. I have taken sick days(10 per year), every time my boss p** me off, the next day, please don’t expect me i will be calling in sick. It is best for me to do so, than to do something i will regret. I made a suggestion to HR, if you pay us those sick days at the end of the financial year, i bet you 95% of those days you would have to pay out. My other suggestion was for them to group the sick days with the personal days and call it something else, this will prevent workers from lying. I feel guilty at times coughing in the phone acting as if i am sick. Guilty as charge.

By LK

January 29, 2007 3:04 PM | Link to this

I called in “sick” last week after a night out with friends… a long night. It was no big deal and I came in the next day but eveyone said I still “looked sick” and kept giving me advice on how to cure my “cold”. I had to go buy cough medicine just to shut them up. Then a girl called off sick the next day and everyone blamed me for her catching it! All I could do was apologize. haha

By Amber

January 29, 2007 3:07 PM | Link to this

I have 5 vacation days and 3 sick/personal a year. If I don’t use them I lose them. So I used all 3 in December and the boss was okay with it. Or, if he wasn’t he didn’t say anything.

I guess since it’s now called personal instead of sick it really doesn’t matter anyway.

No, I don’t call in sick when I am not sick. Not yet at least. Not to say I wouldn’t if I had the right reason. :o) Hehe..

By kwn

January 29, 2007 3:19 PM | Link to this

Why is it moral and ethical to violate an employers trust. If they wanted those days to be used for whatever, they would have labeled it as vacation and offer no sick days whatsoever.

By dawg

January 29, 2007 3:28 PM | Link to this

I used a sick day once and went fishing instead. I was mortified when I had to go to work the next day with a “racoon” face from wearing sunglasses and getting sunburned on my face. Live and learn.

By mystery poster

January 29, 2007 3:42 PM | Link to this

I no longer give a reason when I call in sick. I used to work for an awful manager. A coworker called in sick with a stomach condition, and the manager told her to give herself an enema and get into work. I figure that sick days are in my contract and it’s none of anyone’s business why I’m sick. I’ve used them for mental health as well, since my job is very stressful. BTW, I hate the concept of PTO. I look at it as being penalized for being sick. Let’s say I’m planning my vacation for December but get sick in November. I’ve bought tickets and was counting on the vacation time, but now it’s gone because I got sick. No, thanks.

By KD

January 29, 2007 3:57 PM | Link to this

I am a firm believer in utilizing sick time every now and then. I am not necessarily sick but “sick of it” from time to time. I am productive at work and my time off is not “detrimental”, so those of you that dont believe in taking a little “me time” please stop being such self righteous boyscouts / girscouts and mind your own!!!!!!

By Paws

January 29, 2007 4:05 PM | Link to this

To KWN: Moral and ethical? Sorry, honey, but my employer calls my time off PAID TIME OFF which means I’m paid for taking time off, no matter how I spend it. Next time I feel I need to call in sick, I will think of you, and tell the truth by letting my single, 38-year-old male boss know that “I’m not coming in today because I have a really heavy period, I’m bleeding all over my clothes, my cramps are so bad that I feel like a Buick has driven through my stomach, and my head is pounding from the hormone imbalance.” Will that satisfy your moral and ethical standards? I think not. My PAID TIME OFF is just that. Hey, but thanks for judging all of us who work long hours even when we are not on the clock, by saying we are immoral and unethical. Have a nice day.

By sweetliz

January 29, 2007 4:07 PM | Link to this

I agree with “mystery poster”….I like my sick and vacation split. I want to know if I use all my vacation time up…I can still afford to be sick if something comes up. I also believe in mental health days. Sometimes you just a need a day to let your mind go blah. Not have to worry about doing anything you don’t want to. Let the kids be at school, everybody else at work and you just chill. No phone ringing and no one stopping by.

By tlc

January 29, 2007 4:15 PM | Link to this

Paws, I use could use those excuses until I had the hysterectomy (whoopie, I feel great). Now I have to actually get sick to have an excuse.

By Paws

January 29, 2007 4:16 PM | Link to this

One question to all those ‘moral and ethical’ employees who feel the need to judge the rest of us — How moral and ethical are you by submitting a blog on your company’s computer on company time? Wait, maybe you are at home today because you are sick. If that is the case, and you are still playing on your computer, then you are well enough to have gone to work today. Enough said.

By huh?

January 29, 2007 4:38 PM | Link to this

Preach PAWS Preach. LMAO at your 4:05 post!!!!!

By Mike Johnson

January 30, 2007 8:18 AM | Link to this

I currently have over 400 hours of sick leave. If I use more than a couple of days in a year my performance review goes down. If I need to take Family Medical Leave I am limited in how much I can use. So what’s the point?

By No Longer the Plankton

January 30, 2007 8:27 AM | Link to this

PAWS, I feel your pain honey! I too WAS an Admin/Exec Asst for 27 years. Most people in support role/clerical positions DO need mental health recovery days. Most professionals (those not on a time clock or covering phones) arrive whenever, leave whenever, take two hour power lunches, attend their kids musical at school….all on the company’s dime!! And do they ever offer to bring you lunch while your’re working through lunch to get that PowerPoint ready for their 2:00 meeting? Hell no! We have to use our vacation days for running the kids around to the dentist, the doctor, teacher/parent meetings, the kids are sick, etc. So yeah! We need a mental health day because we get no down time. I especially love those bosses who expect their support staff to be in the office through 5:00pm Christmas Eve while they themselves are at home with their family WITHOUT charging the company for a vacation day. But guess what! I was laid off last summer (fourth time with corporate america!!!) and I’m done with the whole shbang!! I’m tired of groveling for a measly 10 days off per year with pay and they expect me to be grateful for those days. Tired of the long hours, tired of being referred to as “my assistant”, “your assistant”, etc. I have a NAME..I’m not a possession or an inaminate object such as “my office”, “your office”. Tired of watching the professionals come and go without submitting “time off” forms while I on the other hand am punching time clocks every time I arrive or leave, regardless of the reason…lunch, doctor, etc. Yep! I am retired from Corp America and working the school system where I work ONLY those days the students are in school!!! Now I get christmas, spring, summer, teacher work days, bad weather days PLUS vacation and holiday!!! Up yours your greedy bosses with your whopping TEN days you think I should be appreciative of!!!

By Sherry VI

January 30, 2007 9:07 AM | Link to this

Or Plankton!! How about when the “professionals” work late the night before and then call in the next morning to say they’re sleeping in and will be in a little later. Let’s you and I try that! Who cares that WE worked late…our butt’s had better be in at 8:00am sharp!!! The other thing I like is when the boss say’s he’s leaving to go get a haircut and will be back in an hour!!! I’d like to take tiime out of my work day to get my hair done too!!! And these people wonder why some of us play hooky????!!!!

By RJ

January 30, 2007 9:16 AM | Link to this

When I first started working a “real” job with sick days I never used them unless I was deathly sick or my child was sick. After 11 years, I know better. While the majority of the time I use sick days for my kids when they get sick, I now use the days if I get sick. I rarely use “mental health days” because I have so much to do at work. However, if I’m feeling really tired and beat, you bet I’m taking my days. I watch my superiors take off days for their birthday, leave early and do whatever else they please without second thought. I too have earned that priviledge.

Congrats Paws and No Longer. Take care of you first! I

By Guv'ment Employee

January 30, 2007 9:28 AM | Link to this

I work for a local government that offers the option of paying the employee for good attendance; i.e., at Open Enrollment you can choose to either have a greater amount of sick days per year or you can choose a package of much fewer days and receive pay for those days you gave up. I think this is an excellent idea. Those of us who are blessed with good health don’t have a reason to resent those who use up a lot of sick days since we will receive a cash bonus for not abusing the sick leave policy.

As for taking a day off without being sick? I do so without the slightest bit of guilt. Why? #1, I don’t take a day off unless my desk is caught up and my absence will not cause undo burden on my co-workers and #2, because I give a lot of off-the-clock time to my job with lunch hours that have been worked through, 2 daily 15-minute breaks that are never taken and time worked at my desk after I’ve already clocked out. If someone had actually kept score as far as how much time I’ve worked for which I didn’t get paid vs days I’ve taken off when not actually sick, I’m sure my employer would end up as the one coming out ahead.

By Z

January 30, 2007 9:34 AM | Link to this

I’ll never say I’m sick unless there’s some truth to it. I needn’t be on death’s door, but there must be some real problem. If I’ve had trouble sleeping for two nights in a row and feel as if I’m thinking through gauze, that fits the bill. And I always tell my colleagues that if there’s a crisis they should call me and I’ll drag myself in.

By Guv'ment Employee

January 30, 2007 9:35 AM | Link to this

undue burden

(dangit … thought I’d get through that whole thing without a typo)

:’o(

By PAWS

January 30, 2007 10:08 AM | Link to this

I’m laughing at and sympathizing with all the latest posters regarding sick days. We still haven’t heard from LOU who tried to verbally assault me into submission yesterday (okay, so I’m being dramatic), but maybe he got sick and decided to stay home. Let’s face it, we work ourselves to an early grave in this country and we are neck-to-neck with Japan as far as long hours. I made a decision five years ago that I was no longer taking the “It’s all about my job” route and decided to take the “It’s all about my quality of life” route instead.

Now, where are we all going for lunch? Wait, I feel a virus coming on … I’ll be calling in tomorrow.

Peace, PAWS