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Original poster

Has anyone ever taken the day off because they WERE JUST TOO TIRED TO GO IN?!!!

45 replies

beansprout · 05/02/2007 17:59

Anyone? We are having real problems with ds's sleep atm and I'm not sure I can get through the FIVE hour (count 'em) meeting I am supposed to be in tomorrow.....

OP posts:
Kbear · 05/02/2007 18:00

five hour meeting? what takes five hours to discuss for gawd's sake?

go sick girl!

motherinferior · 05/02/2007 18:00

Throw a sickie. You'll end up sick at this rate if you don't, anyway, I reckon. Get DS off to wherever DS goes and then SLEEP.

FatFikAndFugly · 05/02/2007 18:01

If you call in sick I would make up an excuse and certainly not say you were just too tired.

motherinferior · 05/02/2007 18:13

No, obviously, but frankly if you concentrate on just how shite you're feeling and make sure your tone expresses that, they'll get the impression you're at death's door.

Original poster
beansprout · 05/02/2007 18:15

Thanks everyone. Our CM is off sick at the moment and my boss knows this so I could plead this, even though we have alternative arrangements in place.

What is my problem? Why can't I just have a damn rest once in a while?!!

OP posts:
oxocube · 05/02/2007 18:17

I once had a shitty migrane and had been awake and vomiting most of the night. I phoned in sick to my boss (Headteacher) who told my colleagues and parents I wasn't coming in that day because I had a headache.

Cow

Would recommend another excuse rather than tiredness!

LittleBoSheep · 05/02/2007 18:26

I certainly wouldnt say you were too tired or blame the childminder - I can remember feeling very resentful of the Mums I worked with when I ended up doing their work because they had a problem with junior.

Having now experienced it from the other side of the fence I DO feel for you and quite frankly doubt if you COULD stay awake if you have to sit still for 5 hours in a meeting.

I am SO surprised you have not been given a verbal kicking by the career mums yet though!

FatFikAndFugly · 05/02/2007 18:30

Erm I am a 'career mum'.

I was also manager of somebody who phoned in sick because she was too tired once. I really lost a lot of respect for her, she soon left my team to persue another role.

Personally I think you should take holiday if you can't be bothered to go in.

CountessDracula · 05/02/2007 18:32

could you not just go in late?

have not personally done this (other than when I had glandular fever!), I just used to drink coffee by the gallon and prop my eyelids open with a pen

Caligula · 05/02/2007 18:49

Yes I did last week and I sat and watched the Sopranos instead.

But I do work from home. That's the joy of it, my employers couldn't care less that I didn't work on Thursday because they know that I'll make it up this week.

Wouldn't it be nice if all work was as flexible and easy to fit into the rest of your life...

Throw a sickie. You can't say you're tired in normal jobs, unless you've got one of those enlightened companies that have a specified number of duvet days a year.

MrsBadger · 05/02/2007 18:53

If I'm genuinely too tired to drive safely or operate machinery I call in sick for the morning on the grounds that I can't work, and go in afternoon only - no-one here ever wants to know what you're off sick with.

If I'm still ok to drive I go into work and book a day (or half day) holiday as soon as I can fit it in to catch up on sleep.

chocolatebirdy · 05/02/2007 18:55

Dp does it all the time!!

Mercy · 05/02/2007 18:57

Yes, I have.

But that was pre-kids when I didn't have the faintest idea what being tired actually meant!

FF, why did you lose respect for your colleague?

Gingerbear · 05/02/2007 19:00

As a veteran of having actually fallen asleep during a meeting, I would say take the day off.

Gingerbear · 05/02/2007 19:01

And as for losing respect for tired parents: How many non-parent-type people have taken days of sick because they were 'tired' due to a hangover?

FatFikAndFugly · 05/02/2007 19:01

Because personally I don't think "I didn't get a good nights sleep" is a valid reason to be off sick. (fair enough if you have to operate machinery). If you're tired take holiday.

I also object to be catergorised as a 'career mum' with the assumption that we'll all say how wrong it is. I had posted before that statement making nno reference to my own feelings.

lucykate · 05/02/2007 19:02

to be honest, no. dd was a bad sleeper and at the time i was working full time, left the house at 7.20am, was home at 6pm. there were many times when i'd been up with her all night, on some occasions, was still in my clothes come morning, got up, got showered, dressed and then off to work having had virtually no sleep at all.

but then, my employer was a very unsympathetic company and basically didn't want to know about childcare problems etc. and i did used to survive on the odd can of coke to keep me going.

LittleBoSheep · 05/02/2007 19:19

FFF - I dont think i categorised YOU as a "career" mum I wouldnt know you from adam so how could I?

But there are people who WORK TO LIVE and people who LIVE TO WORK...the latter seems to be the most vocal.

Personally I would think that anyone who phoned up and said "I cant come in today because I am tired" was a bit simple. But having worked in a corporate environment for a LOOOONG time it just seems to me that it is EXPECTED you will work longer hours than employed for but there is no give and take the other way (in other words the employee give and the employer takes)

What use is an employee in a 5 hour meeting if they are not actually mentally "there", surely any decisions they make will not be their best, far better they do extra work when they have the mental capability for it.

FatFikAndFugly · 05/02/2007 19:22

I meant it's rude to categorise anybody as a 'career mum' and then make a huge assumption about them but you knew full well what I meant I think.

nikkie · 05/02/2007 20:06

When I get too tired I get headaches, leading to migraines and I can't work anyway.
Though having said that I had a bout of insommnia last summer and went for about 3weeks on 3 hours a night,apparantly I was quite difficult to work with as I was a bit hyper
If cafffine won't do it say you're not well and you've been up all night (they will prob assume d&v!)

Dior · 05/02/2007 20:08

Message withdrawn

DontlookatmeImshy · 05/02/2007 20:21

Throw a sickie. Just say you think you have "one of these bugs thats going around at the moment". Everyone knows children are always picking up bugs and bringing them home.

God knows,it's not like there's not enough of them (bugs) to choose from right now, dh, ds and I have all spent more of 2007 being ill than being well so far!

Bekks · 05/02/2007 20:29

I've on occasion not gone in when I was employed cos I've been too tired, although mostly because I felt to dangerous to do hour drive. I've mostly tried to rearrange hours though, but wouldn't feel that bad about the occasional too tired "sick" day as I think I work bloody hard. I used to have time off more with hangovers more before kids - although my last boss didn't mind that either as long as I made up the hours on the basis that I'd probably been drinking with him anyway! Am now self-employed and mostly have to just get on with it whether genuinely sick or not. I do always find that it's not as bad once you're there as it feels like it will be in the middle of the night or when you first get up - especially with lots of coffee.

fennel · 06/02/2007 09:40

I'd probably invent an illness rather than saying I was tired.

About the sleep, can you and dp/dh take turns so that at least one of you gets a good night's sleep every night? And make sure it's the one with the more vital work meeting the next day who gets more sleep. That's what we did when dd3 had a bad sleeping phase lately.

Original poster
beansprout · 06/02/2007 09:47

Thanks for the replies. This is not a "bit tired", this is like newborn, trying to manage on 4/5 broken hours sleep a night for a while now and struggling, feeling weepy and generally very run down. My role is pretty independent so no-one has to pick up my work if I am not there, it just waits for me to get back.

As it is, I am working from home (and I am working!!) but this means I can get stuff done but also have a bit of a rest. I'll have a more productive day at home than I would trying to stay awake in a long committee meeting!

And, FWIW, I spent years never taking leave during school holidays and covering for colleagues who had sick children and I didn't find it an enormous hardship, just the way of the world!

OP posts: