Thank you for your column. I don't think I've ever seen a more pointed depiction of the endemic pathology of the average workplace. I'm SOOOO happy to be retired now!
Who do you call in to for time off if you're sick and a stay-at-home Mom or Dad? Or sick and a dedicated housewife or house husband? Or if you're sick and retired? Or, wait for it, if you're just plain sick and tired??
Good job. I had a boss like that. Dragging sick people in to work, only to infect more of his workers. Workers aren't indentured servants. He loved saving money by operating with a skeleton crew. He would always beg you to come back far earlier than your recovery.
In school, my dad used to tell me I was “showing off” if I was too sick for school. When I was working he’d say “never be sick for one day (especially Wednesday)” or the boss would think I was looking for a new job
So funny! I got it, too. I was on a plane, but everyone is getting it. I don't recall ever calling in sick for work, but I never had one of those jobs. I worked freelance, so you had to go. Which meant you never admitted you were sick until the job was over, and then you could collapse. Ha!
Had a coworker come in for a critical meeting whose face was a scary shade of grey. He promised to go home as soon as the meeting was over. Within 3 days, every last one of us in that meeting was out with the flu. Sickest I’ve ever been in my life. Didn’t have the strength to lift my head off the pillow for a week. None of us has ever forgiven that guy!
I have a weird situation myself - a hyperactive immune system. I get sick a lot but can't always tell illness from allergies until it's too late. I also tend to recover faster than usual - so I rarely feel bad calling in sick, frequently work when I should be in bed (working from home with COVID was . ... An experience. Fell asleep about six times throughout the three days, and basically did a half day of work while conscious on two of them - the other day I could not get out of bed)
Thank you for your column. I don't think I've ever seen a more pointed depiction of the endemic pathology of the average workplace. I'm SOOOO happy to be retired now!
Thank you so much.
Who do you call in to for time off if you're sick and a stay-at-home Mom or Dad? Or sick and a dedicated housewife or house husband? Or if you're sick and retired? Or, wait for it, if you're just plain sick and tired??
Good job. I had a boss like that. Dragging sick people in to work, only to infect more of his workers. Workers aren't indentured servants. He loved saving money by operating with a skeleton crew. He would always beg you to come back far earlier than your recovery.
You summed it all up.
In school, my dad used to tell me I was “showing off” if I was too sick for school. When I was working he’d say “never be sick for one day (especially Wednesday)” or the boss would think I was looking for a new job
So funny! I got it, too. I was on a plane, but everyone is getting it. I don't recall ever calling in sick for work, but I never had one of those jobs. I worked freelance, so you had to go. Which meant you never admitted you were sick until the job was over, and then you could collapse. Ha!
Had a coworker come in for a critical meeting whose face was a scary shade of grey. He promised to go home as soon as the meeting was over. Within 3 days, every last one of us in that meeting was out with the flu. Sickest I’ve ever been in my life. Didn’t have the strength to lift my head off the pillow for a week. None of us has ever forgiven that guy!
We need collected real life horror stories to educate employees. Specifically, employees in management. There is no benefit to coming in sick.
I have a weird situation myself - a hyperactive immune system. I get sick a lot but can't always tell illness from allergies until it's too late. I also tend to recover faster than usual - so I rarely feel bad calling in sick, frequently work when I should be in bed (working from home with COVID was . ... An experience. Fell asleep about six times throughout the three days, and basically did a half day of work while conscious on two of them - the other day I could not get out of bed)
When I was sick I still had to work from home. I was on call 24/7/365.
Working from home is great until the calls start coming in.
Expertly said.