do you call in sick for illegitimate reasons?

[KeithTalent]

I'm a government employee.

I took the day off because of this thread.

Thanks ATOT!

Haha. :thumbsup:

KT

 

[dainthomas]

Nope, even if I am sick, I always try to come in.

Your coworkers thank you for gifting them with your pestilence.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

What if I'm sick of working at that particular moment?

 

[Scarpozzi]

I've taken a lot of my accrued sick leave for paternity leave and appointments for my kids and wife. (probably 2.5 months of time off in the past 3 years)

I rarely take it for myself. This week, I took a day because my wife had a doctor's appointment 5 hours away. I was going to drive her there and we were going to take the kids...I stayed home and was getting ready to leave when she decided to drive solo because it'd be easier. I instantly got on the phone and scheduled 2 appointments for the kids to avoid more usage of sick days in the near future. (both needed shots) I hate burning time unless I've got it planned or REALLY need to do house projects to avoid bad weekend weather, etc....

 

[dawp]

all I have to do is call in, no reason needed.

 

[tHa ShIzNiT]

Sure, I'll do it and wont even think twice. Screw em. I mean I rarely do it, but yeah screw em.

 

[TwiceOver]

We only have one kind of time off, there's no reason to tell anyone why you are off.

Management tried to have this "You need to say why you are taking off" policy and state DOL said that while they *can* ask for that information you don't have to give it to them if you believe it to be private of could be considered confidential.

So everyone just says "That's private".

 

[darkswordsman17]

It blows my mind that some places require a doctor's note for using any sick leave.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

I wish I could take legitimate sick days. If I bail for a day, everything I'm working on stalls, and people start to freak out. Plus my job can mostly be done over email, so unless I'm in the hospital, I don't really have much of an excuse.

 

[TwiceOver]

It blows my mind that some places require a doctor's note for using any sick leave.

One of my factory jobs required a doctor's note that excused you from work for 3 full work days before you could use any "sick" time. So in my case I worked 3x12hr days Friday - Sunday. So the only day I could get sick basically would be Thursday or I'd have to be serious fucking ebola sick in order to span enough days to actually use sick time. Go to Doctor on Friday and get a note, not enough days as it was during a working day.

It was more as a safety net in case something major happens.

 

[BoomerD]

I don't call in sick for any reason. If I feel like shit, I sit in my recliner and watch TV. If I feel OK, I sit in my recliner and watch TV...

Being retired is SO much better than working...

 

[Childs]

hmm...I have 955 sick hours available. On the rare occasion I'm feeling under the weather, I usually just work from home. I know my manager uses sick days as general vacation days. hahaha One time he even sent out his out of office sick notice a day early. Anyways, I don't think it matters. In my case I was grandfathered most of my sick hours because they changed it to cap. I haven't been accuring any new sick hours in years. I'm thinking in many corporate jobs its similar, so use it or lose it. I don't think the company would care, as long as you don't take them when they need you around.

 

[smackababy]

No. I have a good amount of vacation days I'm always forced to take at the end of the year. I also have unlimited sick days. If I really want a day off, I can take one pretty much no questions asked unless there is something extremely pressing I have to attend to (and even then, I could work from home).

The worst I've done was wake up with a migraine, call in sick because fuck that, and after taking a nap, feel much better around 11AM.

 

[lxskllr]

as long as you don't take them when they need you around.

They *always* need you around, if you believe what they tell you. If you don't come in, the sun will burn out, and the earth will stop rotating. I'm pretty sure they're lying. I've tested it, and everything is as-expected. Nothing calamitous happened.

 

[Thebobo]

Nope, even if I am sick, I always try to come in.

And Spread my germs to everyone, I am that considerate. :$

 

[BoberFett]

I'll take sick days sometimes if I'm just tired. I have a limited amount of PTO, and I'll use it however I choose. Right now I have over 4 weeks of PTO saved up because I use it so infrequently.

 

[DigDog]

no.

i do however consider being pissed drunq a legitimate reason to call in sick and say "i have the flu".

by this i don't mean that i *like* to go to work, but i feel it's my duty.

 

[biostud]

No, but I stay home when I'm ill so I don't spread disease to my co-workers.

 

[DrPizza]

Congratulations people. You're the perfect corporate bitch boys. I'm sure the guy working till noon and smoking hundred dollar cigars at the golf course appreciates it.

If I don't use my sick time, it rolls over. Almost 1500 hours on the books, which I get to cash out when I retire. My wife gets to cash her extra hours out every few years for a nice chunk of change. ( 12 sick days per year). I'll have a lot more hours when I retire. Who's the corporate bitch now?

Let's say coworker 1 and 2 get the same pay. Coworker 1 works 240 days. Coworker 2 works 230 days because he uses sick time. I agree with you, 1 is an idiot, unless it leads to more rapid salary growth. But, if it doesn't, both are idiots for not negotiating for those days to be rolled over.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

No because I accrue vacation time much faster than sick time. I've used up my sick days for actual sick days already. I had to use vacation time here and there for a horrible hangover.

 

[Engineer]

I've called in sick 3 days over the last 10 years or so and I had pneumonia on those days.

 

[biostud]

You have limited sick days?

 

[Engineer]

You have limited sick days?

I have no sick days, only PTO. US corporate structure over the last decade has shifted away from vacation, sick time, etc. to PTO - Paid Time Off. Of course, the number of days of PTO is less than sick time, vacation, etc. when added together.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

If I don't use my sick time, it rolls over. Almost 1500 hours on the books, which I get to cash out when I retire. My wife gets to cash her extra hours out every few years for a nice chunk of change. ( 12 sick days per year). I'll have a lot more hours when I retire. Who's the corporate bitch now?

Let's say coworker 1 and 2 get the same pay. Coworker 1 works 240 days. Coworker 2 works 230 days because he uses sick time. I agree with you, 1 is an idiot, unless it leads to more rapid salary growth. But, if it doesn't, both are idiots for not negotiating for those days to be rolled over.

There was a pretty big meltdown at the last place I worked when management announced they were instituting a cap, retroactively, for PTO hours (combined sick and vacation). There were people like you who had saved up a couple thousand hours because they'd been working for decades and never took a break, and management was telling them they'd lose all but 250 hours (or some relatively paltry number). Basically, it would be in the best interests of those workers to take off the entire year just to get themselves back under a cap that was arbitrarily inserted 30 years after they started working. Management backed down from that battle pretty quickly after all the senior employees threatened to retire on the spot before the cap went into effect.

 

[MongGrel]

I don't think I've ever taken a sick day. If you really are sick, yeah, don't come to work. I don't want your germs. If you're just hung over, suck it up buttercup.

+1

I'll still vote for rare circumstances, as my current place has no sick days policy.