How many times a year do you call in sick and really aren't?

[Darth_Kitten]

Poll question: How many times a year do you call in sick and really aren't?

;) :evilgrin:

[Fleurs du Mal]

1. I really should take advantage of it but I don't

[NGU]

2. I rarely call in sick even if I am sick.

However I am quitting my job in 2 months and I won't get paid for my sick time, so a part of me wants to.

[randr]

3. As I am self employed

I often call myself in well.
I just feel too damn good to go to work.

[SarahB]

4. My job is very strict.

More the four occasions results in a written warning. I think over six in a year results in termination. :scared: If a person is ill enough to be out, say, even a week or two in a row, that's one occasion though. Overall, I like the place, but that particular policy is very strict. I suppose the nature of it requires it to be very well-staffed, so it's setup so no one evens considers taking a fake day. However, even as a new person relatively low on the totem pole, I accumulate a lot of vacation time, so planning a day off is relatively simple. I have less than a month there and already almost 2 days in my bank of vacation time.

[kick-ass-bob]

7. That's why I don't like corporate America.

they shit all over you and you can't get sick or you're fired.
I'm sick of them.

[SarahB]

9. Mine is actually non-profit.

If I went into it more, it would make more sense, but then there's that dang privacy thing too. :)

[tjwmason]

5. Only once

my Saturday job as a school-boy, I was still on my trial period and so wasn't going to get paid (which lessened the guilt-trip).

[kick-ass-bob]

6. I am rarely "sick"

But I use a lot of sick days.

They are called "mental health days"

[RebelOne]

8. I use some of my sick days as

sick of work days.

[seemunkee]

10. combined sick and leave

Doesn't make sense to fake sick when all leave is the same. In 8 years I think I have been out sick 5 days.

[Poppyseedman]

11. Most companies have a limited number of sick days allowed.

I never call in because I'm concerned if I REALLY get sick, I will have used them up.

I used to be a mgr for a company and it never fails a couple times a year, some slacker would use up all his sick time fishing or hung over from a football game and then get sick for real and come to me as his supervisor to bitch and moan when they got their paycheck, or better yet their wife would call and ask why her husband/boyfriend didn't get paid for his sick days.

Then I'll hear how heartless and cruel the company is for not paying them for being really sick after they used up all the six days they got each year.

I would pullout their personnel file and review their paid days off paperwork and ask them how many fish did they catch or who won the game?

When the wife calls to ask, it's always the last time it happens.

[ProfessorGAC]

13. My Company Is Very Tolerant

I have MS, as many here know. It's harder to cancel a class than it is to take a day off here. Also, on days when the legs are really killing me, i can work out of the house. (Unless i have to drag myself in for a meeting.)

So, i can be sick and work from home and not take sick days, or i can take the sick days. They don't accrue year to year. We have a separate long term disability program that does accumulate over time, but the yearly sick days are not really tracked. As long as one's immediate superior is aware and has no issues with it, there are no official limits.

I probably call in once or twice a year when the MS is acting up, but not so bad that i can't make it. They're probably more mental health days, then playing hooky. Whether going in or working from home, it can be taxing, day-to-day with this stupid disease. Sometimes one needs a "sick day" just to keep from cracking up.
The Professor

[Poppyseedman]

16. A close friends wife has

MS, so I understand certain days are worse then others. I hope you have many more good days than bad.

As a supervisor, I was probably one of the easiest people to work for. No power trips, do your job everyday and do it to the best of your ability.

What really galled me was when people took my nice demeanor and assumed I could be walked all over. There is a side of me, not many people saw at work, but the select few that took kindness and compassion for granted.

[ProfessorGAC]

19. That's Definitely A Risk

I used to manage a research group of 40. Being a hardass was not my style, or my personality, but i was assiduously careful about not being an easy mark.

It's a fine line, sometimes.

And yes, i have more good days than bad, i don't really have problems getting around. It's mostly just pain and stiffness. That's why i can work from home, because i can still function just fine. Just hurts, is all.

Canceling a class, on the other hand, requires an act of congress! That's why i teach less (part-time) than i used to.
The Professor

[StopTheMorans]

12. does a hangover count as really sick?

[Poppyseedman]

18. Can you "catch" a hangover?

like a cold or virus
:)

[Spacemom]

14. I have no sick days

I still have to be a mom, no matter how sick I am. :D

On a side note, my husband NEVER calls in sick. In the 13 years I've known him, he's missed work exactly twice. I had to practically force him to stay home on those two occasions because he was very ill. The man has a work ethic like you wouldn't believe.

[NewJeffCT]

15. Only if I have an interview elsewhere

Otherwise, my calls in sick are legit.

I mean - after getting out of college, I took all of 5 sick days in my first 12 years.

[spinbaby]

17. In a decent company, you shouldn't have to

I like my job and have enough vacation days and personal days to plan days off pretty much whenever I feel like it. That's the way it should be.

[ProfessorGAC]

20. See My Earlier Reply, Spin!

I work for one of those, too. You're 100% correct. Companies that take a hard line on their employees usually have the highest absentee problems, higher turnover, and lower productivity. You'd think everyone running a business could look at these USCoC numbers and figure it out. But, i guess not.
The Professor