Was having a conversation with a co-worker about the flu. We have someone off sick today, and since he’s been plagued with this year’s flu, we’re very HAPPY he’s off sick today.
So I got to thinking about sick days.
I take a lot of them, unfortunately. I suffer from chronic migraines, and as mentioned previously, if I wake up with a migraine I’m much, much less able to function than if I get one during the day. So, I’d say twice a month at least, I miss at least a half day of work because I woke up with a migraine.
But, that’s not contagious, so not really what I’m talking about. It only factors in because it means I feel bad about taking sick days any other time. I mean, I already miss a ton of work … do I really need to add MORE just because I’m hacking & coughing & sneezing & horrific?
Well… yes. I should, I think. Not just for my own sake, but because infecting my coworkers isn’t overly desirable.
Interesting note: My step-father hasn’t had a sick day in more than thirty years. Not to say he hasn’t been sick, but he hasn’t taken a sick day. I find that intriguing, and can’t decide if I agree with it or not. For one, the dedication is pretty impressive — he’s definitely been sick. Thirty years! He’s worked longer with no sick days than I’ve been alive. I had a sick half-day a week ago. Hard to compare.
But is that necessarily a good thing?
It helps that he’s generally alone when he works — his job includes driving around in a van with flashy lights and radios and other such fun things making sure that transit runs as smoothly as possible. So, for the larger part of his day, he’s not really infecting anybody. Still, hrm.
Oh well. It’s an interesting thought process. When is “too sick” to go to work? And if you’re contagious, does “too sick” have a different line than if you’re not contagious?
Here’s another thought process: I had a coworker who got shingles a few years ago. Shingles isn’t contagious in the slightest… unless you’ve never had chicken pox. Said coworker sends out a message to the office about it, assuming that nobody would make it to our advanced ages (ie, out of childhood) without getting chicken pox.
Well, except me…
So what do you do? Getting chicken pox as an adult is pretty bloody awful, or so I’ve heard. I certainly don’t want to get it. (I should probably get vaccinated for it, but … well, I’m a little lazy. I may also be immune — my mother & grandmother never had it either.) But what do you do? Send the guy with shingles home? Send ME home? (I vote for sending me home, really — free day off with no illness? Score! Unfortunately, I pay for it when I get back and have a ton of work to do… hmm.)
In the long run, well, he worked on the other side of the office from me, and I just avoided him a lot. And, sure enough, no shingles. And probably the right thing to do.
But… I once got mono from a coworker, so I’m maybe a little more gunshy than most. Mono when you’re 21 really, really sucks. Not his fault — he didn’t know he had it until he flew back to Alberta. (Had been sent to our office for meetings.) Still, I was a little bitter about being incapacitated for almost a month for no good reason other than being stuck in meetings in a small room for three days straight. Quite frankly, I see this as evidence that meetings are a bad idea…
Anyway. I ramble. What do YOU think about sick days?
Here’s my take on it… if I’ve got tons of work to do, then I’ll “suck it up” for as long as I can, until my illness interferes with my ability to actually do my job. (My job requires thinking, but being sick eventually makes me stop thinking). So, I work as much as I can, but when I realize I’m being ineffective or just plain stupid, I wave the white flag and go home.
Granted, I have no co-workers to infect. If I did, I’d probably stay home and work from home until I was no longer spraying germs around with every sneeze or cough.
Also, here’s something interesting… some research has indicated that if people are given a finite number of sick days that is more than anyone could reasonably expect to use for sickness (like, say, 63) they are more likely to take sick days ONLY when they are actually sick, and less likely to take 6 full sickdays per year (because that’s what they’re given and damnit they’re going to take what they’ve been given). The caveat is that for this scheme to work, employers have to require a doctor’s note for any absence greater than three consecutive days. BC Hydro admin employees, for example, get 112 sick days per year, plus their flex days. But they sure don’t take them all.
112? Nice. Yeah, I don’t come anywhere close to that. Thank goodness. :D
Most of my sick days come out of my personal days — ie, we work all stat holidays, so get a day off in lieu. I usually just take those as migraine days. I think I’m currently in hock for … half a day or so, but I’ll make it up eventually.
I approach sick days the same as an adult as they were doled to me as a child: If you have a fever or are throwing up, you can stay home. Otherwise, here’s a pocket pack of kleenex, suck it up cupcake.
The most infectious days of a cold are the ones just before you start getting all sneezy and wheezy, so by that time you’re just miserable instead of contagious.
Of course, I do have the flexibility to work from home, or on flex hours, so I just generally work around feeling crappy (which is actually a rarity in my world).
I think if you are the slightest bit contagious you owe it to your boss and co-workers not to come in…you infect your co-workers the boss is not only down your sick days but now the rest of his contaminated office, if you’re sick stay the heck home. You end up costing the boss money by sending home all his other employees…I vote for keep your germs to yourself..
I think it really depends on your line of work, as in your stepfathers case, he isn’t generally around a lot of people during the day so if he can hack it (pardon the pun) then by all means, go for it. Now I mainly work with seniors and people who have lowered immune systems so if I’m the slightest bit congested I am not to go to work. Not to be gross but I judge this by if I blow my nose and it’s clear, I go to work, if it’s yellow or any other colour (I have never seen another colour lol but you never know) then I stay home.
I usually only take a sick day if I have a fever or something infectious to others. What gets me is the blatant abuse of sick days and sick leave by others, especially those working for the gov’t. In my friend’s department, at any given time, there is someone away on extended sick leave. Rumour has it people use it for “extended vacation”!