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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To call in sick next week too?

128 replies

user4533786 · 08/01/2022 22:52

I have been off work sick this week whilst waiting for PCR results due to having Covid symptoms.
My results took 4 days to come back and were negative. I phoned my manager to tell him my results to which he replied they took ages see you next week then.
I'm still not feeling 100% maybe I will be by Monday, My manager shows no care, I'm CEV so waiting for the results and coping with the symptoms has been hard not just physically but mentally too.
AIBU to phone in sick next week too? I just feel I need some time to prepare myself mentally to go back to my job Confused

OP posts:
gettingolderandgrumpy · 09/01/2022 09:24

You can’t phone in sick to mentally prepare to go back , prepare today . If your still unwell say so but I agree very flakey go in.

gerardsbutler · 09/01/2022 09:26

If I needed to mentally prepare myself for work, I’d never go!

chaosrabbitland · 09/01/2022 09:27

from the sound of it your manager is expecting you back as the pcr test was negative , i think you have to consider you wont be highly thought of if you take next week off sick , hes going to think your milking it for all its worth and to be fair who could blame him ?
a lot of us have to mentally prepare for a weeks work ahead , most of us do that at the weekend or as i do i think about what i have to do that day when i get up in the morning , a week is ridiculous

you have already said you think hes uncaring i presume because he expects you back so if you take another week off is it going to lead to you fretting about how arsey or cold hes going to be with you when you do go back , not to mention your colleagues . like it or not when people are off sick for what others think as dubious reasons they gossip , so theres that to bear in mind

BeyondMyWits · 09/01/2022 09:28

I would use today to gauge how you feel, up your activity etc. Then tomorrow when you wake up, see if you feel well enough to go in. If not, stay off, rest, work on getting better. If yes, go to work.

Thinking you may take an extra day to recuperate is normal. A week is not, and suggests you should speak to someone about your mental health if you are not already.

Hope you feel well soon.

Babyroobs · 09/01/2022 09:31

@itwasntaparty

If you're sick you're sick, take it off, if you're not get back to work? Sounds flakey tbh.
This.
KitKat1985 · 09/01/2022 09:31

I just feel I need some time to prepare myself mentally to go back to my job

That's not a reason to phone in sick OP. Come on.

Qwertykeys · 09/01/2022 09:34

If your not sick you need to go back to work

cherrypie66 · 09/01/2022 09:36

You only needed to do a lateral flow test no need to have a pcr ? I don't see why anyone needs to mentally prepare to go back to work to be honest.

Yellowmellow2 · 09/01/2022 09:39

@cherrypie66

You only needed to do a lateral flow test no need to have a pcr ? I don't see why anyone needs to mentally prepare to go back to work to be honest.
That’s not quite right. From Tuesday, if you are asymptomatic and get a positive LF, then you isolate without the need for a PCR. If you have symptoms though, there’s no change. You should still get a PCR.
cherrypie66 · 09/01/2022 09:40

@TeddySteady

There have been some unpleasant responses on here. It seems clear to me the OP is reaching out to MN for support because she feels mentally fragile. She’s CEV, so getting covid is a big deal. For many in her situation, getting covid has felt like a potential death sentence for the past two years and she’s just spent the last week really worried it might finally have caught up with her. And I’m sure she’s still anxious about getting it going forward too. OP, I think your anxiety is perfectly understandable and if you’ve been isolating, it will only have magnified. You may find you feel a lot better when you go back to work and are keeping busy. Often the worrying about something is a lot worse than the actual thing you’re anxious about. But if you’re really not well enough, either physically or mentally, on Monday, it’s ok to take some more time off. I do think you should approach your GP though if anxiety is interfering with your ability to cope. All the best!
Staying at home makes anxiety worse She hasn't got COVID she's had a pcr How will having another week off help her ? It will only make it worse when she has to go back next week. Too much time to think is not the answer
fernyflax · 09/01/2022 09:48

@TeddySteady

There have been some unpleasant responses on here. It seems clear to me the OP is reaching out to MN for support because she feels mentally fragile. She’s CEV, so getting covid is a big deal. For many in her situation, getting covid has felt like a potential death sentence for the past two years and she’s just spent the last week really worried it might finally have caught up with her. And I’m sure she’s still anxious about getting it going forward too. OP, I think your anxiety is perfectly understandable and if you’ve been isolating, it will only have magnified. You may find you feel a lot better when you go back to work and are keeping busy. Often the worrying about something is a lot worse than the actual thing you’re anxious about. But if you’re really not well enough, either physically or mentally, on Monday, it’s ok to take some more time off. I do think you should approach your GP though if anxiety is interfering with your ability to cope. All the best!
Completely agree with you. Some of the comments on here last night are particularly nasty! The OP is clearly struggling with anxiety and most of the comments are telling them how lazy and selfish they are! Abhorrent!
fernyflax · 09/01/2022 09:52

I'm sorry your got such nasty responses on this thread @user4533786. If you are struggling with your mental health please phone your GP in the morning to try to make an appointment to discuss your anxiety. You could always speak with your manager, HR or occy health about how you're feeling as well. They are there to support you! Your mental health is ALWAYS more important than any job!

Livelovebehappy · 09/01/2022 10:08

ferneyflax where does op say she has mental health issues? She just states she was anxious last week about her pcr results so needs to mentally prepare before going in? Thats hardly mental health issues. We all have have a bit of worry about stuff sometimes, but it goes after the event and we move on. Gps are snowed under as it is without visits from people who had a week of anxiety clogging up their surgeries.

gettingolderandgrumpy · 09/01/2022 10:08

What nasty comments, wow people disagree with the op so is nasty wtf . The op hasn’t mentioned anything about anxiety at all. People replied on the info given not nasty at all imo .

cherrypie66 · 09/01/2022 10:14

@Livelovebehappy

ferneyflax where does op say she has mental health issues? She just states she was anxious last week about her pcr results so needs to mentally prepare before going in? Thats hardly mental health issues. We all have have a bit of worry about stuff sometimes, but it goes after the event and we move on. Gps are snowed under as it is without visits from people who had a week of anxiety clogging up their surgeries.
Yes we move on. We don't have another week off work to mentally prepare ourselves ! That's not normal
rwalker · 09/01/2022 10:17

If somebody has gone of sick waiting PCR then unless told otherwise and it's negative it's a reasonable assumption to think they'll be back at work .
Why cause drama just tell them your still ill.

fernyflax · 09/01/2022 10:37

@Livelovebehappy

ferneyflax where does op say she has mental health issues? She just states she was anxious last week about her pcr results so needs to mentally prepare before going in? Thats hardly mental health issues. We all have have a bit of worry about stuff sometimes, but it goes after the event and we move on. Gps are snowed under as it is without visits from people who had a week of anxiety clogging up their surgeries.
I never said they did. But it's quite obvious when someone reaches out on an online community for advice that they are struggling. If you work in mental health services of any capacity you have a bit of compassion. If they were just taking the piss they wouldn't bother asking. Genuine people look for support not to be trashed and accused of being lazy and ruining the economy. I'd rather presume someone is struggling and in turn offer some real support, rather than telling them how awful/lazy/flakey they are. Which achieves nothing more than making someone who already feels like shit feel even worse.
Streetsigntonowhere · 09/01/2022 10:42

@Freecuthbert

Who takes a week off to mentally prepare for work? Ridiculous. Unless this will be a drip feed about mental health etc, but none of that is mentioned in the OP. Just go into work. Unless you are genuinely unwell of course, but you say you're just not 100% whatever that means. Why are you even asking Mumsnet? Confused
Exactly this. Completely agree
Streetsigntonowhere · 09/01/2022 10:45

@KitKat1985

I just feel I need some time to prepare myself mentally to go back to my job

That's not a reason to phone in sick OP. Come on.

OP take note.
Sugarplumfairy65 · 09/01/2022 10:52

@5foot5

Sorry I don't know what CEV means so I don't know how to take that in to account in my response.

Saying you need to "mentally prepare" to go back to work makes me think, "Yeah everyone finds it hard to back after the Christmas break"

Cev means clinically extremely vulnerable. These are the people who've had to shield because the outcome is not usually good if they catch covid due to existing medical conditions
justustwoandmoo · 09/01/2022 10:55

It sounds like you don't want to go to work and are hoping the have covid to get you out of it. There must be a reason for you feeling like this and perhaps you need to think about moving somewhere you feel more comfortable. Nothing worse than dreading going to work 💐 xx

JohnStonesMissus · 09/01/2022 11:12

Yes it does sound like you don't want to go to work and you're asking MN for confirmation that going sick would be OK, I get you don't want to go in but having a week off to "mentally prepare" isn't going to help you long term, if you take next week off what happens the week after that and the next one? If you carry on thinking like this you'll never be mentally ready to go back to work, if you're genuinely ill stay home, if not then bite the bullet and go in.

VanGoghsDog · 09/01/2022 16:09

@maddening

You can't self certify for more than a week, you would need a Dr's note surely?
28 days currently in fact.
Stuckandinamess · 09/01/2022 16:16

Too ill to go to work-report In as sick

Well enough to go to work- go to work.

Why do you need more time to prepare yourself to return to work. ?

Blinky21 · 09/01/2022 16:41

Doesn't matter if its covid or something else, if you are unwell don't work, your manager should not assume you will come in