The Sickness Stigma

[PowerPlayoffs06]

So I'm being sent home after 2 hours at work because my boss sees how sick I am, even though I tried to phone in sick this morning but was told to come in because I had called in sick yesterday.

What's with the stigma attached to sick days that makes bosses think people only use sick days when they're feeling lazy and want a day off or a long weekend? Why can't a person be genuinely ill and need some time off work to recover? Is it not more beneficial to give a day or two off to recoup from the cold or flu than to force an employee to come in and work with lower production rates and risk passing the illness around to other employees and compounding the problem?

And what's the deal with company policy doctor notes? If Im too sick to come to work, why make me go sit in a cramped waiting room full of other germy, grumpy people for 3 hours just to go see a doctor and get a note that said I went there? Doctors can't do anything for colds or flu, just tell me to ride it out, maybe prescribe some amoxicillin (which Im sure is a placebo because they hand it out like candy for whatever ails you) and send me packing. Plus most places charge for a friggin doctors note now.

Ridiculous.

[burn_this_city]

I would tell my boss to pound sand.. We get the benefit of the doubt until we've been gone for 6 or 7 days.. To force you to come in on the second day is rather ignorant..

[HotHotHeat]

I hate doctor notes. A doctor is too busy dealing with real problems to write a note for my employer. Just because you have the stomach flu doesn't mean you need to be in the ICU. It's unfortunate how little trust people have in others.

[llama64]

Originally Posted by PowerPlayoffs06

So I'm being sent home after 2 hours at work because my boss sees how sick I am, even though I tried to phone in sick this morning but was told to come in because I had called in sick yesterday.

What's with the stigma attached to sick days that makes bosses think people only use sick days when they're feeling lazy and want a day off or a long weekend? Why can't a person be genuinely ill and need some time off work to recover? Is it not more beneficial to give a day or two off to recoup from the cold or flu than to force an employee to come in and work with lower production rates and risk passing the illness around to other employees and compounding the problem?

And what's the deal with company policy doctor notes? If Im too sick to come to work, why make me go sit in a cramped waiting room full of other germy, grumpy people for 3 hours just to go see a doctor and get a note that said I went there? Doctors can't do anything for colds or flu, just tell me to ride it out, maybe prescribe some amoxicillin (which Im sure is a placebo because they hand it out like candy for whatever ails you) and send me packing. Plus most places charge for a friggin doctors note now.

Ridiculous.

It's because there are many people who use their sick days in such a way. That said, any decent company gives you a sick day for each month or two that you work there. If you take it, it's covered by your salary. If you exceed your allotment (6-12 days paid is generous), you don't get paid and could be found in breech of contract (ie, not doing work). Companies should be treating you as an adult who can manage your health and workload in a mature and responsible manner. Any worker who can't do that doesn't deserve a job.

Given that situation, I've never understood the concept of a requiring a doctor's note. I assume it has something to do with needing it for tax/insurance reasons. Either that or HR was just feeling especially evil that day.

If you've got a head cold, heading to the doctor will do nothing. Often the same for a stomach flu. All you will succeed in doing is spreading the illness beyond yourself while delaying your recovery. This is why those recent Advil spots make me laugh. Most companies are catching on that it's more productive to let their sick employees recover at home for a day or two then it is to have their entire workforce get sick and become less productive for up to a month.

And yeah, Amoxicillin is a placebo these days. It's not strong enough to kill most common bacterial infections since they all became resistant to it years ago.

[shane_c]

The problem is that too many people use them as vacation days and that they are entitled to each and every one of them. At my previous job, we had a few people who were always 'sick'. And since it was a union environment there was little the employer could do. Some have then switched to LTD (gone now for about 1.5 years) for what seems to have switched from one illness to another during that time, and when they'd call to see about why their pay cheque was different or stop in to the office since we were in the same building as the wellness centre (where they'd have to visit once in a while) they would seem perfectly fine, relaxed, and very happy, and there was little the employer could do and could not request a second Dr. opinion. Then there was someone who was retiring and once it was announced she took the next basically 2 months off sick because we had tons of days we could take at 100% pay before it dropped to 70%. A few people wreck it for the rest.

[GirlySports]

Too many people use a handover from drinking the night before as a sick day. I'm allowed 8 sick days a year. A doctor's note isn't required unless it's more than a week.

Being sick alot doesn't hurt your pay but it may hurt in terms of year end reviews and potential promotion and bonuses.

[gottabekd]

A "mental health day" every once in a while is probably worthwhile, too. If an employee is just going to come in and do nothing all day, I'd rather they stayed home. A doctor's note I would understand if it is a sickness that spans 3 or more days. But anything less, I agree it sounds stupid.

[Ford Prefect]

Mandatory doctor's notes are offensive. A boss who shows such little trust in his employees typically doesn't engender much loyalty. Plus, it clogs up an already overburdened health care system. Bosses like that should be billed for the doctor's visit by Alberta Health. It's an abuse of the health care system.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by Ford Prefect

Mandatory doctor's notes are offensive. A boss who shows such little trust in his employees typically doesn't engender much loyalty. Plus, it clogs up an already overburdened health care system. Bosses like that should be billed for the doctor's visit by Alberta Health. It's an abuse of the health care system.

and it's usually demanded of employees who have abused the system. I see it all to often here.

[ken0042]

I would say that I've only seen doctor's notes being required when there is a patern of abuse. For example we had one guy who used to always be sick on Fridays, and if we had a 4 day weekend you could bet that he would be sick on the Thursday before; but then come in on Tuesday with pictures of him camping and drinking all weekend.

I also hate those Advil comercials. Take the day off and get better; or get your symptoms under control so you aren't sneezing on all the rest of us.

[albertGQ]

This girl in my office called in sick today so she could go skiing. What a piss off!

[Agamemnon]

I use my sick days solely to kick back and relax... I come to work when I'm sick...

[Flashpoint]

Your boss doesn't trust you. That's why he asked you to come in. This could be because he is a ######bag (in which case you should find another job - a bad boss isn't normally worth putting up with long term), or because you have given him cause to doubt you (calling in sick when you weren't).

In either case, I wouldn't want to work in an environment where my integrity was being questioned (regardless if my boss is justified or not), or my health put at risk for the sake of someone else's profit margin.

Lots of jobs out there. Go find a better one.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

PowerPlayOffs - what kind of a job do you work in? I find it varies by job, and of course Boss that you work for.

If one of my staff comes in wheezing and hacking, stay the hell at home, I don't want to get sick. That said, it ultimately comes down to trust. I've had staff that stayed home for a minor throat tickle and ones that tried to come in that were hacking up a lung. Those that had my trust were never questioned.

[albertGQ]

Originally Posted by Agamemnon

I use my sick days solely to kick back and relax... I come to work when I'm sick...

I used to do that too, but now I have "responsibilities" at work. So if I do take a day off, when I come back, there is twice as much work for me to do. Not worth it. Unless I went to the bar the night before and pick up a total smokeshow

[Agamemnon]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

I used to do that too, but now I have "responsibilities" at work. So if I do take a day off, when I come back, there is twice as much work for me to do. Not worth it. Unless I went to the bar the night before and pick up a total smokeshow

Oh, I have tons of responsibilities... the issue is it's impossible to plan vacation days around them given I'll never know what work needs to be done any given day until right up to that day.

Basically I just know when I don't have a lot of work to do the next day (like right after a project/deadline) and use that as my sick day. I'd never leave my co-workers or responsibilities hanging... so I pretty much judge by my workload whether or not I can take a 'sick' day. To play video games.

[J pold]

People who abuse the system are jerks and should have to show a note, however they are the minority.

Most of us are honest people who rarely take a sick day and when you do it’s because your sick or just need a relax for a bit.

I never get sick I think the last time I was sick was 4 years ago so I rarely take sick days, but every once and while I take a day to relax.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by fotze

Wait until you have a kid. Work is where you go to relax.

How can you not be sick if you have a kid.. aren't kids always sick!?

And why do people have pictures of their kids at work... isn't work to get away from them!

[zarrell]

I'm using a "sick day" today as well. But I'm self employed so I'm just losing money sitting at home. This cold really knocked me on my ass though.

[corporatejay]

Most places I've worked at require a doctor's note for more than a week. That's because anything more than a week and it's chronic and you should probably go and see a doctor. Nobody has a terrible head cold for 8 days. Nobody has a flu for 8 days. That's why they want a note.