To think of you’re signed off sick you should stay at home?

[Poppins17]

I’ve been unwell since the beginning of December.

I’m currently on my second dose of antibiotics and have now got steroids.

Dr informed me to rest as much as possible but there was no discussion about time off work.

I work in a senior position in Local Government, and have 15 staff to manage as well as assets.

I met a friend last night (which was a mistake as when I got home I realised I didn’t have the energy to do that), and she said how unwell I looked, and how I needed to go back to the drs to get signed off work.

She mentioned doing a few things whilst off sick to help with my well-being (spa days, going to the coast etc).

It made me wonder something that I assume when people are off sick they stay at home and don’t engage in any ‘nice’ activities.. is this an old fashioned view now?

Just to stay I work in the same village as where I live so likely people would see me out and about.

YABU - You should engage in nice activities for your own well being

YANBU - You should stay at home

I am having a hysterectomy in 2 weeks - I am going to go to the gym and go for walks as soon as I can as I have a wedding dress to get into in June. There is no way I can just sit around at home with my physical body declining, it would drive me up the wall. I have also planned to take my dc for a day tour in Feb half term as it was booked before the op and I can't cancel and I was going to take AL anyway.

I won't be going back to work in Feb though - because my job is stressful and fast paced and people hassle me for decisions constantly. And I start at 7am. I think you have to think about stress as well as physical capabilities when you are unwell. Otherwise you might be being short sighted and need to go off sick again, which defeats the object.

Depends. I signed off sick with depression for a 2 months. It was related to how I had been treated at work.
Staying in the house would have probably killed me. I look back and think I've come so far since. But at that point I was too mentally unwell to be at work. Walking in the park, taking dd out (half term landed within this) helped me massively.

Really depends on the illness. I did spend many an hour in bed but if I didn't leave the house, I'd have probably have done something very bad to myself. I was pushed to the brink of suicide. My partner works away so being alone was very dangerous at that time.

Even with a physical illness the impact is on mental health too, so I'd never bat an eyelid if someone was seen out whilst on signed off sick leave.

I hope you get better soon OP

In general I think convalescence is really important, as without it you "can" end up unwell for longer. Although to some degree it depends on how unwell you've been.

I think it depends on the illness. If you are contagious then I think you should be at home until you are not. As you get better going to the supermarket or walks are fine and good to get back into the swing of things. If it's something that's not contagious then if it will be helpful I don't see why going out is a bad thing. In lots of cases eg mental health or recovery of an injury, it's really important.

Personally I wouldn't be comfortable going on a spa day or holiday if i was off work ill, whatever the reason, but I also wouldn't judge others. Many years ago I was signed off work for 2 months with depression and I went on several nights out and went out normally in the day time. It was very helpful and helped me to feel normal.

What rubbish.

I was well enough for a day out sitting in a wheelchair with multiple stops for coffee and lunch.

There's no way, given the painkillers and other meds I was taking that I was fit to do my job. I didn't have the mental capacity.

Nope, the stay at home mantra is bullshit, especially if you are off for Mental Health struggles. In fact more employers are encouraging people who are off with Mental Health problems to actually get out and do shit because it is better for you than sitting at home alone? I don't get why people don't see that.

Even people who are physically unwell can benefit from getting out (depending on what it is of course). Even so, when I was a single Mum I still needed to do the school run and buy food, pick up prescriptions etc when sick.

So no, you shouldn't just sit at home festering and for some people it's really not an option.

I’m not currently off sick as I’m well aware of the pressure a couple of weeks of me being off would have on my colleagues.

However, I’m taking the antibiotics and steroids prescribed by the GP, as well as a multivitamin, echinacea, and sambucol and I’m eating well I think the only thing I’m currently not able to do is rest due to being at work.

I personally wouldn’t post anything on social media or off sick, and wouldn’t go on a spa day, but interesting to hear everyone’s view on the subject.

Thank you!

If you're signed off work, you're signed off work. It seems to be an unpopular opinion, but leaving the house and being at work is a very different demand and experience from leaving the house and being at a shop, friend's house, activity or even a spa. The mental load, the responsibility, the requirement to be able to help others and the inability (or it being harder) to leave if you begin to feel bad - all things that make work an inappropriate place to be if you're unwell in a particular way. Being off sick isn't a punishment and shouldn't be seen as a punitive thing. Going out of the house to do something you feel well enough to do and think might help you should totally be something people feel able to do. There's no moral virtue in basically hiding away unless you're able to work.

As always, it depends why you have been signed off, and what stage you are at in your recovery.
Doing "nice things" can help you recover.
I wouldn't expect to see someone signed off out late socialising- but a swim, a walk, a mooch round the shops, coffee or lunch with a friend, getting your hair done etc--all these could be done occasionally by someone signed off work for genuine reasons.

I think somewhere in between your two points of view - with her being closer to right.

Obviously you need to rest, that’s what is going to make you better primarily. But doing some self care things is also going to help you get better, so you should do those too. Just not things that will tire you out more.

If I had been ill since then beginning of December and was on antibiotics and steroids, I would most definitely have taken time off work to rest up by now. Your post doesn't really make sense . You work in local government who will pay you for your time off sick. Yes, I am aware of the threat of attendance management but it's not as if you are dragging yourself in because you won't be paid otherwise .

Why would you be thinking about spa days and trips to the coast if you haven't even taken time off sick to rest up at home ?

If I was signed off sick with an ongoing infection and we had a trip to the coast already booked, if I felt up to it I may go. I wouldn't be going on a spa day.

Mental health is completely different and trips out I would have thought to be encouraged . Also in management of a long term condition if the person felt well enough .

Bollocks 🤣

And not everyone has that kind of job anyway.

I was signed off last year after surgery for a ruptured ectopic pregnancy and then for the mental recovery from that. My doctors encouraged me to start doing things out of the house as soon as I could to build my strength up. First 2 weeks or so I did very little as I recovered physically then I built myself up with local walks. Once I was better physically I tried to distract myself from the mental health issues by going out more e.g. cinema, visiting a nearby town etc. as encouraged by my doctor. It was important to do - I'm feeling much more robust now.

Lots of people who are signed off have to build themselves back up before returning to work after a longer absence. People may need to get out to access treatment e.g. swimming to aid recovery from an injury.

All depends on the nature of the illness and the activity!

I’m not currently off sick as I’m well aware of the pressure a couple of weeks of me being off would have on my colleagues.

But it then becomes your colleagues' responsibility to stick up for themselves and refuse to undertake the extra work.

YABU. There is a world of difference between spending all day, every day at work and going out sometimes and doing something nice when you’re off sick.

Just because you can go to a restaurant/go to the beach/enjoy a spa/book a holiday doesn’t mean you’re fit to work.

Definitely depends on what you are ill with. If you have the flu/COVID/norovirus, yes, stay at home. I was signed off sick last year for a period of time. It was called 'long COVID' (because I had had COVID early in the year), but actually I think it was an exacerbation of a long-term health condition I have, combined with a bit of burnout. On my days off, in addition to resting, I also took some long walks, went swimming, went to the beach, did some gardening, etc. I needed to get some stamina up again, re-charge and recover. Obviously, I wasn't out clubbing in Ibiza though!

It's a tough one because if you're sick amd need to relax then there's nothing wrong with a spa day; but equally it's not a holiday and a bit like taking the piss. Wouldn't sit well with me if I knew this about a colleague while I'm still at work slogging it out

As others have said, it depends what you're signed off with. If you're off with something contagious, or a broken leg or bad back, I would not expect to sign onto Facebook and see photos of you snowboarding off a piste in the French Alps.

But if you were off with say, cancer or depression, why on earth would/should you stay indoors staring at the four walls all day? How could that possibly assist with recovery?

Think the issue also is that a GP, at least in my experience, will never tell a patient not to go to work, so really depends how one interprets, 'be sure and rest....'

Several years ago a colleague who was off sick with depression went to Australia for a month which upset lots of people, so think there is still the idea to get better involves being miserable and watching daytime TV.

I'm back to work this week after 6 months off for cancer treatment. My experience is similar.
I still met friends for coffee/ dinner when I felt up to it and went on a week's holiday with the kids which I was encouraged to do by my hcp.
No way I could have concentrated on work well enough to be useful. My brain went into go slow as well as the body after my radiotherapy.

Rest, recuperation & convalescence are overlooked as essential stages of recovery for short term gain, a gain that rarely benefits the sick person in the longer term.

Looking after your own recovery & building your strength back up is not ‘nice’, it is taking responsibility for yourself.

Pacing yourself through graduated activity, mixing with people & getting more done prepares you for a robust return to full working duties - this phase may take a day or so, weeks or even months depending on the condition & individual’s capability.

Work to live, not live to work.

I’m not currently off sick as I’m well aware of the pressure a couple of weeks of me being off would have on my colleagues

First, they would most likely manage. Secondly, why is their potential and imagined ill health more important than your ACTUAL ill health? You have been sick since the beginning of December so that's what 6 weeks? Your body is giving you a message and you are ignoring it in the name of martyrdom quite honestly. Just take the sick leave.

Several years ago a colleague who was off sick with depression went to Australia for a month which upset lots of people, so think there is still the idea to get better involves being miserable and watching daytime TV.

Did she feel the month in Australia assisted her?

Again, please tell me what job you do that’s this easy, I’d like to do it.

YABVU, yeah.

The doctor has signed you off as unfit for work, not made a statement on anything else.

If someone is signed off for example with depression then doing 'nice things' like going on a break, swimming, seeing friends can be very much part of their recovery and getting better to return to work.

It's a very old fashioned idea, the notion that if you're off sick with anything the only thing you can be seen doing is going to the chemist and back again if anything.

Also, you don't know someone's private medical info. Even if they tell you, it might not be the truth. Someone might say they're sick off with a broken ankle because they don't want to deal with the stigma and judgment of saying it's a mental health condition. Unless you're the person off sick, their doctor or their direct line manager you just don't know and should keep your beak out. If someone being off is impacting your workload that's the company's fault, not the employee. Everyone has a right to time off when they're unwell and if a doctor has signed them off well, they have a significant amount more medical training and knowledge than you.

YABU

being signed off sick means that you aren’t well enough to work. It doesn’t mean you have to check out of life and become a hermit