bluebelle

I know this sounds off-topic, but I'm having real difficulty with this. I think it is kind of a codie issue, anyway. How do you decide how long you should take off work when you're sick? I've been sick for over a week. I've missed 5 days of work on and off. Twice I've gone back to work, and twice I've gotten worse and have had to take off more. I am a relatively new employee--still in my probation period--and I don't have enough sick leave. I've been taking leave without pay. On top of that, my boss is very difficult to talk to. When I was sick last time, I only got sarcasm and rude comments from him. I had a note that time, too.

bluebelle

I forgot to mention--I've been to the doctor twice since I got sick. I have a doctor's note excusing me until Friday (if necessary).

Ann

I think that if your doctor recommends you stay off work, it is wise to do so and a poor reflection on your employer if they resent your absence. It is employers like him/her who will be partly responsible for the spread of swine flu.

I have a terrible cold right now, went to work yesterday and isolated in my office so not to spread it around but today I am worse and going to take a sick day. My company gives me sick days and my boss is supportive and helpful if I have to miss time. I am almost never sick, but this year since January has been a dandy for illness.

Healing hugs to you.

bluebelle

Ann,
I'm sorry you are sick today, too. At my workplace, the employees are always sick. We have had so many illnesses going around. I think part of the problem is that so many people work sick. I guess there is so much pressure to work because if one person is off, someone else is going to have to do both jobs.

winnie12

Personally i think people need to stay home when they are sick because when they go to work sick they get everyone else sick. But if doc says your not contagious then you may have to suck it up and go in - it also depends upon your state laws on whether they can fire you for this. GA is a hire at will so they can fire you for anything but some states have more stringent laws on what you can fire someone for.

not sure what kind of job you have but my boss has set up our network where people can log in from home and work. i in fact, telecommute and he started it up 10 years ago for me - now we have many people who telecommute but when someone is sick they can login and still get some work done. i cant tell you how many times i've laid in bed with my laptop. He has found that the amount of lost employee time has been well worth the investment he made and he actually likes telecommuters because as he says "they work even when they're sick". It also helps a lot when people have sick kids because they need to stay home.

bluebelle

Unfortunately, I can't work from home with my job. I went ahead and took today off. I really want to get over this, and I'm afraid that I'd relapse again if I tried to push it. I don't know what the laws are in my state. At my workplace, we are supposed to have a doctor's note if we miss over a certain amount of days. I have doctor's notes. I've given plenty of notice when I've called in sick. I'm not sure what else to do. Hopefully, they won't hold this against me.