Why Can't I Call In Sick?

15 years in journalism and I have never called in sick. The only time I haven't made it to work for an assigned shift was 2 1/2 years ago when we got 10 inches of snow during rush hour.
But, I was at a weekly then, and it was a Friday, and production day was Tuesday, so I got all my work done and didn't put anyone out.

 

And your point is? Are you taking sides with that SE mentioned earlier who is "anti-sick days?"

I hope your track record is a testament to your outstanding health and good fortune to have never been sick or injured and not because you decided to tough it out in the news room while puking your guts out in front of everybody and subjecting them to whatever ailed you.

 

When I was in college, I was in a car crash on my way to work, totalling the car and ringing my bell pretty good. I went to work anyway, albeit an hour or so late. Just stupid. We had paid sick days, but we also had a perfect attendance program, and I never missed a day for like five years. Earned me about 150 bucks a year. BFD.

I hear all of you who say we shouldn't come in when we're sick because it just gets everybody else sick. It's just not that easy. If we have three people on the desk and one calls in, that's quite a bind. I do agree that the paper would still get out. I'm starting to see the light.

 

No, it's just not that easy.

But you still have to take care of yourself. A lot of common illnesses linger for a week or more, so if you do the right thing and rest up when you need to, you can help yourself AND your coworkers (by missing one day and being 95-100% for the rest of the time, rather than being there the whole time but being at 50-75% health.)

Bottom line: The paper will get out, and nobody's going to take care of you but you. Don't be stupid. Sometimes it's worth it to take the day, rather than pushing through it like some kind of hero. Your health is more important than one friggin' edition.

 

Very well said Buck

 

Whoa. Yeah, I was just sharing my sick day stats, like some other people were. If you are sick, you should stay home. If your absence creates headaches, that might be a good thing in your favor, especially when the next round of layoffs happens.

 

but i'm not going to lie, either. any time a person calls in sick, the first reaction always is "fuck! now look at all the extra work i get to do."

then a minute later you realize you respect the cat who just called in sick, and that he and the rest of the folks will be calling you a "fucker" a month or two down the road when you call in sick and burden them with your workload.

we're human, and we all get sick. why is it such a badge of fucking honor to never take a sick day? it's fucking stupidity is what it is.

 

People need to get over the "it's not like any other business! I can't call in sick!" stuff.

You know what? It really is just like any other business. If you're sick, someone else will pick up the work and the world will keep spinning. Same thing for surgeons at the Mayo Clinic. Same thing for janitors at Wal-Mart.

I have a shift that can make it tricky to arrange a fill-in if I call in sick. If I'm really borderline on whether I should stay home, I'll probably go in. But if I'm really sick? Fuck it, they'll find someone. My newscast has never been canceled because I called in sick.

 

They don't call in sick in the restaurant biz. Ewww. That sauce looks like vomit! Oh ... it is vomit.

http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/omnivore/2009/03/24/sick-in-the-kitchen/

From one of the comments:

I had a gash in my cheek and my eye was completely swollen shut an hour into service. My chef called me cyclops for the rest of the night, but that was all that was said. I knew going home in the middle of Saturday night service was simply not an option. I’ve seen people work through 10x worse–hot oil burns, oyster knives through the hands, etc.

 

Bottom line: The company doesn't care about you. Why should you care about the company?

The paper doesn't care about rah-rah stuff anymore. It's all about the bottom line. The whole 'team player' and 'We can't count on you if you're out' BS is just that. BS. The company only cares about one thing.

So should you. And that's your bottom line. Your health.

 

and when newspaper owners did care about us, they wanted us to take sick days when we were sick.

 

Um, that is selfish. If you're not sick and you're taking "sick days," you're just screwing the people you work with.