Sick days

[Belladog1]

Just wondering how many days sick you generally have per year. I'm not talking serious ailments but coughs/colds/stomach issues etc ....

I am very lucky and I'm rarely ill. I can't remember the last time I got a cold and i don't think I've taken a sick day in years. I'd have to feel really rubbish before I'd consider not going to work.

But my colleagues are very different. One lady is off a lot, at least fortnightly with headaches or a cold. She apparently takes to her bed and gets looked after by her husband. I've noticed her son takes lots of time off too for ailments and she often gets calls from the school for him to be collected as he has tummy ache. I can't help but wonder if her sickness days and staying home look great to her son who gets a day home with one mention of a poorly stomach.?

My boss often phones me to say he's woken up feeling grotty and is taking a day to stay under the duvet.

I remember as a kid trying to convince my mum i was sick. She would sit on the bed, pull a silly face and if I giggled she'd say 'I think you're well enough to go to school', and off I'd go. But, even today, as a middle aged woman, I still feel guilty, almost like I'm lying, if I need a day off sick.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/290241/uk-sickness-absence-rate-public-vs-private-sector/

But you can google and find varying numbers. I was flippant in my comment, but have worked in both and have seen it with my own eyes!

Some of you are definitely proudly spouting how you have an excellent work ethic while coughing and sneezing over everyone. Just stay at home with your germs and stop infecting the rest of us.

I've had zero days off sick in 11 years. I only work 2 days a week though so it's mostly luck. I share a job with another woman and we can both step in if the other is unwell/on holiday. So long as one of us is there nobody cares and we've managed no (official) sick days for over a decade!

NHS desk job here and my only sick day was in 2008, on my Uni placement year. Even when I caught covid in Feb 2022 it was on annual leave so didn’t miss a day. I can work from home, but never needed to for health reasons at all. I just never get ill, no-one in my family or household does - all blessed with a super immune system and I do not that for granted. Haven’t even had a cold since that covid time. I am the wild one in my work team though, some people take sick time off every month and it’s always after their kids have been ill first.

In the past year I've had 11 weeks... five weeks after a minor mental health breakdown (caused by work) and six weeks after a hysterectomy. No other sick days despite being crippled with endometriosis and drugged up to my eyeballs for most of the year. I'm very lucky and appreciative for being an NHS employee and being able to take six months full pay - not that I ever have, although once was off five months due to a full MH crisis

Haven’t had a day sick since 2018 - I’ve had two babies and pneumonia in that time - the joys of WFH!

Why take annual leave when you are sick? I was sick last year at the beggining of a period of AL ….ijust rang in and said I was sick instead….AL is not to take when you are sick …why would you do that? 🤷‍♀️

Loads. Two periods per year. Probably totalling 10 days. All genuine though. I get recurrent strep throat which knocks me for six. I'm so ill with it that I lose half a stone each time (I soon put it back on when I can eat again) I'm in my 40s with an emotionally draining public sector job. I dread getting it.

when I was younger would have had the same mindset as other force myself to go in unless at deaths door. would have an odd day off with excruciating period pain and vomiting now know it was undiagnosed endometriosis. then had ti take time off for many surgeries. luckily was paid and not penalised. then lost my fil quote tragically and had to take time off 6 months after as mentally was t able to work. then appendix nearly burst was off work but due to incompetent manager worked from my hospital bed. recently now a bit older diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I now wfh with one day in office and that's a short day in office due to commute I work up my hours over the rest of the week. I very rarely get colds or flues and if do luckily wfh. being diagnosed with fibromyalgia has made me realise we are not robots. we need to listen to our bodies. I have to ensure I don't do too much or have a flare up which can take weeks to recover from. our work pays 20 days sick leave but you don't get you attendance bonus ( which is worth 1k take home pay ) which is really not fair as people can't afford to loose that. even if you have scheduled surgery or in a car crash you loose it.
we need to ensure we look after ourselves

we are told if you are sick, you are sick and should not work from home whilst sick.
i think that is fair,
many of us dont have the luxury of being able to work from home and are penalised for having more than 4 episodes in a 12 month period.

1 in the past year that kept me off work but I was having a very bad upset stomach so needed to be home.
Generally not poorly enough to stay home and can manage with paracetamol and fluids and powering through.

through the year probably about 30 days of unwellness which involves sofa rotting and wallowing but not enough to stop me going into work. I work in education so it’s part and parcel of life having the lurgey.

Been in my current job 2 years and I’ve had time off for medical appointments but no sick days. I’m due to have surgery soon so will be off for a few weeks then, but I don’t take time off for minor ailments and it was the same when I was a child too. Unless my parents saw me vomit or I was covered in chicken pox or similar off to school I went!

2.5 years into job, no sick days - and probably 3 in the previous 15 years - COVID floored me. I'm mid 40s. I have noticed that it can depend on your position in the company - managers where I am (charity sector) tend to have very few days off if any, where as other staff a lot more.

Thinking back to the temp and junior clerical roles I had in my early 20s which I didn't particularly enjoy, I definitely called in sick much more frequently over a minor sniffle!

Three days last year because I put my back out and was in agony. Haven't had a cold this winter and have a flu jab every year as had flu once and never want it again.

We have a new starter who has already taken 3 days off since before Christmas for mickey mouse stuff.

I work for the private sector and get full pay for 60 sick days per year. I am mid 40s and in the last 2 years I took a month off due to a major injury.

I work from home even pre covid. This is because I have a compromised immune system.

Thanks to people like the idiots on here who proudly go to work sneezing and shitting on everything, illness gets passed on and while you might be delighted that you have been a big brave girl for your employer who likely doesn't give a shit about you, the likelihood is you pass it on, it comes home to the person who doesn't have a good immune system and you floor them for at least a week.

So well done, here is your imaginary medal 🏅

The younger generation have the right idea, it should be work to live. Your employer will step over your dead body in their rush to post a job description to replace you.

We had someone who was always ill just before half term.A lot of us thought cheaper holiday going a few days early. If it wasn’t her then it was her child.

I worked in a team and one of our colleagues was struggling with her mental wellbeing. Couple of the team telling her to go home and look after yourself - absolutely correct. Another said to her “you haven’t used your sick leave quota this year” like it was additional entitled team off…

I hate it when people come in coughing and sneezing, don’t be a martyr, please stay home with your germs 🦠

God all these people simping for capitalism. Unless you're self employed, can't think of any reason NOT to take a day off work sick. Your organisation doesn't give a shit about you. Take as much time off as you can without being sacked.

Yes yes yes to everything you've said. F*ck these been spreaders. For what?! Organisations will still screw you over regardless.

*germ spreaders lol

I've only taken a few days in the last few years, due to either having covid or norovirus. Usually because other people come in to work with these illnesses and pass them on to me 🙄 and then moan that they "didn't take time off" as though i should come in sick.

This! It really pisses me off. Just recovered from a week of covid

I have two very small children & suffer with migraines & seizures, I won’t take a day if I’ve had a seizure during the night as I can generally carry on the day after, I just mention it in work (care role) if I have a migraine I don’t even contemplate going in, I’ll be in bed for two days 3 at the most in agony & vomiting… usually once every other month depends

I think that's poor if it is deliberate, but honestly it's horrible being stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to illness. I drag myself in repeatedly, too ill to work but facing meetings for sickness absence if I don't come in. Feel terrible at the thought of potentially infecting everyone but the thought of disciplinary because of an idiotic sickness policy is anxiety inducing. I absolutely hate it. I can feel my colleagues staring daggers at me.

Edited just to add, I am absolutely not exaggerating about our sickness policy. You get grilled with the potential to lose your job through absences. It's brutal.

Public sector here and 18 years with no time off sick until last year. I had two consecutive minor surgeries and Dr recommended i take 6 weeks off for each. I took 4 for each as felt that was enough as I am in a small but very busy team. I felt guilty enough taking 4 weeks instead of the recommended 6.