Is no sleep a reasonable excuse for calling in sick to work?

[Catermellor]

Is ‘I haven’t slept at all’ a reasonable excuse for not going to work?

I really haven’t. I might have had two hours maybe 9-11 and then maybe dozed for half an hour between 4 and 430’but that’s it and that’s a generous guess. I feel all shaky and horrible and I just want to catch up on some sleep.

If you want a medal why don't you just say so?

This is ridiculous! People these days are so work shy.

Work shy 😂

The woman works and is raising a toddler. Work shy 😂

Depends on the job. Open heart surgery/long distance lorry driver or operating heavy machinery then probably safer you don't. Anything else I'm sure you'd be fine 🤷‍♂️

If a pilot or driver or surgeon or operating some kind of machinery...*

If pilots could just down tools and not work after a bad night's sleep a lot of flights wouldn't operate.

The reality of the aviation world is management and most importantly the rule makers make a very big deal about differentiating between tiredness (the odd night of bad, really bad sleep) and fatigue (long term sleep disruption.

For example if you'd been on a Long haul night stop, been clobbered by the time change, had the amount of sleep the OP described- two hours sleep and a half hour doze in the hours before the return flight, then as crew, same as in many other jobs you'd be pretty much expected to power through...that would be labelled as normal tiredness.

If OTOH you were having broken sleep like that for days/weeks on end then you're getting into fatigue territory which is another matter.

I work and am raising a 4 year old. I work he next day even when I've barely had any sleep so yes absolutely work shy.

I don't think you have to say what illness you have when you call in sick, do you? Just say you don't feel well, which is true.

I just wonder if you are confused on the wording?

In my place of work when I would do a return to work (bear in mind there are part time workers as well) you would write numbers of days since the sickness and number of days sick. Let’s pretend it is Monday to Friday. Called in sick Friday and Monday back Tuesday. That’s 4 days since the first day but 2 sick days. This is only for tracking days if needed for a sick note after 7 days.

I had called in sick from no sleep but only after about 3-4 nights of it and only if it would have been unsafe for me to drive to work.

I had/still have poor sleepers anyway so was use to functioning on little sleep (2-3 hours) but cant sustain that for more than a few days.

As you only work 2 days a week and have the weekend ahead - I really wouldn’t call in sick.

No it’s because most of us have realised that actually our own well being means more than a company who actually doesn’t give a shit about us.

I went into work 3 days post keyhole surgery because it what sale set and we short of management. I know they needed me to open up or it would mean another manager working a lot longer shift. I was in agony. Couldn’t even stand up straight. I should have stayed home and recovered properly. This was about 8 years ago.

If I am not fit for work, no matter the reason, I’m not going to work.

That's hardly unusual though. Most parents work. If it becomes acceptable to take a day off to catch up on sleep, it will become more difficult for mothers of young children to get jobs.

I think your comparison is totally unreasonable.

You should never ever have gone to work not fully recovered from surgery.

Why did you do that?

In this case - it’s one day and a weekend ahead to rest.

Not the same at all.

A night of only a couple of hours of sleep will make you feel rubbish, but it won't kill you.

Say all the menopausal women of the world!

Guilt. I felt guilted into it. And a the mindset built in of you go to work no matter what. It was that week that made me change. Yes the manager above me appreciated it and even paid me for the days I was off as I think he felt bad.

I was just pointing out the attitude of the person I responded to. The companies we work for just don’t care. We are a number. We do the job and make them money and that’s all that matters.

Suspect the decision has been made now, but I’m usually fine the day after a bad night, one night doesn’t make any difference really (and I’ve had plenty- kids, jet lag, insomnia). And if you get in and feel terrible you can always go home, but at least you’ve made the effort.

I’d actually caution against sleeping too much today or you’ll not sleep overnight.

@Catermellor hope you’re feeling better, whatever you decided to do.

I’ve not read the whole thread and I know this isn’t what you asked for, but in case nobody else has suggested it, your kid may sleep better with Olbas Oil or an open jar of Vicks or similar in their room.

My DS sleeps horribly if he’s bunged up, but a few drops of Olbas Oil on a tissue by his bed helps a lot. Don’t put it on the pillow itself as it can sting if it gets onto facial skin.

Sending you good sleep and plenty of ☕️

I have a very poor sleep and am a GP.. when I was was a younger doc we where all exhausted but you worked as a team so hopefully somebody else noticed in unwell/especially tired.
i am very very conscious that no sleep us very impairing and I fear a patient would come to harm if I am extremely tired. On the other hand a much needed gp list would be cancelled .. and that causes harm. Balancing these potential harms in my head and to try to do the best thing is very hard.

Does a drop of Olbas oil or Vicks help? It can be drying though.

Tbf GP work is surely sat at a desk all day issuing sick notes and prescriptions, I think I could do that on little sleep.

In a hospital with fast changing situations then that would be challenging but as you say when part of a team there's hopefully others to pick up any slack.

Chronic sleep deprivation is awful but with young dc there is light at the end of the tunnel. I loved the teen years, in bed til lunchtime it was bliss!

I think the point here is that it isn't just one night of no sleep. She said she went to bed early because she had a bad night the night before (presumably because her child was also sick then). And that would be on top of the usual shenanigans from a toddler that you have to put up with for the first few years.

Don't listen to the people who say "you're work shy" or "it's only one day, don't let down your employer/colleagues". Us Generation Xers/Millennials have been brainwashed into thinking that our self-worth is inextricably tied into our job, and that we are indispensable. Generation Z/Alpha see right through this - I suppose with the decline of the career job, zero hours contracts, constant rounds of redundancies etc - and have the right attitude.

You're shattered? Take a sick day. No one is going to give you a medal for going in. Don't get me wrong, work hard when you are there. That's the social contract you have signed - they'll pay you, you'll do your best. But that doesn't include pushing through exhaustion to show up - maybe in times gone by when a employer would show loyalty to an employee who did that, but those times are long gone.

If you only work two days a week, I think you can suck it up and work a day on two hours' sleep.

Admittedly my judgement might be skewed by the fact that I'm a very poor sleeper and do a day's work on two hours' sleep quite frequently.

I did it once - had a total of 3 hours sleep and was 8 months pregnant and weeping on the way to school. Shudder. Sometimes you are just on your knees and won’t do a good job.

@Catermellor as you only work 2 days, you really do need to just suck-it up and go to work.

You'll not be the only parent at work on no sleep. It happens to every parent at one point or another. Stop feeling so sorry for yourself - your work place won't care what happens in your personal life, unless there's a bereavement, they just want you in work to do what you're paid to do.

Gosh, I am so sorry that you felt so pressured. Please don’t ever do that again though. 💐.

As a people manager, people who force themselves in under circumstances like yours would stress me the f* out. What if you had taken a real turn for the worse? Horrible to think of.

I 100% agree with you that we are all so replaceable so we need to do what is best for ourselves.

I still do think surgery is on the extreme end of the scale vs a horrific night with a child. I had a horrific non sleeper so I would have had the majority of the year off. 😭. Probably needed it to be honest - I was dead on my feet.

Not a dig to @Catermellor - I hope you are ok and made a decision that works for you. I just worry that with a 2 day working pattern, calling in sick on one of those 2 days just before the weekend doesn’t look very good.