#SickDayConfessions #MentalHealthMatters
Hey there, fellow work warriors! 💼💪 How often do you call out sick? 🤒 Is it strictly reserved for those days when you’re practically bedridden, or do you take the occasional mental health day? I’m curious to know!
Here’s my take on it: I’m generally in good health, so I don’t call out sick very often. However, there are times when my mental health takes a hit, and I just need a day to recharge. I’m lucky to have a workplace that allows for sick leave to be used for mental health days, but the guilt still creeps in.
Do you struggle with the guilt too? Here’s a possible solution that works for me:
– Communicate with your supervisor: Make sure to keep your manager in the loop about why you need to take a sick day, whether it’s physical or mental health-related.
– Prioritize self-care: Taking care of yourself is crucial for overall well-being. Don’t feel guilty about needing a day to rest and recharge.
– Seek support: Reach out to a trusted friend, family member, or mental health professional for guidance and support.
Let’s start a conversation about sick days and mental health in the workplace! Share your thoughts and experiences below. 🗣️💬 #SelfCare #WorkLifeBalance #HealthyHabits
Thankfully all of our PTO is lumped together, so there’s no difference between vacation, holiday, sick, etc., it’s all just PTO and we can use it whenever. So I’ll plan out my vacations and days off and make sure I reserve enough for the one or two times per year I get sick.
Never. I don’t really get sick and my vacation and sick leave is all rolled into PTO, so I just use it when I want to/need to take PTO.
I don’t get sick often but I don’t need to be really sick to call out, if I’m feeling a little bit under the weather then I’ll call out, my boss is cool about it. They’re there to use so I use them if I need to. I used to feel guilty calling out even if I was deathly ill, but now I don’t let it bother me.
I’d say on average, 3 or so sick days per year? My boss usually pulls them from vacation days to preserve our actual sick days as we get paid out for not using them at the end of the year (though if we ask him not to he wont, he just does it to help us out).
I’m remote so it’s really rare I am sick enough to actually take a day off. I also have unlimited sick time.
I probably take a sick day every 2 to 3 months. Usually for metal health/want a lazy day vs sick.
I’m only allowed to be sick 5 times in a rolling 365 days.
Never feel guilty, unless you’re doing it frequently and it’s affecting yours/others work. If they’re generous, it’s for a reason.
About once a quarter I take a personal day or sick day.
Holidays are nice but sometimes I just need to control my own destiny and take a day when I want to.
I mainly use sick time for scheduled doctors visits (cleared in advance with my supervisor). That’ll be a couple of hours here and there, maybe 3-6 times per year. I take “unscheduled” sick days once, maybe twice a year.
You’re very fortunate. My company gives 12 PTO days for the year. There are no sick days. I typically just power through the day if I’m sick or not feeling well. I don’t really have another option. I wouldn’t feel guilty, they are part of your employee package. You’re making the company more money than they are giving you.
About once a month for a mental health day. For actual physical sickness, maybe two or three times a year.
Every monday
I recently started a new job where I have 13 days of sick leave per year, separate from vacation. It rolls over every year but never cashes out, only adds to your tenure. Needless to say I will be using more sick days.
I called in for the first time in 3 and 1/2 years a few months ago. I had the flu which I got from my tiny human charges. Over the course of my 24 year career as a nanny, I’ve called in maybe a dozen times. Thankfully, I’m fairly healthy.
I haven’t actually been so sick I can’t even work from home since I got Covid a few years back. Even that was just for a day. But I use a few hours of sick time for doctor and dentist appointments for myself and my kids all the time.
Twice or less a year. I just don’t. I attend. I work. I like the pattern.
I’m unemployed right now and I am at a point where I am ready to take a job and give up the benefits for the routine of going in.
About once a year
Once or twice per year. I have accumulated months of sick time at this point, I just don’t need it because I don’t get sick much and we have plenty of vacation time anyway.
That said, in my first job the vacation was ridiculous (2 weeks per year) so then I took a “sick” day almost as often as I’d accrue it and use it to vacation.
Whenever I feel even slightly under weather and don’t feel like i can deliver 100% so approx 3-4 times a year. I have realized that no one cares if you are unwell once you show up but they will remember all small things you could not do that day. People usually don’t remember much if you take holiday
It gets kinda dicey working in healthcare. But I also learned over the years, that every employee is just a number. Your job can replace you at any given time for any reason. So I’m here to say to take your PTO days, sick days, mental health days because no one is going to care about you besides YOU. I had to learn that the hard way because I got injured at work and HR never gave me worker’s comp info that I needed to be seen by PT or an Ortho doctor. I was my own PT at home since I got injured at work on Memorial Day. You have to be your own advocate and care about yourself, no one else will. That is the harsh reality of today’s world.
Let me put some perspective – I work the US shift from India. We get 8 days casual leave and 10 days holidays. Of the 10 days in public holidays, only 2 holidays coincide within the Indian calendar. So if I need to take leave for an Indian festival, I have to use up my casual leave. Additionally I get 6 sick leaves all year – which I split between actually being sick and using for other reasons.
If asked 10 years back as a fresher, I would have used all leave sparingly. But now I realise that companies have only one agenda and that is not associated with the people who make it. So I might as well live my life.
On my death bed (as morbid as it sounds), i wont regret not going to work for how many ever days for whatever reason.
I don’t. I wanted to on Monday because I’d been battling a cold all weekend but we don’t have staff to cover this week. It’s all me.
Working shitty customer service jobs that will deny you a sick day has kind of conditioned me to not call in unless I’m dying. Edit: I haven’t worked one of these jobs since 2007 but it still sticks with me.
Every other month. I usually do it when I’m actually sick or feel burned out
I mostly use sick time for dentist appointments, half days. I used sick time for an extra week of vacation last year. I’m actually sick about one day per year.
I work from homes, i dont use sick days, I use sick days as a vacation day. when I don’t want to do anything..lol
Once a month at minimum. I need my space
far too many americans are afraid of prioritizing their all around health in lieu of not being seen as weak and unreliable. One of the few countries that operate like this.
In my previous company, I would take guilt-driven sick leaves once or rarely twice a month. I was given 24 sick leaves per year (2 leaves per month). Sometimes they were genuine sick leave, other days I would just be sick of working and couldn’t wait for the weekend!
I work at a school 5 days in person so honestly I get sick a lot. I’d say I ask to work from home one day a month and a total non working sick day happens like 3-4 times a year.
Never, essentially. In management, if you “call out sick” you’ll get sideeye from every direction: boss, peers, & reports.
once a quarter
someone should post this into a europe thread 😂 our country is sad
When I’m sick
Don’t ever feel guilty about taking a sick day as a mental health day. There is nothing wrong with that at all. It’s time employers recognize the importance of mental health and work life balance. I’ve been in the workforce for 34 years and it grinds you down both mentally and physically. Sometimes you just need an unplanned day off and that’s part of what sick days are for.
Egad. I have chronic illness so I juggle about two doctors appointments a month and average at least one sick day a month. Needless to say an understanding boss outweighs salary for me. (Fortunately I have one right now even if the pay is bottom tier). I can’t compete with most people in this thread. Being sick in this job market is hard.