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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be shocked at how much time off sick some people have?

468 replies

Enfys1982 · 15/06/2023 12:54

I work in a school and since I started in the sector it’s been a bit of eye opener to me how much sick time some people seem to take, and it always seems to be the same people. Days here and there, sometimes weeks on end then they come back for a bit go off again. As I said always the same people.

The last time I was off was last year when I had Covid, and I was only off because then you still legally had to isolate if positive. I actually felt well enough to go in. Before that I genuinely can’t remember when I was off sick. If I feel bad I just dose myself up and get on with it.

AIBU to think it displays a lack of resilience?

OP posts:
Xrays · 15/06/2023 12:57

A lack of resilience?! Really?

Yeah a few people will always take the piss but equally many people will be struggling to keep working alongside having debilitating disabilities and long term health issues - I was in this category, and I did have more time off than many but genuinely needed it. I now can’t work at all and rely on PIP and dh working but lots can’t do that.

StaySpicy · 15/06/2023 12:58

I don't think it's unique to education. You get people in all kinds of jobs who need time off for health reasons (or people who take all the time they can get away with and have a jolly instead).

HermioneWeasley · 15/06/2023 12:58

YANBU. Just a week or so ago on here someone was asking if she should call in sick so she could enjoy the sunshine and some people were actually supporting her!

CaptainMyCaptain · 15/06/2023 12:59

You don't know what is wrong with them. A series of single days off could be an ongoing problem. Some people are immuno compromised and catch infections, colds etc more easily. I was also blessed with good health myself but didn't presume to make judgements about other people.

CaptainMyCaptain · 15/06/2023 13:00

Also dosing yourself up and carrying on regardless (which I admit I was sometimes guilty of) can spread it to less robust people.

Bemyclementine · 15/06/2023 13:00

Good grief. A lack of resilience?

I have been off several times in 6 months, because I have been repeatedly unwell to the point I couldn't even do the school run on some occasions. I completely understand it would be frustrating for colleagues, and had I been well enough to go in, I would. I'd bloody LOVE to not be ill.

Muddlingthroughthissocalledlife · 15/06/2023 13:00

Are you kidding me

I had a friend like you. Thought I was meak and lacked resilience and my chronic illness would never happen to her.

She has been diagnosed with a slightly different but even more disabling neurological illness.

It's not a lack of resilience you pillock....it's ilness.

megletthesecond · 15/06/2023 13:02

Yabu. I've had a really clear run since the pandemic. But in the last 6 months I've finally had covid and broken my ankle.

Oblomov23 · 15/06/2023 13:02

I totally agree. I can't believe how much some people are off sick.

wildfirewonder · 15/06/2023 13:02

Oh FFS, what a stupid goady thread.

'Is it surprising that people with health conditions have more time off sick?' No it fucking isn't.

Ill health is not connected to how stiff your upper lip is.

OP - you sound like a judgey colleague with an unjustified superiority complex!

Balloonsandroses · 15/06/2023 13:03

I’m currently off with an episode of severe depression and have been off since around September last year. I’ve just had 5 months as an inpatient so definitely couldn’t have gone to work then but nonetheless have been terrified that this is exactly how my colleagues will see me and that I am indeed just not resilient enough. It’s a horrible feeling. Being off sick absolutely sucks. I am truly jealous of your good health - please try to be kind to those of us who aren’t blessed with similarly robust good health.

watcherintherye · 15/06/2023 13:04

Some, perhaps. Others may be dealing with debilitating illness(es). Your post, on the other hand, definitely displays a lack of empathy, combined with a high level of smugness!

Divebar2021 · 15/06/2023 13:05

Obviously some people are susceptible to illness although why that is I have no idea ( genetics? Lifestyle? Bad luck?). I’ve been lucky and haven’t had any time off ill in 5 years. You will always get people who will skive and who milk the system but how you identify them from the genuinely sick I have no idea.

booksandbrooks · 15/06/2023 13:05

How ableist.

Original poster
Enfys1982 · 15/06/2023 13:05

Yes a lack of resilience. People who have several bouts of ‘flu’ a year when it’s probably just a heavy cold (if that). We all know the kind of people I’m talking about.

OP posts:
MySoCalledWife · 15/06/2023 13:06

Good god you lack empathy OP!

Scarlettpixie · 15/06/2023 13:06

Lucky you. When I had covid I was off work for a month and was really ill. I could barely get out of bed for 2 weeks and after that ended up with a chest infection and a flare up of gastric issues. There is no way I could have continued to work. Serious lack of empathy here.

Muddlingthroughthissocalledlife · 15/06/2023 13:07

This reply has been deleted

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Rayo · 15/06/2023 13:07

I know what you mean. They would not be doing it if it was unpaid.

lucya66 · 15/06/2023 13:07

You’re generalising too much. Individuals have different circumstances. It’s for their line managers, doctors and them to think about. Not you.

I worked through having covid.

Aaron95 · 15/06/2023 13:07

wildfirewonder · 15/06/2023 13:02

Oh FFS, what a stupid goady thread.

'Is it surprising that people with health conditions have more time off sick?' No it fucking isn't.

Ill health is not connected to how stiff your upper lip is.

OP - you sound like a judgey colleague with an unjustified superiority complex!

It's not just people with long term conditions though. I suspect they are not who the OP is taking about.

There are plenty more people who at the first sign of a sniffle take 2 days off. Others continue to work when they have a cold or some sort of minor ailment while others don't.

lieselotte · 15/06/2023 13:08

I don't think it shows a lack of resilience in the education sector. If you are a teacher or working with kids, you need to be fit and healthy. You can't teach effectively if you feel grotty.

If I feel grotty I can stay at home and monitor emails while feeling sorry for myself with Lemsip and lots of tea. It's a very different issue. Working from home in general reduces sick leave as you don't have the travel, and you can lie down for an hour and get work done around resting.

existingusername · 15/06/2023 13:08

I was off for 6 months due to cancer... then had further periods of sickness after due to the impact said cancer had on my mental health. I also used to have odd days off to attend hospital appointments. So yes I have been off sick a lot. If you looked at me and wasn't aware of the shit I was dealing with you would never of known the state of my health and well being as I hid it from others so well.

cantwaittocruise · 15/06/2023 13:08

Some people absolutely do view their companies sickness pay as extra holidays to use or lose but you’re wrong about what
you say about a lack of resilience.

A few years ago I had a terrible year with one thing another and it was things I had to be off for about three times in one year. Never been off before or after but someone like you would just see me as having a lack of resilience. Never mind the fact that unless you’ve been told you don’t even know these peoples reasons for being off!

lieselotte · 15/06/2023 13:08

There are plenty more people who at the first sign of a sniffle take 2 days off. Others continue to work when they have a cold or some sort of minor ailment while others don't

I thought since covid we were meant to stay at home at the first sign of a sniffle!

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