Sick leave. Where is the balance?

Question

Ok so a lot of us work in offices. You have sick leave and get a 'talking to'. Someone comes in with a streaming cold and nothing is said.

Answer 1

Tell me about it! We have to use our holiday allocation if we have days off sick so not only do you spend your 'days off' sick as a parrot but you get no holiday to recover! Worse, my children are often sick as stupid parents take their sick kids to school or playgroup and pass it around. I then have to take more days off to care for them - also held against me at work! Although parental leave is perfectly acceptable in law, the truth of it is, you get bullied as parents to abandon your sick kids and hope for the best. Its a nightmare!

Answer 2

More and more companies are moving to Personal time, which is to be used as the employee sees fit. In this situation, employees aren't asked why they aren't going to be there, as long as they have the time. Some have even gone so far as to give employees "Sick of Work" days when they can just call in for no reason. I think, however, if you make the point to your supervisor (and especially in our germ phobic culture) that employees who come in sick actually cost the company money (because more employees get sick and therefore stay out) maybe they will change the policy and start telling people "keep your germs at home".

Answer 3

I come from a company that could care less about their employees as long as the work is getting done.
If you call off, they just call in someone to take your place.
You cannot be fired for being sick and taking off and they know it. So no one ever says anything except that they are sick.
No matter what the reason is for taking off, they call in SICK.
I see nothing wrong with it. They are making their money and the employees are
still working. It is a win-win.
Some feel bad and want to make up their time, so they come in on their day off.
But that is not a smart thing to do. It shows
that you have no life and need the company
who will take that info and abuse it and you.

Answer 4

Isn't the problem caused by the huge numbers who cheat when too lazy and irresponsible to get to work on time. So tell fibs to their employer claiming they are sick when there is nothing whatsoever medically wrong with them? I have even heard guys on phone ins local radio stations admitting on air they have taken a"sickie" today because their football team's match is on telly. A Meridian TV survey interviewed some people relaxing in the sun on Brighton beach. Many women office workers admitted they should be at work but it was such a lovely day they had phoned their company to say they were sick due to "stress" or some similar bogus excuse.

Answer 5

You could say that it depends on the values and management style of the firm.
If the firm only values producivity and the task, and has little value for people, then sick leave will be frowned on because it reduces productivity, but coming into work when you are ill is fine, because it supports productivity.

If the firm values people above the task/the productivity, then it is fine to take reasonable sick leave (when you are really sick), but not fine to come to work ill, as it will affect other people adversely.

If the firm values both productivity and people, hopefully a sensible balance will emerge. When people feel valued for themselves, they are less likely to take sick leave when they are not ill, and it is more possible to have a reasonable conversation with your boss about whether you should come to work if you are not well.

That's what I think anyway!!

Answer 6

My ex-husband and I used to work for the same health care company, but in completely different departments that had nothing to do with each other. When one of us would get sick, the other would too, and we would often take sick days together. Since I was the more timid one, I would get pulled aside by upper management and scolded for both of us taking sick days at the same time. I appologized and explained that sleeping in the same bed causes germs to spread. They would *never* talk to him about it. I used to hate it so much.

My current job, who doesn't pay any kind of sick leave, is more than happy to encourage sick workers to go home. Makes no sense.

Answer 7

No balance - our office/personal targets are now set so high that we get the sack for taking any time off sick. Better to come in and do a crap days work so that the weekly totals look ok!

Answer 8

Companies generally give their employees a talking to if they have taken excessive sick leave. Generally 5 days is the norm and anything more than that (unless it is certified by a doctor) would be taken as excessive.

Answer 9

We don't get sick pay where I work so it's damned if you do and damned if you don't. I've picked up another office bug again this week - terrible stomach ache but I had to go into work because I wouldn't get paid and so the bugs keep getting passed around. What to do?

Answer 10

you will possibly desire to might desire to take go away with out pay as quickly as your pay ill go away runs out. once you come to artwork ill pay will accrued so after 2 months you are able to had accrued 10 hours approximately (professional-radar).besides the undeniable fact that it is going to count on your boss being a good company and you being a worker properly worth preserving, if ill pay is allowed to pass into the neg.