Have you ever pulled a Sickie?

[joannamet]

In the teaching profession we call it a 'mental health day.' My husband is a businessman and it seems like the trend in his experience is for PTO, or Paid Time Off days that aren't specified sick days. You just use them when you need do take a day off.

 

[ctinct]

Yes, and I DO feel entitled to the 10 sick days my company offers, and if I do not use them I lose them. I have brought it up many of times in meetings that we should move away from separate vacation and sick days and just combine them into PTO days. It's the old dog new tricks scenario.

I'm going to be in a somewhat analogous situation in a few years. We are allowed to accumulate unlimited days, but when we retire we only get paid for 50% of them, up to a max of 150 accumulated days. (So 75 days paid.) I'm okay with only getting 50% of the time, but I will reach the max in less than two years, and after that the days I earn are sort of useless to me unless I use them. I don't get sick often, maybe a couple days of year. But, it seems like I would be foolish not to use some of them once I've maxed out.

I don't take mental health days, but it is very obvious that some of my coworkers do. I'm just not sure I'll be able to do it in order to use up my excess days.
I'd feel really guilty. The dumb thing is, I can donate days to people who have exhausted their own sick time due to an extended illness, so in that case the city I work for will
be paying out on my days. Why not just pay me the hours I've earned rather than someone else? Kind of aggravates me.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

Yep. I've been taking mental health days off for years. I get 10 of them, and it's use them or lose them. They're separate from vacation or personal days. I probably use 7 or 8 sick days a year; maybe two of them are for legitimate illness.

 

[disneychrista]

Plan to tomorrow

 

[js]

I only use my sick days for when Im well

 

[ols386]

I'm retired now, but worked 38 years. I took a few days as sick days when I probably could have gone in to work. I was a little sick though.

 

[RedAngie]

No guilt about taking mental health days.

 

[aprilgail]

We got 12 sick days a year and I took every single one of them- 95% of the time I never used a sick day when I was sick- we would always go in sick to work and save those sick days for the nice weather or when you had something to do. Especially when you had days off like tues/wed and had to work on Saturdays and sundays- everytime there was a wedding, christening etc it would be a sick day so you could go if you had no personal days left or didn't want to use those up for that stuff.

 

[sam_gordon]

And people complain about the work ethic of the younger generation. SMH.

 

[Marchand63]

absolutely did & still do.

And people complain about the work ethic of the younger generation. SMH.

Has nothing to do with work ethic & everything to do with some jobs structuring their policies to make it impossible to take a needed spontaneous day.

Just fair warning if you take a "sick" day don't post to your FB, twitter, instagram or snapchat that you are really at the Country Music Festival Cause I will fire your butt, just for being stupid.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

I use to work at a company that separated vacation days from PTO days. I called in sick all the time, sometimes while on vacation. My boss was super lenient and all I had to do was send him an email. No questions asked.

I remember once I was in Disney on a weekend getaway. Monday morning, 5am, I'm staying at the Swan. I sent my boss a quick email that I was sick, and then went back to sleep.

 

[sam_gordon]

Has nothing to do with work ethic & everything to do with some jobs structuring their policies to make it impossible to take a needed spontaneous day.

The phrase "needed spontaneous day" doesn't compute. Especially when folks claim this day is "needed" in order to go to Disney, a christening/wedding (yea, because those are ALWAYS spontaneous), an amusement park, etc.

I guess these are the same people who encourage their kids to stay home from school for "mental health days" also.

 

[Marchand63]

The phrase "needed spontaneous day" doesn't compute. Especially when folks claim this day is "needed" in order to go to Disney, a christening/wedding (yea, because those are ALWAYS spontaneous), an amusement park, etc.

I guess these are the same people who encourage their kids to stay home from school for "mental health days" also.

A spontaneous day example. My DGD has a competition for her sport in less than a week, she qualified due to another person being unable to compete. Now my contract has a 10 day request function for PTO or Vac, so now I need a day quick. So spontaneous sick day to attend her competition.

Things do come up in my life that are unplanned.

 

[sam_gordon]

A spontaneous day example. My DGD has a competition for her sport in less than a week, she qualified due to another person being unable to compete. Now my contract has a 10 day request function for PTO or Vac, so now I need a day quick. So spontaneous sick day to attend her competition.

Things do come up in my life that are unplanned.

I never said unplanned events never happened. If I was faced with your situation as an employee, I'd go to my boss and explain the situation. If I was an employer, I'd want my employees to come to me and explain the situation.

That being said, go ahead and try to convince me that the trip to Disney, attending a Christening/Wedding, going to a theme park, etc are a) unplanned and b) needed.

 

[Dentam]

My biggest pet peeve at my job is when people come to work sick. It happens all the time and then inevitably it spreads to half of the people in the office. To me it's really inconsiderate, especially since in my line of work the world isn't going to end if you stay home when you have a fever and are contagious. We accumulate one sick day a month and they roll over from year to year, so many people have hundreds of hours accumulated.

 

[Marchand63]

I never said unplanned events never happened. If I was faced with your situation as an employee, I'd go to my boss and explain the situation. If I was an employer, I'd want my employees to come to me and explain the situation.

That being said, go ahead and try to convince me that the trip to Disney, attending a Christening/Wedding, going to a theme park, etc are a) unplanned and b) needed.

When did I say that using to attend a planned event was ok - please point that out to me. Please do not put words in my mouth(posts). I was very specific to my life, I actually try to stay out of others.

Also as I said PTO & VAC days have to be requested 10 days out, this is contractual. There is no play, if you open the door for one you have to for others. Who gets to decide that my event is more important than the next persons, the grievances would fly. Union shop here.

 

[DawnM]

I am going to be sick in May for two days. I feel no guilt. I don't get vacation days. Sick days/PTO, it is all the same.

 

[Liberty Belle]

No, never and I'm now retired.
I struggle to understand the mentality of people who think they are "entitled" to so many "sick" days per annum.
If you need time off then use a vacation day.

ford family

I certainly don't think I am "entitled" to sick days, unless they're offered by my employer. I would not take a job if it didn't offer a certain number of days off per calendar year, whether they be sick, personal, or vacation.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Most everyone? In our region, all the kids have school and everyone has to work unless they work for the government or post office.

Here in central Kentucky, schools are out, as are state offices.

 

[disneychrista]

When the only way you can take a day off is to call out, then that is what you do. I lose more vacation days then I get to take. I had my boss tell me to put in for time off in November because i wouldn't be able to in December & January. So I put in a request for Thanksgiving week. It was cut down to the Friday after. THIS is why some of us call in "sick."