What do you do about co-workers who habitually call in sick at least once a week?

Question

We have 3 guys here on our team of 6 that always call in sick and go do something on the same day. Really cuts us short, and so far, management is doing NOTHING about it. What should I do????

Anything?

Answer 1

WOW NICE CHEST!! Now back to your question. I am afraid there really is NOTHING you can do as long as management CHOOSE to be MORONS and let it continue. Believe me, I know exactly what you're going thru it happened to me too. The ones who kept calling in had noses browner than a football, so they never got reprimanded. Believe this old adage........GIVE THEM ENOUGH ROPE AND THEY WILL HANG THEMSELVES...........it is very true!

Answer 2

I used to be one of those people who called in sick at least once a week. The difference is that I was really sick. I finally quit working because I felt it was unfair to my co-workers to always have to do without me. I could have easily kept my job, because with a verified track record of health problems, they wouldn't have dared fire me, for fear of a lawsuit.

If you know for a fact that they are off doing something else, like golfing, or whatever, you need to talk to your direct supervisor about it. Explain in detail your concerns, and how it is affecting your team, both in productivity and in morale. A simple call to someone's home on a day when they are supposed to be too sick to go to work should suffice. If they aren't at home when called, they had better have a good reason, like a visit to the doctor's office. Alternately, they can put in place a rule which says if you are sick you need to either bring a doctor's note which states that you have a chronic condition which may make it so you have to miss work a lot (I had more than one doctor's note in my file), or that you will bring a doctor's note saying you actually saw the doc on days when you missed work or had to go home early because you were ill. Simply putting that policy in place quickly stops the people who call in sick just so they can go do something fun.

Good luck.

Answer 3

If you have the authority, fire them. If not, then you and the others take a few days sick when the next disagreeable job comes around, or make the days they show up so miserable they quit. Or find a way to get someone from management to come around every time they're not there, eventually someone will notice.

Answer 4

Talk to the management and let them know that it puts an unfair and undue strain on you remaining employees who actually are showing up to do the work. Ask them to either get these guys in to work regularly or terminate them and replace them with someone who will come in.

If it really chaps your a** and no one's doing anything about it, take your valuable skills elsewhere or demand more money since you're doing more work because of other's lacking.

Answer 5

Hey there, buddy. Always on the same day, together? Hmm... Some snooping around is in order. I find that really odd.

In any case, you better muster the courage to make a complaint otherwise, company productivity will be greatly compromised. :-)

Answer 6

I am Feeling you. But as I pointedly told management, when I was in that situation. It IS their responsibility to act. I did not hire the girl. Allowing one worker to abuse at will programs is
the fastest way I know of to drop morale and lose productivity.

Answer 7

may be you should ask the management team to have a meeting .so you can bring it to there attention that the people that call out is making things difficult for every one else

Answer 8

I would say if you are not management, there is nothing to do. If you say anything, you'll look like a whiner or like you're trying to kiss up, or even worse, a traitor. Eventually it will catch up to them.

Answer 9

Give the bastards something to truly be sick about. I have the same problem at my job. I'm sick of it.

Answer 10

I'm against ratting people out, but if they earn the same amount of pay as you, tell your boss/manager!