Calling in sick for work

[Mickey'snewestfan]

So I am picturing myself trying to find someone's cell number and texting when I am throwing up, or in bed with the flu, or suffering a migraine. If I am too sick to work, I will ask my DH to call because I am most likely unable to function!

I understand why you may want to know directly, but I would then worry if the text went through, if you got the message, if I am in trouble for some reason, etc.

I have no idea what your policies are for coverage but talking with someone directly at the front desk is the best way to go IMO and then have THEM contact you. Are you expected to arrange coverage in the hour's lead time they provide you? That seems unrealistic (and unfair) if you are commuting yourself!

I was a good manager at one point, but HATED supervision so I got out of it. I feel for you!

The building doesn't open/phones turn on until 30 minutes before most of the people I supervise are expected to report, when it does open it's pretty chaotic for a little while, so if you call the front desk I won't get the message until, at best 15 minutes before you're supposed to be there. That's simply too late for me to arrange coverage.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

We use a team concept. If you are out for any reason, someone has to cover for you. So you have to let me (the boss) and the person who covers for you know, via email, ASAP. If you fail to do so, you fail your customers and the friends who cover for you. This comes back to you in very real ways. So this is not an issue for us. Respect for everyone on the team is essential. Frankly, if I had a person who didn't respect his team members enough to do this, I would fire them.

 

[MissElizabeth]

We text or call our manager's cell to let her know, then send an email out to the team that highlights any specific tasks that will need to be covered for the day; that way everyone knows whats going on and the team is already covering for me by the time my manager walks in the door. We really work well together and have a great manager.

 

[mrodgers]

All this texting to call off work? What happens when one does not have a cell phone? Not everyone in today's world has a cell phone.

I wouldn't imagine I had my boss' cell phone number at home either. In fact, I don't.

As for how I call off, there is only me. I work with one other guy, but he received the promotion over me and takes care of some other stuff. I'm the main equipment operator for the department I work in. If I call off, there is no coverage, no one else works it. I have no set schedule and I eventually will get on the computer and email the one I work with and my boss that I'm not in. I don't even have to let the boss know, just my coworker so if anything urgent comes along, he will take care of it for the day.

And same goes for my coworker. He will let me know he's not coming in instead of letting our boss know. Since we share an office with just a partition wall, it's pretty obvious anyways when one of us is not in.

 

[tvguy]

Although I've never heard of anyone being disciplined by calling late, I have heard the tongue-lashing

We have one department where if you don't call in by the predetermined time, the manager tells you "you called too late you have to come in".
Sounds awful, but in 5 years, I suspect not a single person he did this to actually WAS sick. He's been a manager for 25 years, and it seems that he was discovered a very strong link between people who call in sick late, and people who aren't sick.

 

[disneychrista]

I wouldn't imagine I had my boss' cell phone number at home either. In fact, I don't.

My guess is that if you had to call your bosses cell phone you would either know it or you would have it at home.

 

[Pakey]

We have a central call in line this is recorded and all calls are then logged by the HR dept.

Calling or contacting a supervisor would not be an authorized absence. I do appreciate my staff texting me but they are only required to call the central call line.

 

[JVelasquez]

If I call out of work it's bc I'm really sick! I know of people who have a runny nose and don't come to work lol.

 

[badblackpug]

We have to call out 3 hours prior to the start of our shift. If you miss the 3 hour mark, you don't get paid. (Although your department manager can make an exception if it was truly unavoidable)

 

[Belle0101]

I used to work at a bank and company policy was to call the department that assigned the pool / float tellers. They in turn called one of the floats to cover for you at your branch. They were always very nice about it.

However, I got assigned to a branch where that particular manager demanded that you call her and she would call the other department for you. I would come to work hacking up a lung because she was so rude about having anyone call off. I mean awful. She would ask specifics of your illness, your temperature, say that you needed a doctor's note to be off. Even then she would call later in the day and ask if you could make it in.

When you did make it in she took it out on you by making you take a shorter lunch, clean the stockroom, work the closing shift, answer the phones.

I was never so happy as the day I left that branch!

 

[MomRN]

I work night shift at a hospital- have to call the house supervisor or unit manager (sometimes both to CYA) 4 hours prior. Depending on who takes the call you may or may not get a guilt trip. No more than 3 call ins in a 6 month period before disciplinary action starts.

Last time I called in, I actually called in while I was on call. Had a kidney stone attack. Called from our own ER and still got a guilt trip.(

 

[NMAmy]

My staff call my cell phone or send me a text if they're letting me know before or after I'll be in the office. If I'm sick, I'll usually call one of them to cover the early shift for me. My boss doesn't get there until later in the day so I take care of coverage and email or leave a voicemail for him.

As for not having phone numbers--I have an emergency phone number for everyone in our division. A list is updated every couple of months and sent out to supervisors. When a new employee starts working for me, one of the first things I do is give them my cell phone number and my home number and I enter their contact number into my cell phone. They call me when they're going to be out unexpectedly and I call them if our workplace is closed unexpectedly (snow, power outage, etc.)

 

[laurie31]

We have to call a central number at least 3 hours ahead (or no pay). No texts, no voicemails, you must TALK to someone.

For the person who only has to give 15 minutes notice, wow. How do you replace someone in 15 minutes? Even if we had someone on call to cover "just in case" (which we don't) and that person was sitting at home dressed for work, ready to walk out the door, no one could get to work in 15 minutes! It takes longer than that to just get inside from the parking deck! I presume it's a job where life goes on if the person doesn't get replaced.

It is amusing to see the reasons people call in. (I know because I'm the person that answers that central number). There is a form I have to fill out that goes to the person's supervisor. There has to be a REASON. People kill me when they call and say they're calling in sick, and I ask why and they say "I'm sick." Well, DUH. I get that you're sick if you're callling in sick but I have to know is it sore throat, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, back pain, migraine, whatever. I have to put SOMETHING in that blank. Calling in because you're having a heavy period is not really a good reason. Neither is "I just don't feel well." Ummm...neither do I, so if you don't have fever or vomiting, drag your butt in here!

If they tell me something private, though, I will write "personal" on the form, and let them discuss it with their supervisor later. I've had people call in because they just miscarried, or got diagnosed with cancer. That kind of thing is kept private.

The idea is if someone is having multiple call-ins, their supervisor can pull all their sheets and see the reasons and see if they're all legit. Big difference if someone has a chronic illness and calls in often for that, versus someone who "doesn't feel well" when there's a big football game on.

 

[Planogirl]

We are lucky enough to only have to leave a recorded message. In fact, there is no other option.

 

[Kathi OD]

All this texting to call off work? What happens when one does not have a cell phone? Not everyone in today's world has a cell phone.

I wouldn't imagine I had my boss' cell phone number at home either. In fact, I don't.

I would imagine that people who are calling or texting the boss's cell phone are doing so at his/her request.

My boss gave us both her home number and cell phone number in case we need to call out. We need to call her before 7AM so she can call substitute to cover our classes. We used to have built-in coverage where we could cover each other, but with budgetary cuts, that's no longer an option.

 

[lspst8]

It is amusing to see the reasons people call in. (I know because I'm the person that answers that central number). There is a form I have to fill out that goes to the person's supervisor. There has to be a REASON. People kill me when they call and say they're calling in sick, and I ask why and they say "I'm sick." Well, DUH. I get that you're sick if you're callling in sick but I have to know is it sore throat, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, back pain, migraine, whatever. I have to put SOMETHING in that blank. Calling in because you're having a heavy period is not really a good reason. Neither is "I just don't feel well." Ummm...neither do I, so if you don't have fever or vomiting, drag your butt in here!

It kind of strange to see how different workplaces operate. At my current and last jobs, if you were calling in sick, no one was supposed to ask any more than that. "I am taking sick leave" is all you had to say. You do/did need to provide a medical excuse if you were absent for 3 or more days in a row.

 

[scrapquitler]

If you work in a field where someone needs to cover for you, what's your procedure for calling in sick to work and what, if any, are the consequences if you don't follow it.

I work in a job where I definitely need to have someone else cover if I can't go in. At my job, the procedure is that you are to call in to your direct supervisor ASAP when you know you won't be there (this applies to late punch in as well as sick time/car trouble, etc). You ***MUST*** speak with your direct supervisor directly. Texts, voice mail, message left with someone else is NOT acceptable. If you can't get your direct supervisor, you call HER supervisor and so on and so forth up the 'chain of command' until you directly speak with someone. If you don't do this, you end up with disciplinary action (and the person who is at work that is supposed to leave is NOT allowed to leave until someone else comes in....and this does NOT make you any friends among your co-workers).

 

[tvguy]

It kind of strange to see how different workplaces operate. At my current and last jobs, if you were calling in sick, no one was supposed to ask any more than that. "I am taking sick leave" is all you had to say. You do/did need to provide a medical excuse if you were absent for 3 or more days in a row.

Same at my job, and my wifes, we are not ALLOWED under medical privacy laws to ask why. You do need a note after 5 days, but thats more for the short term disability insurance company, because if you take 5 consecutive work days off sick, they automatically put on on short term disablity.

 

[bethbuchall]

So I am picturing myself trying to find someone's cell number and texting when I am throwing up, or in bed with the flu, or suffering a migraine. If I am too sick to work, I will ask my DH to call because I am most likely unable to function!

I understand why you may want to know directly, but I would then worry if the text went through, if you got the message, if I am in trouble for some reason, etc.

I have no idea what your policies are for coverage but talking with someone directly at the front desk is the best way to go IMO and then have THEM contact you. Are you expected to arrange coverage in the hour's lead time they provide you? That seems unrealistic (and unfair) if you are commuting yourself!

I was a good manager at one point, but HATED supervision so I got out of it. I feel for you!

I don't think that it would be much harder to store the boss' cell phone number in a convenient location than it would to store the front desk phone number. Your husband could still call or text to the cell phone for you, if needed.

I work at a very small preschool and absolutely have to have coverage. I can't leave my co-teacher alone with a full class of children. At my previous school, I needed to arrange for my own sub by calling down through a list of approved subs. (That was lots of fun at 6 am while ill!) Where I am now, they prefer if you can get your own sub from the approved list, but I can also put a call into the (volunteer) director, and she will find someone to fill in for me.

I don't know what the policy is for my husband. I assume he needs to contact his manager, though most days it is not imperative that there be coverage in his position.

 

[bethbuchall]

All this texting to call off work? What happens when one does not have a cell phone? Not everyone in today's world has a cell phone.

I wouldn't imagine I had my boss' cell phone number at home either. In fact, I don't.

As for how I call off, there is only me. I work with one other guy, but he received the promotion over me and takes care of some other stuff. I'm the main equipment operator for the department I work in. If I call off, there is no coverage, no one else works it. I have no set schedule and I eventually will get on the computer and email the one I work with and my boss that I'm not in. I don't even have to let the boss know, just my coworker so if anything urgent comes along, he will take care of it for the day.

And same goes for my coworker. He will let me know he's not coming in instead of letting our boss know. Since we share an office with just a partition wall, it's pretty obvious anyways when one of us is not in.

If your company's policy were to call the boss' cell phone, though, I would think that you would keep that number wherever you might need it.