Would you do this? I feel weird about it but everyone is saying to take advantage

[Itsthebluecrayon]

I am due to have some minor ish surgery in May. I’ve been told recovery can take up to two weeks but a lot of people feel fine within 48 hours and back at work/usual tasks within a few days.

Obviously I’ve no idea how it will go until it gets to that point but having mentioned it to friends and family, everyone has said oh I hope you’ll make the most of taking some leave and have some time to yourself (or variations on this).

I don’t know if part of this is I’m a single parent so I haven’t had a ‘day off’ for over 2.5 years now (and toddler age child) or whether this would be the attitude generally. I haven’t had time off sick in several years and I have huge anxiety about it. I mentioned it to my mum (she’s not going to be impartial I guess!) and she said it’s obvious I am not well rested and I should think seriously about taking this opportunity in one go… taking multiple sick leave creates alerts whereas one following one event would not.

I have been really surprised by these comments and it’s made me think twice about rushing back in to work. What would you do? How long would you take?

When you go in for surgery they will give you a sick note (or fit note if that's what they call it). Tell work what that is. Then you need to play it by ear. You have no way of knowing how you will feel at this point! I was signed off for 4 weeks after surgery and thought that sounded a lot (but I had a fairly physical job). After a week -10 days I went to Sainsbury's as I thought I was feeling a bit better. Without even lifting anything I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. In the end I took the full 4 weeks as it ran into the Christmas shut down. I really think you need to take it a day at a time.

It was a bit of a culture shock when I moved from working at a small company, where if you were off sick you were "encouraged" to get back in asap, to a much larger company where my line manager would say to me to make sure I take enough time off if I was ever sick.

I still feel guilty now taking time off sick and it's almost 15 years since I worked at that smaller place, but you need to make sure you do what's right for you.

Take the two weeks off. Going back prematurely isn't good for you. Work is just work they can survive for two weeks.

Well you're not a surgeon. They have a HUGE tendency to underplay things - "bit of discomfort" usually translates into barely mobile, needs significant pain relief on discharge in my experience.

Shrug your shoulders and say, I was given to understand this was minor surgery but I've been told it's a 2/4/? week recovery period and might be longer. Sorry to have set misleading expectations but I will need a minimum of 4 weeks sick leave it appears. I'm quite worried now that I may not be up to resuming full duties immediately too. Can we discuss how my work is covered while I am away?

Then it's up to you if you tag annual leave on the end of it. Depends on the job, your toddler and whether it's a good time/ finances allow for a bit of a break.

As a line manager, take the time you need to recover. Once you are back, you're back and everyone will forget and make no allowances. It's then really disruptive when someone goes off again or develops an infection from trying to be a hero. The world will keep turning. If you are absolutely critical to something, then it's a good lesson for your line mgmt to ensure someone else is trained up in case you win the lottery/are run over by the proverbial bus.

Don't explain anything to work. Tell them you have been advised between 2-4 weeks, get a note for the two weeks and if you feel like you need longer get another note.

It's surgery, you need time to recover. I had my tonsils out years ago and was told two weeks. My manager mentioned loads of times that she only needed a week off work for that. I needed the two weeks. General anesthetic really does a number on me and it takes about four days for me to feel better from that. You run the risk of taking more unexpected time off later if you don't give yourself enough time to recover.

If the medical advice is that it can take up to 2 weeks then you should take 2 weeks. Taking 4, unless you have documented complications, would probably not be easily explained. But you should certainly take 2 weeks and not rush back after a few days.

Just say you had a review appt ahead of it and they were really clear, you need to plan for 2-3 weeks off. Say I’m really sorry I didn’t realise, I’m all anxious about it now as it sounds like a big deal and I’m a single mum, so I’m going to put in for 3 weeks, I know that’s totally different from the 3 days I thought I’d be off!

but if I thought I might be asked for a medical certificate on the period off I’d probably keep it to the 2 weeks, as that’s what they’ve recommended so will sign something to that regard; I wouldn’t risk it.

I would stop and have a think about why you’re so anxious about taking time off work. What is the issue? Say you’re signed off for 2 or 4 weeks- why would the company you work for (genuinely) care?!

it might be that you’re focusing anxiety related to other things on work, or you feel the security of “getting back to normal” gives you more control over something you’re worried about?

Take the maximum the doctor suggests. Get a sick note to cover the full period and submit with no further explanation needed.

Rest up!

(If they only recommend 2 weeks I'm not sure how you can take 4 though?)

Won’t your work know how long it takes for the surgery, a month seems excessive for something that has a 48 hour recovery. What if someone else has had it. Can I ask what it is?

id not take a month, no. Maybe a week for me,

I would take what you feel you need, once it happens. But a week minimum.

I'm my experience I had a laparoscopy operation and rushed back after 2 weeks (was signed off for 4) which was way too soon.
And I had surgery on my face for skin cancer and did take the full 4 weeks off as needed too.
You cannot rush recovery

@Itsthebluecrayon there are two issues at play here. First, recovery from the surgery and second, recovery from the anaesthetic. (That's assuming you're having a general anaesthetic, of course)

After my missed miscarriage, I had an ERPC (D&C), which meant I was only under GA for a matter of minutes, apparently. (Certainly not hours, anyway). I had no issues after the surgery re pain/bleeding, etc - but it took me over 10 days to get over the anaesthetic. My symptoms were so severe that my GP actually came round to see me, as she was worried I had a brain tumour!

Assume the worst but hope for the best. Definitely book the 2 weeks off. And I hope it goes well for you

Definitely take the 2 weeks, when I had gallbladder surgery I was off work for 6 weeks (I had a physically demanding job caring for others) the bruising I had was awful, one of the wounds didn't heal as well as the others and the anaesthetic knocked me for 6 the first week. Took 5 weeks before I could get my jeans back on and do them up without it hurting. We all heal at different rates.

I had minor surgery where I was told to expect 1-2 weeks off work. It was under general and it took me almost a week to feel right after the anesthetic and the normal post op mild fever and to stop bleeding.
Although I had thought I felt great two days later, that soon changed!
So it took a week to physically recover from the surgery and then the next week I let myself get back to where I was before the surgery, I went for walks, batch cooked, tidied the house and generally prepared for the return to work. I'm a bit older so the recovery took longer than it would have done 10 years ago.
My boss was fully supportive.

"Hi Boss, I've had another appointment with my surgeon who has advised to take 2 weeks off at least to recover enough to return to work- I might feel better sooner but we'll assume 2 weeks minimum."

It's as easy as that. You take priority over work- it's just a job! If you've got childcare in place then enjoy the time to yourself and make sure you rest while you can.

Take at least two weeks off so you can properly recover.

It's just a job after all. Your health should be the priority here.

Take the full recovery time you need. Your work would be advertising your job in a very short space of time if you were unfortunate enough to be run over by a bus tomorrow.

'Reset'?! That's taking the piss. Your manager will be able to Google your op and will know the recovery time. Don't be one of those people that screws the company over - somebody will lose out because of yor selfishness. (This is of course unless it turns out you actually need the time. That's very different. But planning 4 weeks off in advance despite being told you might be OK within a few days is presumably worthy of a disciplinary).

Who will lose out? The shareholders? Someone might even benefit for covering and getting some OT.

Take the full 4 weeks. Better to return to work fully rested and healthy than to struggle back and make yourself ill.

If the surgeryrequires general anaesthetic I'd let your manager know that you'll need the full 2 weeks off. I've had a few surgeries over the years and find it's taken me at least a week afterwards to feel back to normal. I needed a lot of sleep afterwards the first week to recuperate. Also if you're a solo parent it's difficult to find time to recuperate without a bit of help.

She may lose out. She’s not said what the surgery is, an example is my husband had his sinuses done, some polyps, under ga, they said 2 days like the op, he was fine after two days, if he took 4 weeks off, his company would have known he was taking rhe utter piss.

she needs to say what it is, and what her doc has said, and be sure no one really knows about the recovery of that, so for example her boss or colleagues no one, or a close friend or family member has had it etc.

Take the two weeks. I’ve fallen foul of the Bradford Index before by dragging myself into work still ill and relapsing. I had to have a “chat” with my very understanding Line Manager but I was mortified and learned my lesson. I was teaching at the time and always felt I was letting my students down if they had cover teachers, particularly as exams approached and I took very little sick leave in my career in total but my review was triggered by frequency and not total days. I had a couple of illnesses which resulted in 4 total separate days/ couple of days off work in a few months.

With illness it’s hard to judge your rate of recovery but at least with this surgery the doctor has been able to give you medical guidance.

I wish people would stop saying dangerous things like 'minor surgery'. No surgery is minor. A stupid tooth extraction can land you in hospital with sepsis, never mind surgery surgery. TAKE THE TWO WEEKS!