Presenteeism: Encouraging Sick Workers to Come in

[aimeeandbeatles]

There is also the issue of contagious illness. If you work in somewhere where you work with public customers a lot they may get sick and that not good for business.

 

[Zelig]

could you get a second job that also gives 150 sick days, and alternate working half the year at each to get 140% salary?

Would be easier to get just get a single new job that gives miminal sick days and pays 140% of my current salary.

 

[Bamspeedy]

Short term disability makes more sense than sick days if one is talking of getting up to 130 days/year. I have short term disability and long term disability working for Wal-Mart. I do pay for the disability insurance, but it's only something like $2 per two weeks, which is far cheaper than union dues would be.

Sick hours can be used starting on the second day in a row you are 'sick'. And you can bank up to 192 hours of sick time. After you've reached the '192 club' if you still keep earning more hours the extra hours roll over into personal time instead.

Sick time you don't need a doctor's note, but for the disability you do.

 

[Quackers]

It is VERY dumb. My sister hates it but her job pays VERY well, including very generous bonuses.. so she puts up with it.

I get 130-150 sick days too.. or something like that. Obviously I don't use them all each year But I do call in sick maybe once a month.

Once a month? Woah, i'm impressed

That last time I felt ill was december 2010!

 

[BasketCase]

I've got an easy solution for this: when you call in sick and the boss says to get your butt to work, what you should do is stroll right into his office and offer to shake hands with him.

 

[Rashiminos]

I've got an easy solution for this: when you call in sick and the boss says to get your butt to work, what you should do is stroll right into his office and offer to shake hands with him.

That actually happens.

 

[Bamspeedy]

Once a month? Woah, i'm impressed

That last time I felt ill was december 2010!

He said 'call in' sick, not necessarily that he was sick.

I haven't been sick enough to miss work since 2002?, and that was only because I was drinking. I never get the flu, and a cough/runny nose isn't a good enough reason to skip work.

I do miss a day every couple of months on average (more in the winter, less in the summer), but it's not 'sick' it's other things. Doesn't matter if it's the weather (like snow/ice storms), car trouble or family reasons I just tell them 'personal business' and they don't ask for any more details.

 

[BasketCase]

That actually happens.

I know. I do it myself.

 

[Godwynn]

I was told food poisoning isn't a good reason to take off of work.

 

[GoodGame]

Considering Canada practices socialized medicine, allowing easy sick days for recovery probably saves the government a few bucks if it was only contagious flu/cold. Figure that transmitting the flu to the rest of your co-workers is an even larger burden for socialized medicine to bear.

 

[History_Buff]

At my office, a simple phone call or email is sufficient. Or if we're still well enough to work, but coming in would risk infecting everyone else with something annoying, we can always work from home through VPN. Of course, that's available to us for a multitude of reasons.

The fact that I've gone to work sick enough to bother other people, and been told to just go home as a result makes me suspect nobody doubts me if I say I'm sick. My boss certainly doesn't seem to care.

 

[kramerfan86]

I was told food poisoning isn't a good reason to take off of work.

That means the next time you have food poisoning and go to work you make sure you drop by whoever told you that's office and promptly unleash the wrath of your poisoning... on "accident" of course.

 

[Godwynn]

That means the next time you have food poisoning and go to work you make sure you drop by whoever told you that's office and promptly unleash the wrath of your poisoning... on "accident" of course.

I was served bad salmon at a French restaurant. It was as bad as it sounds.

My fellow riders on the El would've gotten it before him.

 

[classical_hero]

Here , most people get 20 days paid holidays ( at a 17% bonus to your pay while on hols) plus about 6 or 7 " no questions asked " sick days .

It's almost considered un Australian not to take up your "sickies"

Sickies are an Australian tradition.

 

[warpus]

Am I missing something?

130-150 sick "days"??? What?

If I need em, I got em. Nobody abuses this.. cause if you did.. people would notice and you would get a talking to.. Not only that, you'd look bad in front of your colleagues, and nobody likes a slacker. It wouldn't be a wise move and that's why nobody abuses it. Most people will only use 2-5 sick days a year.

But why do we get so many? It's such a huge amount of days in the case that I get into some sort of a serious accident or have a serious illness, for example. Something that would put me out of work for a couple weeks or months, but not long enough to go on leave (You can go on leave for a year, in extreme circumstances, and your job will be waiting for you when you get back)

Each year I use maybe 10-15 of my sick days. It's good to know that if I get really sick I can take a couple weeks off without having to worry about my job or losing my vacation days. That, and I'd still be paid. Makes me a more efficient and happy worker knowing that I don't have to worry about getting really sick.

You guys get 130 sick days? I was clearly born in the wrong country. (Does that number come from a legal entitlement, e.g., are they akin to legal entitlements to weeks off for disabilities or pregnancy, like we have here?)

It's a huge number mainly because it's a University job. We've got powerful unions here. Maternity/paternity leave is totally separate from this though, but I'm not sure about any other details. Like I said earlier, nobody ever uses all the sick days. It's pretty much a contingency thing, should you ever need it.

They're not all fully paid, I think I get like 30 at full salary and then the rest at 70%.

I wonder what kinda numbers would apply to me. I've never looked into it - I don't forsee ever having to use 30 sick days in a row..

It's good knowing that if it happens, I'm covered.

Short term disability makes more sense than sick days if one is talking of getting up to 130 days/year.

I think the idea is that if you're off for a long period of time (30 days?) at some point your employer is going to say "It's obvious that this is more serious than a simple illness. Let's discuss you going on a leave or disability".. It of course being situation specific. It's probably a large number like that due to the unions. I've never heard of anyone here taking more than 4 sick days in a row. Plus you can use sick days and not have to worry about going on leave or anything else until it's obvious that you are going to have to, weeks later. Makes everything easier.

Eh, wait. My coworker broke her leg once and took 2 months off, using only sick days. She worked some of those days from home, though. It was in the middle of the winter and it would have been very hard for her to come into work.

Once a month? Woah, i'm impressed

That last time I felt ill was december 2010!

I'll take about one a month, even if I'm not sick. I think of them as "wellness/destress" days.

Or hey, sometimes I have insomnia and can't sleep until 6am. That's a good time to use a sick day. And again, nobody here abuses this, at least nobody that I have ever heard of. There is a sort of "We've got it good, don't take advantage of too much crap" atmosphere around here.

I would say taking 1 sick day a month on average makes me more productive overall.

 

[galdre]

The sick day policies of every placed I've worked in the US is ridiculous - only 3 days/year, but if you get something serious you need more than 3 days. You can go on short-term disability but that only pays 60%. I can understand the requirement to get a doctor's note, although that should only be if you're out for a while (4-5 days at least). I much preferred the policies where I worked in the UK compared to my jobs in the US.

 

[Oruc]

Sickness is handled very strangely where I work, I actually have the sheet explaining it all because I'm currently on stage 1

"stage 1 = at this stage you may be issued a 1st stage warning should should you incur 4 absences or 14 days in any 12 month period...

2nd stage = If, after you have been issued with a 1st stage warning, you incur a further 2 absences or a single absence of 10 days or more, within any 6 month period during the 12 months following the date of the interview a 2nd stage warning may be issued...

dismissal = if you incur a further 2 absences, or a single absence of 10 days or more, within any 6 month period during the next 12 months, your dismissal will be considered"

I shortened it down as the 2nd stage explanation has 3 paragraphs, very strange system (better then working for an agency at least, where they tell you don't come into work tomorrow. But if you are on long term sick you get full pay for 6 months and half pay for 6 months.

Edit: and I have a pretty good sick record, 19 days over 4 years 4 months. If you remove the sickness I had through an infection it would be six. I wouldn't be on a stage if I hadn't brought a sick note in to claim back my weeks holiday I missed

 

[Quackers]

He said 'call in' sick, not necessarily that he was sick.

I haven't been sick enough to miss work since 2002?, and that was only because I was drinking. I never get the flu, and a cough/runny nose isn't a good enough reason to skip work.

I do miss a day every couple of months on average (more in the winter, less in the summer), but it's not 'sick' it's other things. Doesn't matter if it's the weather (like snow/ice storms), car trouble or family reasons I just tell them 'personal business' and they don't ask for any more details.

Yes I know the distinction I'm impressed by his dishonesty...

 

[Bamspeedy]

Sickness is handled very strangely where I work, I actually have the sheet explaining it all because I'm currently on stage 1

"stage 1 = at this stage you may be issued a 1st stage warning should should you incur 4 absences or 14 days in any 12 month period...

2nd stage = If, after you have been issued with a 1st stage warning, you incur a further 2 absences or a single absence of 10 days or more, within any 6 month period during the 12 months following the date of the interview a 2nd stage warning may be issued...

dismissal = if you incur a further 2 absences, or a single absence of 10 days or more, within any 6 month period during the next 12 months, your dismissal will be considered"

I shortened it down as the 2nd stage explanation has 3 paragraphs, very strange system (better then working for an agency at least, where they tell you don't come into work tomorrow. But if you are on long term sick you get full pay for 6 months and half pay for 6 months.

Edit: and I have a pretty good sick record, 19 days over 4 years 4 months. If you remove the sickness I had through an infection it would be six. I wouldn't be on a stage if I hadn't brought a sick note in to claim back my weeks holiday I missed

Wal-mart has a similar system called steps.

I think it's 4 (unexcused) absences in 6 months you move to step 1. If you get 4 more before the next 6 months you are locked in step 2 (if you don't then you move back down to step 0). At step 2 you can't transfer to other departments. Get 3 more in the next 6 months you move to step 3 and you get a 'decision' day where you get the day off (paid I believe), but it's basically your final warning for you to go home and to consider if you still want to work there. Get 2 more while on the step 3 and you move to step 4 which is termination, although you can open door it (basically pleading your case with the warehouse manager why you should still be given another chance, such as if you had extenuating circumstances).

I've been on step 2 a couple of times, but never step 3.

Worst case scenario is you get your 4th on the day before the first one would drop off (6 months), then get your 8th one day before the step 1 would have dropped off (12 months), 11th and decision day again just before you would have been cleared (18 months), and your 13th the day before you would have been cleared again (2 years). Open door it and you may get another chance because of how close you were.

One could try to 'milk' the sick days but you run the risk that if you use up so many days for foolish stuff then you won't have any leeway when something happens beyond your control. The sick days are mostly the 'one day off' types of calling in sick. Broken bones and serious illnesses you should apply for LOA (and disability if it applies).

 

[illram]

What a horrible way to provide sick days. It seems intentionally designed to make the employee feel like any day off is one step closer to discipline.