To think that, as a manager, the occasional “sick day” when someone needs a break is fine?

[ByFluentPombear]

I manage a team and I accept that sometimes people just need a day off, even if they’re not physically unwell. As long as it’s not frequent or disruptive, I don’t really mind if someone calls in sick when they just need a mental health day or a breather.

Some managers would see this as dishonest or an issue - AIBU to take a more relaxed view?

I don't care too much about this but I try to create an environment where it wouldn't be required. My team members would tell us when they are struggling mostly and I have been known to send people home and tell them to make up the time another time.

Why can't they use annual leave?

I think it's dishonest and poor management. Why should the rest of the team be left to pick up their workload because they don't feel like coming in?

If they are ill (and that includes mental ill health) they should take it as a sick day.

You're also creating the expectation that people are 'allowed' to have random lie-ins and last minute days off. This may get you into trouble further down the line if you ever have to do a performance improvement plan. It sets a precedent and practice as well as policy is used by employment lawyers in tribunals.

EDIT:
Finally you are risking your own income and professional development by turning a blind eye to this practice. If you have a 'relaxed' approach to the management responsibilities you are paid for, then your managers may also have a 'relaxed' view about whether they want to support your progress.

As a one off, the principle is kind (if its your business and money and clients) but really it indicates that there is a problem in that your team need to be proactively encouraged to book regular annual leave so they don't get to the stage that they basically collapse in a heap on a Wednesday morning and phone in sick. It doesn't help manage their mental health in the long term.

The only thing that bothers me about it is that it can be a slippery slope and becomes a habit.

If it’s your business then it’s fine and up to you.

If you are just a line manager in a larger organisation then you are setting your team members up for failure e.g. if they transfer to another team.

I think it depends on how you define it. To me, I think that if someone can’t face going into work because they are feeling low, then it is a sick day.

It wouldn’t bother me, but secretly I’d rather they just said they had a stomach bug rather than ask for a ‘duvet day’ and make me feel like I’d have to refuse it!

It rewards the dishonest. Another team member might not feel able to lie like that and so ends up doing more work without any benefit.

I totally get your perspective and I wouldn’t encourage people to misuse sick leave excessively. But realistically, not everyone plans their annual leave perfectly, and sometimes people just wake up and feel burnt out or overwhelmed. I’d rather they take a day to reset than push through and be unproductive or miserable. As long as it’s occasional and doesn’t impact the team, I don’t see it as a big deal.

That said, I do see your point about setting a precedent - something to think about!

I'm a manager. I wouldn't condone this.

Not all jobs have annual leave that can be taken on request

sometimes people just wake up and feel burnt out or overwhelmed.

Why are they feeling like that? If it's work-related you should be addressing their workload or work environment.

I feel the same as pp - it’s either annual leave if it’s along the lines of just needing a break or it’s worse than that then it’s a sick day.

And I have a long term mental health issue - I have been in the position where I was so unwell I’ve needed time off for it. Went down as sick. Because I was.

I don’t know from the perspective of a manager, but surely the people who would take you up on this would have just pretended to be sick if they needed a day? I don’t see that it makes much difference other than to allow people to be honest.
I’ll never forget an old manager telling me one Friday before my first weekend off in ages “you’ve not had a sick day this year, you’re looking a bit peaky, see you Tuesday?” - legend!

A friend works in an office where they can take so many mental health days each year so this must be a thing .

I agree that the workplaces should be doing everything they can to prevent mental health days off, like workload management and training managers in effective interpersonal skills. I also thonk that managers forget that the person doesn't just have physical illnesses. The holistic approach is to know there are many things that ails the human body.

Whilst the thought might be nice and you know you’d never abuse it, my view is that things like this become a give an inch take a mile type situation. You can end up in hot water when people start taking the piss and you have to row back and manage them by the book. And inevitably the lines are so blurred that they will take the piss.

Fair point - if it’s a recurring issue, then of course, I’d want to look into workload or any other factors causing burnout. But I was more referring to those one-off days where someone just isn’t feeling 100% mentally or emotionally. We all have those moments, and I don’t think taking the occasional day to reset is a huge problem as long as it’s not a pattern.

I don't mind as long as it's a one-off, twice a year at most. I sometimes tell my people to clock off early or take half a Friday off after an intensive project, without them having to use their overtime, because I appreciate it when they work hard on an impossible deadline. They don't abuse it.
I once had a girl on my team who started taking frequent "sick days" at least once a month as soon as her probationary period ended... Always on a Friday. While I was running in circles with HR trying to figure out how to fire her "safely", my team actually took care of the issue. They sat her down, told her she's being dishonest and that it's unfair to them, told her to stop or quit. She quit next week. I love my minions.

Surely you’d take annual leave or toil over sick if you just fancied a day off though rather than lying about being ill when you’re not.

There's a very large company in the UK that does the same. 3 Personal days a year. Unplanned and unquestioned.

In the formative years of my career I was somewhat of a connoisseur of bunking off work, so unless it’s causing serious issues it doesn’t bother me. However I do think it’s really important that we try and help anyone who is actually struggling with their mental health, but if you just need a day that’s fine.

My first job was in hospitality tho, and when someone would pull a sicky on a busy day (and I knew it was a sicky because you need a thief to catch a thief) I would spend the day cursing their name. In my current job, us being one staff member down doesn’t have the same impact, so at the end of the day depends on the job.

It sounds like they are sick and cannot work?

my colleagues and I work in a very stressful job where restraint, walking on egg shells and threat of violence are all very real. If someone needs a rare mental health day, I fully respect this as long as they have no general attendance issues.

Depends on the work they're doing. I used to work in a high pressured environment where I might end up doing a 90 hour week over a deal completing. I wasn't going to go in the day after a completion meeting and if any partner had a problem with that then I'm afraid their clients went to the bottom of my to do pile....

I have quiet days where I don’t do much, but I show up and appear to be working, send emails, respond to messages etc. I am generally available but it’s just a more relaxing day.

In the past where I haven’t had control of my schedule, I’ve thrown sickies when I’ve been burned out. Zero guilt- they got their pound of flesh and the only reason I was burned out was because of them! I always had a decent excuse and it was very infrequent.