National Sickie Day
Apparently, the first Monday in February is traditionally National Sickie Day, the day most people call into work claiming illness.
Well, I'm one of the stats this year, but I think I have a genuine excuse. :) I've been making the most of the most effective paracetamol point (about 30 mins after taking it) to hoover the house (the grit and dog biscuits on the floor was really getting on my wick - Greg and Sydney don't even see it), and thinking about this topic.
I chatted to a work colleague about this last week, and he reflected that it probably starts with the parents. If you had the kind of parents who made you go to school unless you were visibly vomiting then you'll probably be the kind of employee who doses up with over the counter drugs, get to work and find that actually, you feel much better for having got on with your day rather than languishing in bed. If you had parents who felt you needed to stay at home at the slightest hint of poorly, then you're probably the kind of person who justifies their days off with thoughts like "I work hard, I deserve a duvet day", "They wouldn't want me to spread the germs, would they?", "So and so has had loads of days off - it's my turn now", and "I didn't sleep well. You wouldn't want me travelling while feeling tired would you?" (Only an excuse if you have more than an hour in a car to contend with. Otherwise, deal with it).
Of course, no, I don't want to catch your cold, but you can still dose up, wash your hands regularly, use hand gel, throw your tissues away nicely and keep your germs in your own corner. I've been around plenty of people at close range and haven't got their cold. Don't use other people as your excuse. And don't look at other people to gauge and justify your own behaviour, your reasons to "give yourself a break". You don't know what else they might be dealing with, or how they might be making up the time lost.
I also can't quite understand people who appear to be healthy - yoga, gym, cycling to work, drinking buckets of water and a super healthy diet all day long - and yet when they get a cold, it doesn't just mean a day or two off. It means a week. They hit the floor. Maybe they refuse to take Lemsip and insist on riding it out, but at what cost? Honestly, a little bit of paracetamol, decongestant and a pep of caffeine will get you through.
While berating others for using other people as a reason to take a sickie for themselves, I probably go too far the other way because my inner self is screaming at those sickly people with "GET UP! Get on with it! Don't let everyone down! You'll feel better once you get up and get out!"
I guess the truth lies somewhere in the middle, but you get my respect if you show that you make an effort, keep some balance when you are well so that you don't need those desperate sick days, or feel you "need and deserve" to work lots of short days. Why not say no to too much extra work, instead? Take your annual leave to look after your own physical and mental health first. Planned breaks make the emergencies less frequent and dramatic.
In the last 12 months, I think I've had 3 days off sick (breast cancer treatment excepted), and two of those were for the heaviest cold and sinus pain I've had in years. It felt like my face had been smashed in by Tyson. Just two days off though, not a week. Day two felt flakey, to me, at the time. With all my appointments and travelling to hospital in recent months, I have still worked all of the hours I should have. I've made up gaps by working weekends or evenings. I don't do it religiously, I don't do it to be a martyr. I protect my personal time off and switch off my emails on my phone, ignore the ones that need more than a quick answer, but I do what needs to be done and make sure I can live with myself and feel I've done right by my colleagues. I delegate: my recent leadership review indicates I should delegate more to give myself more time, but I don't really. I just need to say no more. And perhaps stop procrastinating here and there.
And I'm saying all this on a day that I had hoped to go to work but have chosen not to. Yes, yes, I've just had chemotherapy so of all the excuses, this possibly trumps them, and after making the decision I was not going to attempt to 'work from home' today but just potter about and rest I felt remarkably relieved and better for it, so I know that it was the right thing to do. I know that everyone around me gets annoyed by me constantly looking to see how much work I can do, rather than letting myself have a break, but stuff needs to be done. And honestly, I think we all feel better for doing it, if we can.
Well, I'm one of the stats this year, but I think I have a genuine excuse. :) I've been making the most of the most effective paracetamol point (about 30 mins after taking it) to hoover the house (the grit and dog biscuits on the floor was really getting on my wick - Greg and Sydney don't even see it), and thinking about this topic.
I chatted to a work colleague about this last week, and he reflected that it probably starts with the parents. If you had the kind of parents who made you go to school unless you were visibly vomiting then you'll probably be the kind of employee who doses up with over the counter drugs, get to work and find that actually, you feel much better for having got on with your day rather than languishing in bed. If you had parents who felt you needed to stay at home at the slightest hint of poorly, then you're probably the kind of person who justifies their days off with thoughts like "I work hard, I deserve a duvet day", "They wouldn't want me to spread the germs, would they?", "So and so has had loads of days off - it's my turn now", and "I didn't sleep well. You wouldn't want me travelling while feeling tired would you?" (Only an excuse if you have more than an hour in a car to contend with. Otherwise, deal with it).
Of course, no, I don't want to catch your cold, but you can still dose up, wash your hands regularly, use hand gel, throw your tissues away nicely and keep your germs in your own corner. I've been around plenty of people at close range and haven't got their cold. Don't use other people as your excuse. And don't look at other people to gauge and justify your own behaviour, your reasons to "give yourself a break". You don't know what else they might be dealing with, or how they might be making up the time lost.
I also can't quite understand people who appear to be healthy - yoga, gym, cycling to work, drinking buckets of water and a super healthy diet all day long - and yet when they get a cold, it doesn't just mean a day or two off. It means a week. They hit the floor. Maybe they refuse to take Lemsip and insist on riding it out, but at what cost? Honestly, a little bit of paracetamol, decongestant and a pep of caffeine will get you through.
While berating others for using other people as a reason to take a sickie for themselves, I probably go too far the other way because my inner self is screaming at those sickly people with "GET UP! Get on with it! Don't let everyone down! You'll feel better once you get up and get out!"
I guess the truth lies somewhere in the middle, but you get my respect if you show that you make an effort, keep some balance when you are well so that you don't need those desperate sick days, or feel you "need and deserve" to work lots of short days. Why not say no to too much extra work, instead? Take your annual leave to look after your own physical and mental health first. Planned breaks make the emergencies less frequent and dramatic.
In the last 12 months, I think I've had 3 days off sick (breast cancer treatment excepted), and two of those were for the heaviest cold and sinus pain I've had in years. It felt like my face had been smashed in by Tyson. Just two days off though, not a week. Day two felt flakey, to me, at the time. With all my appointments and travelling to hospital in recent months, I have still worked all of the hours I should have. I've made up gaps by working weekends or evenings. I don't do it religiously, I don't do it to be a martyr. I protect my personal time off and switch off my emails on my phone, ignore the ones that need more than a quick answer, but I do what needs to be done and make sure I can live with myself and feel I've done right by my colleagues. I delegate: my recent leadership review indicates I should delegate more to give myself more time, but I don't really. I just need to say no more. And perhaps stop procrastinating here and there.
And I'm saying all this on a day that I had hoped to go to work but have chosen not to. Yes, yes, I've just had chemotherapy so of all the excuses, this possibly trumps them, and after making the decision I was not going to attempt to 'work from home' today but just potter about and rest I felt remarkably relieved and better for it, so I know that it was the right thing to do. I know that everyone around me gets annoyed by me constantly looking to see how much work I can do, rather than letting myself have a break, but stuff needs to be done. And honestly, I think we all feel better for doing it, if we can.
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