Page 3 | What's your thoughts on being off sick from work

Cam2020 · 20/08/2021 21:51

Generally speaking, I agree with you, OP, but then I am one of those people who feels guilty about being off sick. Obviously, there are some situations though where this isn't the case.

Sylvvie · 20/08/2021 21:55

Not your problem. I wouldn't care if someone was off with the flu, stress, a chronic condition. Not going to expect them to confine themselves.

Steelesauce · 20/08/2021 22:07

@BrilloPaddy

I personally think if you're well enough to get dressed, leave the house and sit in a pub for a few hours eating/drinking, then you're well enough to be at work.

But I run my own business and don't have the luxury of dumping my workload onto others to deal with

My Mums had a knee replacement. Her job is a care assistant (on her feet 12 hours a day). She can easily be picked up and taken to the pub to eat but would in no way be able to manage a shift at work on her crutches! It really is job dependent and why the person is off (which may not be the reason she tells people as it may be personal)

icedcoffees · 20/08/2021 22:17

I'm surprised so many people think it's ok to go to the pub while being off & being paid to work

So if you had a broken leg and your job involved being on your feet all day, you'd stay at home for 6-12 weeks just because you're signed off work?

Or what if you were seriously struggling with work related stress - would you refuse to socialise with friends because you were signed off work?

Being well enough to go for a drink with a friend isn't the same as being well enough to go back to work! And if you think it is, you have a very cushy job

IceCreamAndCandyfloss · 20/08/2021 23:13

@SnowyPetals

I am with you OP.

Me too.

Same as I’ve always taught the children, being sick from school means staying home in bed or on the sofa. Not outside or with friends,

Cruiser123 · 20/08/2021 23:21

You're mistaken.

I was vomiting the whole night once. I called in sick the next day. Went back to bed and woke up at 10 am. I was so dehydrated and hungry from all the vomiting. I had nothing to eat in the house as I just came back from holiday So I took myself to a café up the road where I drank coke and ate some crisps.

To you it would have looked like I was taking the piss, but I wasn't.

Very often there's more than meets the eye.

Vimtogenie · 21/08/2021 00:12

I had 3/4 months off work a year or so ago following an illness.

I had ongoing symptoms not dissimilar to long COVID including bad fatigue & brain fog etc.

I could be out with the kids for 3/4 hours with a relative to help & an afternoon nap, plus time at home the next t day. But wouldn’t be able to manage half a day at work due to the mental capacity required of me at that time. I admit I didn’t flash it about though & anything I did was for the kids rather than me, so arguably tiring them out for an easy, quiet afternoon.

It’s all relative.

chestnutshell · 21/08/2021 01:54

I recently had a short depressive episode where I realised I was unable to work. I just couldn’t. I couldn’t read the screen, I couldn’t stay awake whilst sitting at my desk, I was tearful and generally just not ok.

I took a week off. In that week I walked the dogs, went out for a meal and went to family’s house multiple times. If I had not done those things I wouldn’t have got better. If I’d have stayed in and done nothing I’d still be in that state I think.

Wind your neck in.

Heliachi · 21/08/2021 02:57

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Borisjohnsonshairbrush · 21/08/2021 03:06

I've been off with a broken ankle for nearly 3months. I

NWB and stuck inside 6days a week. My treat was a Sunday trip to a coffee shop once a week. For my mental health.

Mind your own shit. You never know when it could bite you on the arse or get tested by being out in a similar position.

WibbleyPie · 21/08/2021 05:04

My Mums had a knee replacement. Her job is a care assistant (on her feet 12 hours a day). She can easily be picked up and taken to the pub to eat but would in no way be able to manage a shift at work on her crutches! It really is job dependent and why the person is off (which may not be the reason she tells people as it may be personal)

I'm in the same job and am currently off with an injury that means though I can move, I'm limited and wouldn't be safe looking after other people that need help with their mobility. I've got to move/exercise to build the strength back up in the injured area gradually.
Sitting in a pub having a meal or a couple of drinks isn't really comparable to a 14 hour shift where I am on my feet for 9/10 of it.

People happy for me to go and care for others and put them at risk because "If I'm fit enough to be out then I'm fit enough for work"? Just so they don't feel aggrieved?

Ugzbugz · 21/08/2021 05:32

Its a difficult one, i read threads, Stories etc etc of exactly what I've gone through and people have sadly committed suicide, Have addiction problems, can't function or are like me and carry on as normal dying inside with no one knowing the end feelings or results although I fully appreciate people take the absolute fucking piss

bluetongue · 21/08/2021 05:58

As always the pisstakers ruin it for the genuine people.

My work has a skiver. Off work more than she is in. Always a different reason. Then she decided to get a puppy. Cynically I thought to myself ‘now she’ll take time off for a sick puppy’ and sure enough she took multiple days in a row off to take said puppy to the vet and look after it almost straight away.

I have nothing against pets. I’ve taken a few days off in the past for emergency vet visits and looking after my dog the day after surgery (not sick leave) but then again I hardly ever get sick or take sick leave and don’t have any kids so it’s different.

WiseUpJanetWeiss · 21/08/2021 06:59

It depends.

DH had major surgery a few years ago and was discharged with percutaneous drains. He had lost a lot of weight and muscle mass, and had a very long recovery and was off sick for 6 months. During this time he gradually built up to walking locally, going to cafes and we went on a low key U.K. holiday. He also met up with his boss in a pub and cafe a couple of times. He did a little working from home during that time, and a great deal of sleeping during the day. I doubt very much whether he would have been fit for work, either physically or mentally, if he had stayed in the house all that time.

Similarly I encouraged a former team member to use her last week of sick leave (following a significant chronic diagnosis and successful treatment) to get out in the sunshine and go shopping so she had worked up to being on her feet before she came back to us.

A member of my staff off sick “with IBS symptoms” seen on FB at a party stuffing her face with a massive piece of chocolate cake when she was claiming she was in so much pain…? Not impressed.

Deathraystare · 21/08/2021 07:03

It depends if she has 'form'. We know when one of our colleagues will be 'ill'. When she cannot get the days/weeks off she wanted. It is that obvious.

Lumpwoody · 21/08/2021 07:04

@converseandjeans

I agree - if you're well enough to get dressed and go out to the pub then you could probably work.

It goes down badly as generally other people need to cover their work & it creates resentment.

There are other things you can do to get out the house.

I've recently had a nasty rash and didn't miss any days at work.

I was off for 3 months following a life changing accident.

I went to the pub and out to dinner a few times once the initial couple of weeks was past.

I was not fit to do my job at all due to the painkillers I was taking and the amount of pain I was in but I could get out to see friends now and again.

I’m really glad my boss was much more understanding than you.

SimonJT · 21/08/2021 07:07

@perfectasalways

I've always thought if you are too sick to work that you are too sick to go out and enjoy yourself. A woman at work was on holiday and didn't come back the next week or for the first three days of the following week - something to do with feeling a bit rubbish (not mental health related) and she has cream and and tablets from the Dr. She let slip that she was in the pub with her friend on Saturday. I just would not do this. If you are well enough to go to the pub and drink surely you're well enough to go to your work.

A few years ago I had my appendix removed, it didn’t go smoothly and I ended up with an open wound and sepsis.

Should I have remained in my flat until I was well enough to work again (rugby player)?

AndTheReasonIsYou · 21/08/2021 07:18

There’s no right or wrong answer to this. It’s entirely job and/or illness-dependent.

icedcoffees · 21/08/2021 07:21

@Heliachi

Anyone working for me who is off sick with pay has better not be in the pub.

So if they've broken their leg and working for you involves being on their feet all day, they're not allowed to go out and meet a friend for a pint until they're back at work - potentially three+ months after their injury?

Posts like yours make me very glad I'm now self employed and no longer have to deal with ridiculous bosses who think a drink down the local is somehow comparable to a 9 hour shift

Lola001 · 21/08/2021 07:24

I wouldn't personally do it, but i'm a very paranoid person, I wouldn't enjoy myself for the worry of knocking into somebody from work and it getting gossiped about.
But, on the other hand, why should she declare if it IS mental health related? That's as private as any health concern, Doctors recommend a resemblance of 'normality' when suffering from Mental Health illness.
Just mind your own.

SleepingStandingUp · 21/08/2021 07:25

Without question, some people abuse the sickness policy to get some time off, esp if its paid at full. And on the surface "have a rash so can't come to work but can go out drinking all day in the middle" sounds like a pee take

HOWEVER you just don't know so it's best to not judge and i certainly would never say anything to them or report to HR unless i was certain i knew the truth

Lumpwoody · 21/08/2021 07:26

@icedcoffees. Exactly.

I had a life changing injury. I was off sick with pay for months. I could not do my job. But I could go to the pub occasionally and out with friends (in a wheelchair / with crutches).

thecognoscenti · 21/08/2021 07:28

MN is really weird about this and says it's none of your business and that she could be going on a rock-climbing holiday and a three-day bender and you'd have no right to judge at all. IRL most people would think it's a total pisstake. If you're covering her work it IS your business.

Tinkerbellfluffyboots79 · 21/08/2021 07:35

I’ve been off work for quite some time with flare of crohns, and now my knee is wrecked and I can hardly walk. It’s been a hellish year. I’m a single parent though so I still need it take my kids to school so I do get up and dressed. However I can’t really ‘go’ very far due to my knee.

So I’ve been for a coffee with a friend or my boyfriend not that I always eat much if it’s lunch nor do I post any of it on social media. Otherwise I would just be sitting in the house on my own every day, not sure how that’s good for anyone, I’d much rather be well and dojng the job l trained for and love. I struggle to even go to tesco at the moment. My knee injury might be the end of my career as I know it so mentally I’m having a hard time tbh. HR are clear that we can do things which help us get back to work, which I was trying to do before my knee decided it had other ideas. Ss going from doing very little to full on 12 hour shifts isn’t going to work, so walks out etc fresh air and speaking to people which helps you feel like you’re getting back to some semblance of normality. Maybe think twice next time you see someone off sick having a lunch out, you don’t know what they have been through or are going through. I run out of pay soon too, it’s just so hard, I didn’t ask for any of this and I just want my life back.

SaltySheepdog · 21/08/2021 07:35

I would assume they were recovering well and maybe testing the water building up to returning to work