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

[Enfys1982]

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?

Your views are about 100 years out of date. This nonsense went out with the ark.

There is huge variation between humans. Did you think humans were made to spec in a factory?

I agree that people conflate colds and flu but my point stands. If you are a teacher you can't work effectively if you need to be in bed.

Lack of resilience 🙄how lovely for you that you've only ever had illnesses mild enough that you're able to dose yourself up and keep working. Definitely something worthy of being so smug and self satisfied.

I'll just let my colleague know that the time off she needs because her chronic illness flare ups are debilitating are actually just a lack of resilience on her part and she should "buck up" so as not to be such an inconvenience to the rest of us.

I line manage someone who has made more than one person tactfully ask if she has an underlying health condition they need to be aware of, as she is off so often. She is a very gregarious chatty person so I am absolutely sure she'd have said if there was an condition to consider. To the best of my knowledge, she just gets a (ordinary) cold and goes "Oh dear, must take 3 days off to recover". If you mean her type of person then I agree with you OP. I am watching with interest to see if she goes over the 20 day paid limit.

Other colleagues don't visibly take the piss and so I am much more sympathetic to them!

You don't know what you are talking about. I have allergies all year around and just that alone makes me susceptible to catching any respiratory virus going. I get about 2-3 every winter and they completely floor me with fever, muscle aches, coughing 24/7 and it fucks me off ever time that I can't go about my normal life.

My friend gets about 3-4 migraines every month. Please advise how to build our resilience, thanks very much.

But you don't know why someone needs to be off.

You know very little, just judge from a black hearted position!

I work in HR and it's a mixed bag. Those who have a lot of days off sick tend to get picked up on our reports and it's a prompt to have a conversation. For some employees it's due to a health condition which we either know about, or they tell us and we note it. It's a chance to work out whether there are reasonable adjustments we can make as an employer. There are some that take the absolute piss, of course but they're a minority. Normally spotted by lots of days off here or there, usually a Friday or a Monday in a predictable pattern. One guy once actually said to me he made sure he took a certain number of sick days every year.

But those cases are rare, and the people you see off sick a lot may well have something going on behind the scenes that you're rightly not aware of. It should be being picked up on though so that there's some follow up (from a place of concern, rather than accusing them of anything.)

Dear MN I can tell this thread will be pulled as goady. Please ignore the reports and let it stand. People need to be educated that not everyone is the same, and not all jobs are the same.

Hi OP, someone currently off sick here. Have been for a few months. I mean I'm happy to go back to work and ignore the risks my current state of health pose if you're happy I might end up killing you or someone you love as a result. 🙂 Whadya say?

100%. We have a 6 month full pay sickness and there are several people who work 6 months then take 6 months off. Always the same people. Obviously there are people who have genuine health problems. But there are also those who just can’t be arsed to come to work

This reminds me of the MN thread half a year ago by someone who repeatedly took an entire day off work after getting eyedrops from the eye doctor and was surprised they lost their job.

Wow such judgement!!! After 8 years in my current position I was off three times last year for 6 weeks and 2 x four weeks. All were serious and certed by my doc/consultant. I'd never had time off before.
Apart from asking was I doing ok my employer and colleagues didn't bat an eyelid. Thank god they weren't sitting there judging me as you are doing!!

Why is there an assumption that these people have health conditions? I’m sure some do, but there are others who absolutely do swing the lead. Those of you mentioning cancer and broken bones are being absolutely ridiculous btw because that’s clearly not what I meant 🙄

I had a line manager tear up my return to work form once. I'd had yet another day off for a migraine - which were actually just the days where they got unbearable, not the weeks of struggling in.

He thought I shouldn't be "punished" when I was trying very hard (and contributing immensely).

And my migraines continued, my absences continued, and I continued to struggle in.

New line manager. Looked at my absences. Sent me to OH. Followed the advice on mitigation. Hardly been off since, and no struggling in.

The attitude to sickness in this country is so often off kilter that of course attitudes vary.

Very old fashioned attitude
If you need a sick day take it
1 - you will work better for it
2 - you don't spread your germs to everyone else

The days of going in at all costs are long gone and you get no praise for doing so.

Not great. But you do have to question why........? Many years ago when I first started work, (late 1980s,) sick days were actually quite rare. Many people had hardly a day or two off sick all year . Over the past 20 years or so, I know people who have been off sick, probably 10% to 15% of their working year.

So what's going wrong? Depression? Stress? Genuine disabilities and conditions making it difficult for people to work some days? Actually ill with a virus/tummy bug/cold?

OR is it crap employers, poor management, people being told they CAN'T have the day(s) off that they desire, because there's no cover.... loads of work piled on them because there's too few staff for the workload, low pay, and a low amount of holiday days, so that people feel they NEED 2-3 weeks 'sick time' just to get a bit more time off.

I think more than anything, it's that last paragraph. People don't call in sick a lot because they have a great, enjoyable job with a brilliant employer who allows flexibility and is tolerant of any personal stuff going on in someone's life, and their mental and physical health needs.

My friend's husband is 59, and has sciatica. He is always being expected to lump heavy boxes about at work, 15-20 kg boxes up a flight of stairs dozens of times a day some days, and even though he said he struggles, he is still made to do it because he's a man and the women can't lift it apparently.

It's got to him so much, and hurt his back so much that he's got a fit note from the GP now to say he can't do any heavy lifting. The women are forced to do it now - OR one of the young blokes there who are 16 to 19. He had to get a fucking DOCTOR'S note because they kept putting on him. This kind of shit makes people have time off sick!!!

I used to get "did you have a nice holiday?" when I returned to work. Fucking lovely really enjoyed the multiple invasive procedures and pissing into a bag strapped to my leg ! thanks for asking ! 😂

Ugh I'm sick of this resilience nonsense. If you're sick stay at home and stop fucking infecting me and spreading your germs. What's a heavy cold to you can absolutely floor me.

You should have chose better parents like the OP.

🙄

Incidentially the OP if her username gives her birth year is only 40/41. She has a lot of time to get illnesses....

Ok but how do you know their reasons for being off? Literally no one in my workplace knows about my illness except the HR department and my line manager. It's no one else's business so I can't imagine why you think you'd be privy to that information.

I’ve currently got some kind of virus and awful period pains. I feel horrendous. I am working BUT from home- there’s no way I could stand in a classroom today, it’s all I can do to sit at my desk and make occasional drinks. I wouldn’t want my DC’s teachers working in the state I’m in- mainly because I wouldn’t want them to spread their illnesses! I think one of the good things to come out of this pandemic is that (in my office at least) people who come in and ‘soldier on’ aren’t seen as heroes- they’re seen as arse pains who could make everyone else sick!

I agree op. Yes some people have time off because they have genuine illnesses but there are an awful lot of people who have time off but still manage to go out here, there and everywhere.
Yes I know going out for a gentle walk can be helpful with some illnesses. But I’m talking about people who go to bars, concerts holidays but still can’t manage an office job.

In a previous job we were told by someone in HR that they were looking for sickness patterns, single day sickness was one of them.

So after we found that out anytime anyone was sick for a day they took an extra day or two off.

You’re lucky you’re healthy. Let’s hope it stays that way, things can change very quickly, and you wonder why you didn’t celebrate being well. I’ve found you go through well and ill periods in life, and that seems to be the same for many people, for me, as well as family, friends, and my patients.