Planning sick days off

[yenrod]

I took 3 days last week not so long back, chilled out went a few places, recharged the batteries etc

Just looking at another thread about days off, I was just wondering whether people plan sick days off in advance.

Sometimes I think it's a waste when you can get probably get about 10 extra days holiday sick a year. If you've got man flu or a hangover or something, if you dug deep you could really drag yourself in the office and not waste them.

Definitely a new years resolution to be a bit more foresighted and constructive with sick days.

 

[Abitrary]

I think you people need to get better jobs. I jump out of bed every morning raring to go. The idea of pulling a sickie never crosses my mind.

No wonder this country is going to the dogs etc.

I think all of us using the term 'pulling a sickie' kind of cheapens what I'm getting at, and I'm to blame as well.

I'm just saying that people who take sick days, of whom I'm not one, should if *at all possible*, not just lazily take a sick day if they can help it, but kind of channel it into a future holiday instead.

And everyone's happy healthy bunnies!!!

 

[yenrod]

Abitrary: I once attended work regular and had the runs weeks previous - I spent more time at the bog than at the desk !

It would have been better for me to have the time off' from a physiological/health pointofview but no.

They take ot out of you attending work situ.s like that and theirs a chance that you'll infect someone else at work..so youve got to make an inteligent decision and bosses have to side with you and sensibilties rather thana purely monetar.

Ive seen people in work before now real bad cold "couldnt have the day off will get behind etc..etc..."

Erm, excuse me - what about my health ???????????

 

[Crackle]

I think all of us using the term 'pulling a sickie' kind of cheapens what I'm getting at, and I'm to blame as well.

I'm just saying that people who take sick days, of whom I'm not one, should if *at all possible*, not just lazily take a sick day if they can help it, but kind of channel it into a future holiday instead.

And everyone's happy healthy bunnies!!!

I've always found that if I've avoided going off sick when I really should've been off, for instance middle of an important project etc... Then it catches me up, either physically or mentally and I end up taking a day or more off later because of it.

Sometimes an odd 'unplanned' sicky, can really recharge the batteries in a way a planned day off never could. As a boss, I always made it clear to my staff that impulse holidays were OK, as were flexible hours etc.. This of course works both ways to the benefit of both parties, provided no-one takes the piss and ruins it for all. I heard somewhere of firms allowing a certain number of 'duvet' days, where you just rang in and said you didn't want to come in that day - an unplanned holiday. Personally I think that's a cracking idea.

 

[bonj2]

Should you have to be sick at weekends though, or when on holiday? I am just dropping out of an audax tomorrow not because I'm ill but because I'm not well enough to risk the exertion. So should I go into work on Monday when I've spent the weekend moping around the house and missed my fun?

no. You should call in sick. I've called in sick on a monday and tuesday before to 'have a weekend' if my actual weekend was blighted by flu.

 

[yenrod]

Nowt wrong with that Bonj' - common sense if you ask me ! And you'd be more productive for it !!!

no. You should call in sick. I've called in sick on a monday and tuesday before to 'have a weekend' if my actual weekend was blighted by flu.

 

[mickle]

Lazy slackers!

 

[Fnaar]

Maintaining your health is a holistic process...involving work (a necessary evil for most) and the opportunity and ability to rest from work too. So unless you have some kind of vocation-type love for what you do (e.g. bike mechanic, nun) when you leave your work physically, leave it mentally too.
I do this. Mind you, it takes me a while to remember wht it is I actually do when I get to the office on a Monday...

 

[Rhythm Thief]

It's alright throwing a sickie if you actually get paid for it. When I had my week off with chalfonts (I could hardly sit down and it was so painful to walk I was mincing around like Julian Clary) I lost a week's wages. Simple. I still throw the odd one though, I just sometimes, er, forget to tell the wages department.

 

[NickM]

One of the odd developments in the workplaces I've been at recently is the post sickie interview. My current employer calls these 'welcome back' interviews even if you've only been off for one day.

Intimidation. What else?

That's what you get in a "culture" in thrall to the maximisation of profit.

 

[NickM]

...I mean what the eff. It's a load of b*ll*cks, I'm not living and breathing XXXX when they just have the shareholders interests at heart...

Congratulations on achieving enlightenment, Plax

In case you haven't seen it before, you might enjoy this - I strongly recommend reading it in your employer's time.

(Mwahahahaha, another one subverted... )

 

[k-dog]

My first employer got shirty when I phoned him up saying I had a cold. But if I said FLU instead, he was fine with it. Apparently to that company flu was worthy of a day off but a 'cold' wasn't!

I would get shirty too - of course a cold isn't a decent excuse to be off work. Flu is - but flu isn't a cold and a lot of people like to go around saying they have the flu when all they have is a cold.

 

[Jaded]

Intimidation. What else?

That's what you get in a "culture" in thrall to the maximisation of profit.

Trouble is, whilst there a lot of people out there that are genuinely sick, there are also loads that see sickness allowance as additional holidays. Maybe if those that threw sickies when they felt like it also considered popping into work on days off when they felt like it.

You can usually tell the sickie pullers - they are the ones that have no sickness allowance at the end of each year, despite not having any noticeable sickness. There are patterns too, like sickness days falling around weekends.

Good management would monitor this and deal with the individuals appropriately. You might find that someone with a questionable pattern of sickness gets a tougher (more intimidating...?) interview than someone who has been genuinely sick.

I can't comment on the management at your place of work.

 

[NickM]

...Good management...

Good for whom?

 

[Kirstie]

i'm currently off sick. i self certified for a week because of surgery and i planned on going back next week. medical advice is to have 2 weeks off. truth is i'm a bit incapacitated and it takes me twice as long to do anything - some things I can't do and have to ask others to do it for me. driving is out of the question. it's a complete pisser to be genuinely sick! i'd rather be doing something useful...