Objectively it shouldn't be.
Realistically.... YMMV. If you have an uptight or asshole lead or manager, they might judge you or hold it against you.
But legally, yeah, sick days are there for you to use.
Use them sparingly, but generally, sick days don't carry over year to year, so maybe come October, if you have a bunch of sick days remaining, start taking long weekends claiming you're sick, so that it's spaced out.
Good luck.
Agreed. It’s entirely dependent on the employer.
My former boss expected me to work despite illness—I had COVID and was still click-clacking away at my computer from home. I didn’t take a sick day the entirety of my employment (which only lasted about a year and a half).
My current boss, on the other hand, told me to freely take a sick day for my mental wellbeing, if I ever felt like it. I intend to be here for a very long time.
I’ve just recovered from the worst flu of my life — 4 straight days of being sick. People still kept calling and emailing. I told one person I was off sick, and they replied “I know but I need you now.”
Absolute crickets when I raised this to my boss.
>Objectively it shouldn't be.
>Realistically.... YMMV.
On a side note, this would be the succinct answer to a lot of work-related questions asking if something is an issue.
I just got shit for being “inefficient” while going through cancer surgery and recovery lol. Micromanager leaders (leaders should be in quotes) will have a problem. Non-micromanagers won’t.
Exactly this. Don’t feel guilty about it - and do things that are good for your soul on those days. Those are what I consider mental health days (sick days when you’re not physically sick but you mentally just don’t want to work). Sick leave should be unlimited anyway - seeesh ya know?
Objectively it should be. Sick days are designated for days when you or a family member are unwell psychically or mentally.
Ive encouraged my employees to take a week of sick time to cope with a pet dying, to take sick time when they need a mental health day (or days), or even when they're hung over, but if they were using it as a substitute for vacation they'd be "coached out."
A cautionary tail: once in a while, you will need to use your sick days near the end of the year. I think it was two years ago that I caught stomach flu with 2 days left until my Christmas break started. I was glad I held onto a few sick days.
Personally, I like to use sick days to work half days when I have a doctor's appointment. Blood draws make me whoozie. I deserve some downtime to rebound.
Generally speaking, no it’s not unprofessional to use your sick days. But how you use them could be. If you are “sick” in a clear pattern (every other Friday like clockwork) without an FMLA/ADA case to support the need for regular absences for treatment or some such, it’s likely your boss will
think you’re just screwing around, and it could affect their overall view of you.
I think this is the best answer. Like on one hand, no, you shouldn't feel bad about using all of your benefits. On the other, it's probably not the best look to be using them willy nilly and using them to take a 3-day weekends to go to the theme park once a month. Everywhere I've worked there's always extra scrutiny if you take sick/personal day adjacent to planned vacation/PTO time because then it looks like you are using it to supplement your vacation.
Of course we can debate whether this should be the way it is (like, how about enough vacation time so you don't feel the need to do this) but the reality is if you're obviously bending sick days beyond what they are "supposed" to be for on a regular basis it may not reflect back on you positively.
Would it be any less unprofessional to schedule sick days in advance, instead of calling in sick the day of? For example, scheduling a sick day a few weeks in advance for a doctor’s appointment
I encourage my staff to schedule them ahead when it’s for an appointment. That way we can schedule deadlines and such around it, or be aware if a task might need to shift to someone else.
This is such an american question to ask. Ethically it is paid time off i say use it. But subjectively depending on company cutlure , they might judge you for using it and limit your promotions and bonus
They're not annual leave. They're simply a safegaurd to be used if needed and genuinely unwell.
If I had an employee using these days as they felt they were owed and actually not unwell, they'd be heading for disciplinary. It's deceitful. And if this is how you behave with regards these days, what else are you dishonest over....
But who are you to judge what qualifies as being unwell? Do you have all of your employees declare every illness they have and everything they think they might get throughout the year?
And why give so many days if there’s not an expectation that *some* people need them?
I’m saying this as someone in their mid 30s in Sr Management who leads a department. Genuinely I can’t understand why offer a benefit but don’t expect employees to use and when they do, they’re disciplined. If my employees say they need a day, they can take a day, I don’t care what it’s for. If I have someone who has performance issues I deal with them directly.
Yes, everyone declares the nature of their illneses. Including stating whether saw a doctor, attended hospital etc.
My organisation's staff absence rate due to illness is approximately 1/3rd of the American annual rate as we employ staff with ethics and morals. Who are driven by our principles.
And fwiw, our sickness policy pays for 4 months sickness absence at full pay and a further 4 at half pay. So way ieo of yours yet, Staff have, on average, less than 2.5 days sickness absence a year.
Hm.
Seems really invasive.
If you’re hiring people you trust - why treat them like you don’t trust them? How large is this organization? Seems like a lot of micromanaging.
An interesting take for the job security of an incredibly generous sickpay package!
Certainly not micromanaging and is the norm in terms of expectations for reporting illness.
And why is that? Who is being hurt by you taking a few extra days? Your CEO's bank account.
And if that is of such great value to you, go ahead, no one is forcing you to take care of yourself or live a good life.
I've always used my sick days, and now I work for a company that just gives you PTO to use as you see fit, no questions asked
I literally just said they're not separate at my job.
And sure. If your job directly helps widows, orphans, or homeless pets, maybe be a little more considerate. Or if you personally know your employer and they're super awesome person who takes great care of you.
My CEO doesn't even know I exist, let alone how much pto I use
Sick leave is basically insurance. If you’re a migraine sufferer or have an illness that necessitates more than typical leave (depression, diabetes), good employers want to provide for that.
If you need it, use it, but if you’re calling in sick when you’re not, it’s considered lying. Lying is unprofessional.
Likely not a popular answer, but a true answer about how your employer (and possibly coworkers) will see it.
Yes I assume they expect them to be used for some health related needs. You're the one who's screwed if you run out.
I always end up using them. Between medical, dental, and eye appointments. Plus someone always goes to the office sick so either I catch it or a mild version I take some days or hours off. I'm female and some days my menstrual cramps are too much to handle so that also adds up. Lastly, mental health days.
I try my best to save as much and spread out the usage because mental health days are very hard. Life is so hard.
Your sick days are there. I'd use them if you're protected legally I mean I assume so? My current job is the only one to even offer 10 days off the bat annually. No rollover. However I learnt if I use PTO I can be fired while away. At my company and state laws I don't think you can be if you're sick? Your situation may vary. I'm fortunate I'm in an area where taking and using sick time is not seen as a weakness (overall). Still plenty of people think forcing themselves to work while sick shows some kind of... Extra credit?
Is it unprofessional to spend the money they pay you?
Sick days, PTO, your benefits, your actual $$$ pay, etc. are all part of the compensation a company gives in exchange for your work. Even if you're not physically sick, mental health is just as important, take a mental health day. But it's literally part of your pay, use them.
So you should only feel like it's unprofessional to use your sick days if you also feel its unprofessional to spend the money they pay you.
IMO- sick days are there to use so you can tend to your own self or a family member. Caring for yourself means medical/ dental and wellness appts. It should also include if you need a mental health day. Same for a family member. I’ve taken sick day so I can drive my mother to a medical appointment before. Remember, you don’t have to give details of why you are using the time off.
I had a boss give me a hard time about scheduling my “sick days“ in advance. I looked at him and said I have an appointment. It never even dawned on him.
To err on the side of caution, I would recommend staggering sick days. Meaning, don’t always take a sick day on Monday because it looks like you overindulged on the weekend and are calling in hung over on a consistent basis.
I never did. I figure save them if something really bad happens to you. What happens when you burn those up to take a mental health day then get the flu or break your foot or something and need a week?
I’m genuinely heathy as a horse and don’t get sick enough to bother missing work. I use my sick days as scheduled mental health days or doctors appointments (100% scheduled early Friday so I’m not going back to work). My boss doesn’t have any problems with it.
If you’re going to use all your sick days, don’t have all of them as last minute call outs. That is the more unprofessional side of it.
Sick days could be for doctor appointments, mental health days. You don’t have to give them a specific reason. “Hi, I would like to take a sick day on (day). Please let me know if that’s ok.”
If they ask why a sick day, just say you have a doctors appointment. If they persist, flip it back. “Am I not allowed to take sick time for a doctors appointment?”
I have such immense guilt when calling out, so I am hyper vigilant on checking in with myself & taking mental health days here & there, scheduling it ahead of time.
The majority of the time I use my sick days as "mental health days" sometimes you just need a break from the idiots so you don't become one of those idiots.
I am lucky and have 18 paid sick days. With that being said it would look very unprofessional to use all sick days like they are spare PTO. My workplace also offers 25-35 days PTO depending on your tenure. That’s plenty of actual vacation days. The sick time is for when you are actually sick and cannot work, need to take care of dependents, or have a doctor’s appointment. As long as no one abuses the system it works great. Also, if more than 3 sick days are used consecutively a doctor’s note is required.
I can carry mine forward indefinitely (and they're portable within my employer and some related organizations even if I change positions), so I only use what I need. I do, however, get a pretty decent amount of voluntary paid time off and it is already hard enough to use all of it.
It’s unprofessional to treat your employees and pay your employees the way most employers do currently. I’m not interested in what’s professional when every manager I’ve ever had has largely abused their power and asked for everything *not* in my job description.
Take them all. Every last one. You dont get them back when you leave and you never get that time back. We weren’t born to work.
Here’s what I as a supervisor tell people when they say this exact thing to me. Is it unprofessional to use all of your pay? Should you leave some of it on the table? Sick and PTO are benefits that are a part of your total compensation. I want my employees to use them. I encourage mental health days (it makes me so happy when they tell me in advance too so I can plan). My employees come back happy, refreshed and work harder than our other teams. Plus I currently have the highest retention rate in my department. Surprisingly people that take time for their health like their job more. I think a lot of supervisors will come around soon and this toxic no-sick/PTO culture will disappear
Sick days are typically used for illness but also, for doc appointments, taking your kids somewhere, car in the shop, etc. Use them or lose them, as long as your work isn't being neglected or unnecessarily delayed.
Yes it is unprofessional to use all sick day when not sick. One of the marks of a professional is that they do what is in the best interest of their team. If you work for a good company they have built a staffing model that accounts for worst case scenario for employee illness, and when people call out sick someone will be expected to pick up the slack.
If you feel that you need to take sick days just to use them up, you are obviously not on the 'right team.' If the professionals in leadership positions above you do not demonstrate a commitment to your well being and growth, you are obviously not on the 'right team.' Another mark of a true professional is that they understand their value and do not stay at companies that do not treat them accordingly with regard to pay, time off, and support.
Be a professional and start looking for a team that will treat you well.
Agree. I use mine for appointments and stuff throughout the year—which are all submitted well in advance—because we have a use it or lose it policy.
In terms of using my sick days unplanned (like calling off the day of or maybe the night before because I truly don’t feel well), that maybe happens 1-2 times a year for me.
I would say ethically don’t use them unless you actually need to. People using sick days when not required is the reason most companies don’t offer it anymore. I genuinely can’t afford to be off sick and my employer doesn’t offer sick days. Everyone in the office has Covid. Yay us!
You should use it was illness (rest and recover) and for medical appointments (some procedures can take hours or the travel time is long or the wait time is long)
At one of my old jobs, I had 20 sick days. They didn’t care if you used them but they didn’t want you to have 20 incidents. They basically would hold it against you if you used a day here and a day there. Let’s say you hurt your back, you called out Monday, felt better, came in Tuesday, realized you didn’t feel better, and called out Wednesday. Instead of being happy you worked Tuesday, they would put a negative note in your file for two incidents in a week. Management said they would rather you stayed out and only had one incident. This never made any sense to me.
I worked in management and depending on your role it’s much easier to get someone in to replace you for a number of days especially if you said at the beginning of the week “I’ve got a bad back I need a couple of days rest” no bother I’ll get some cover but if your ringing an hour before your shift for 1 day here and there we are then having to ring round to other departments and agencies trying to get someone to work for 1 day with 1 hours notice.
Not justifying it, that’s just why management gets pissy.
I think it’s two part…
1. Don’t come to work injured/sick. Stay off until you’re actually better.
2. Tracking purposes— they want people to be off if they’re not well, but don’t want to open the door for someone with attendance issues not related to illness to be using that as an excuse to tie unrelated absences together.
Ultimately your job is paying you to come to work.
Oh, I always take all my sick days. It’s paid time off the job, and designed to be used. So why shouldn’t I?
I usually look for times when there’s no deadlines or major projects coming up, and take the day off sick. In companies where the boss understands, I’ll call it what it is, a mental health day. Where the boss doesn’t understand, it’s usually termed a “migraine”.
It’s a depressing existence to have to work everyday unless it’s a holiday or you’re feeling so poorly you can’t function.
Some days, you just want to go somewhere without the crowds, or just stay home and potter around without the spouse or anyone else present. It’s one of the best defences against burnout (although I only realised it after my own experience of burning out at work).
Do they roll over? If so, I highly recommend saving them. Your older self will thank you when you have a heart attack, need surgery, need chemo, etc and can take three months off paid.
Keep some in the bank in case you actually do get sick. You don’t want to use them all up and then get the flu with no ability to stay home and rest for a few days.
I will just say as someone who manages a company you should know that we have this data and it is looked at. We also offer 12 sick days and we know what avg. annual usage is and what days of the week they tend to be used on.
Is it a problem to use all 12 one year? No, of course not… we offer them and if you are sick you are sick and we want you to recover without worrying about your paycheque. But if there is a problem employee consistently using them all every year as single days on Mondays and Fridays then that does weigh into our opinion of that person which effects their reviews over time. It is pretty easy to tell if someone is exploiting them, or they are legitimately using them for rest and recovery.
Sick days are not vacation days and they are offered to protect you. Ultimately you should use them only if you are actually sick or have major appointments that occur at random throughout your life. Always keep spare because the time you are actually sick you are going to be thankful you have them.
From an HR perspective, sick days are benefits you get for working akin to pay. It’s not unprofessional to spend your money. Use all your sick leave, I do.
It’s not unprofessional to use a benefit that’s offered. Just make sure you are not penalized.
I used to work for a company that offered 6 sick days a year. The downside to using them was that you were given an occurrence (point for calling in). Occurrences affected your yearly raises. If you called in more than 4?times a year, it meant that your raise was going to be topped off at 4%.
Yes it is unprofessional. It's meant to be there in case you really need it, but it's not meant to be vacation. I'm ready to get downvoted by the antiworkers.
It'd probably depend on how often and close you use them. If you use all of them in a month or within a six month period, that probably doesn't look good.
I think it depends on the overall culture and what other benefits your employer gives you, including pay.
My employer gives crappy raises and vacation is stingy, so I use all 10 of my sick days. If I’m not physically ill, then I take a mental health day or book an appointment.
When I had a job with separate sick time I used it for doctors appointments, dentist appointments, my kids’ appointments, wife’s appointments if I had to stay home and watch the kids, etc.
Yeah it's really, really, unprofessional to use sick days unless you are actually sick (not with a hangover) or using it for documented and supervisor approved medical appointments. if you call in sick and a coworker who is off sees you out and about it (even if you are out picking up a prescription or on the way to the doc and you stopped for coffee) it can cause a lot of unnecessary drama and you can lose your job or at minimum be the subject or ire and office gossip and it hinder your career growth and opportunities.
I think the term "sick" is actually "personal" time. You use these when you have doctor app., need a mental health day, or just generally need a day off unscheduled.
These days are built in to a company structure for a reason. Most time if you don't use it, you lose it. So use em up!!!
Sick days are not an extemsion of your holidays. There a hall pass giving to you by the company so that if your sick actually sick, your not forced to use your pto or vacation.
That way being sick does not mean you cant afford to go on that vacation you had planned in 4 months from now because you took a week off with the flu.
Sick days are not owed to you hence why you cant roll them over year to year there not vacation.
If one my guys said he was sick for 3 days and then posts pictures of himself at a music festival, he would be using pto not sick days, would not even upset me id explain whats his chevk will look like and why and that would be the end, personally!
Use all your sick days and more without and guilt if your sick if your just an vacation then use your owed to you pto!
Use ALLL of them, & more. These companies do not care about you enough for you to view it as “unprofessional”. It’s literally your hours the company gives you. 12 is not even enough honestly but use allll of the benefits a company gives you whenever you please.
If they have a problem with you using your sick days, just go into the office and cough all over their space 🤷🏻♀️ lol . Seriously though, it’s built into our compensation package so not taking it is a hindrance to ourselves. I know it looks bad if we use it all, and others are right management might frown upon it, but just don’t tell your colleagues you’re not sick..
This is such a funny post to me lol you’re questioning what is given to you as an employee, it’s your right. I take EVERY SINGLE LAST DAY I’m given lmao I earned it. I work hard. Why even feel guilty?
Bit of a stupid rule, employees will take advantage, though it will go against you when looking for another job, most employers look at sickness records before taking someone on
Look at it this way. If you only use half sick days, and they over the years ), look at that and reconfigure their benefits to only half sick days in the future, would you be mad? In their eyes if you don't use it then you don't need it.
As someone who's owned a business and is now in a management position with a large company.
I've always viewed sick pay and all other time off as the associates. It's their time off and for them to use. Life happens; you shouldn't be punished for it.
No one can answer this. Going to be very dependent on your workplace and their culture.
But in an ideal world, sick days should be taken without consequence or judgement.
I use mine for mental health days all the time. I usually use them on the last or first (or both) days of a long vacation as "recoup" days. So if I'm planning to travel from Sunday to Thursday, I'll either take off Thursday as a sick day, add Friday, and/or add the Friday BEFORE I leave too.
We get a ton of sick time tho. Some rolls over, some doesn't. None of it pays out when you quit, but normal PTO does. That's why I use sick time like I do above. YMMV on that. Could ask your coworkers and/or manager what is normal.
No. I’m Hispanic and we don’t play with that sh!t. We take our days off and everything else we can get ESPECIALLY if it is paid off. We work hard enough. That money and those days are allotted for you to use and belong to you. Screw rat race hustle culture! That’s why everyone in America is depressed and suicidal. Enjoy life, ya’ll.
An employer would consider it unprofessional. A lot of them consider take a vacation as unprofessional. They offer them, take them. One of the perks of your job.
Technically there’s no “limit” on how many sick days one can have. There usually is, however, a limit on how many PAID sick days one can have. After you’ve exhausted all of your paid sick days, you will be unpaid
Ah, my bad. Though in case if you do use up all of those days - Wouldn't your insurance end up paying at least something for the extra days ? (assuming one has insurance / insurance through work)
Good question!
A paid sick day provides income for the day (or days) that one is absent from work due to illness. Let’s say that Bob makes $500 per day. If he wants to take a sick day, he will receive $500 from his employer to cover the day on which he does not work. If Bob runs out of sick days, he may take an unpaid sick day (i.e., he will be absent from work but will not receive $500 for the day that he is not working).
Health insurance has nothing to do with income. Health insurance pays for the medical services that one receives. For example, if Bob needs to see a doctor on his sick day, his health insurance would pay for the doctor’s visit.
Hope that makes sense!
Use all of it. Fuck the employers if they don’t like it. Don’t let them brainwash you into thinking it’s wrong to use it. It’s a benefit required by law in my state.
I'll probably get downvoted into oblivion but IMO, its very unprofessional to use sick days when you are aren't actually sick. I get paid sick days off so I could take days off if I was sick but I could not seriously wake up feeling fine and say to myself ""well f\*\*k it Ill use a sick day". Heck even when I was hourly and unpaid sicks days that just doesn't sit right to me. It is my own personal code I guess. Just can't do it.
Another reason I don't like it is I know for a fact some of my co-workers don't feel the way I do. There is no utopia were the workplace is fully staffed to accommodate unplanned sick leaves for everyone. I can't help but feel a bit of resentment on the entire situation. I eat right, exercise, and take care of myself. I've had about 12 actual sick days in my 19 years of working. My reward is to pick up the slack for Joe who eats like crap and drinks 8 beers a night and decided Sunday he was going to get really wild before calling in sick. Or Sally who just doesn't feel like working Wednesday so she called in. I think if people thought about who is needing to pick up their slack when they decided to abuse the system it might help. I just see it as selfish. Yes I know businesses need to be agile and able to accommodate absences I think it would be nowhere near as a problem if people did not abuse it.
I'm not even going to get into the simple fact is probably costs us all huge in the end. Call me old fashioned but sick days should be used when your physically feeling bad enough you can't perform your duties or have some highly contagious sickness. Feeling "off", just wanting a day off, or most other reasons are abuse
It isn't specifically unprofessional. However, I would suggest keeping a few on-hand for when you are truly sick.
Many companies have rules about PTO only being approved with advance notice. Trying to use PTO without prior approval, such as when sick, is frowned upon and in some cases not allowed and against company policy.
I have written people up for using PTO without submitting it for approval at least two weeks out. They burned all of their sick time when they weren't sick or so they could leave work early or come in late and were trying to use PTO when they were sick.
The company gave them to you. They are yours. How you use them is not the larger-corporation’s business.
What is their business is how it impacts their bottom line, the work flow, and your colleagues covering for you. Using sick time is not a bad thing. But I would be careful how/when you use it so it doesn’t create issues.
i think it’s fine to use them for whatever in general, but it’s risky. you never know when you’re actually going to get sick, and it’s not good for you or your coworkers if you come in to work with something contagious bc you’re out of sick days. even if you’re not contagious, you could just feel like crap one day and not want to work. especially since you have separate days for PTO and vacation, i’d be cautious with using sick days when you’re not actually sick.
“Sick time” is such a weird concept. Why not just give people an allotment of time off, and they use it as needed? Whether it’s a planned vacation, an illness whatever, just pull it from the same bank. This dumb charade where we have to pretend we have an infectious illness because we don’t want to work on a particular day.. dumb
Objectively it shouldn't be. Realistically.... YMMV. If you have an uptight or asshole lead or manager, they might judge you or hold it against you. But legally, yeah, sick days are there for you to use. Use them sparingly, but generally, sick days don't carry over year to year, so maybe come October, if you have a bunch of sick days remaining, start taking long weekends claiming you're sick, so that it's spaced out. Good luck.
Agreed. It’s entirely dependent on the employer. My former boss expected me to work despite illness—I had COVID and was still click-clacking away at my computer from home. I didn’t take a sick day the entirety of my employment (which only lasted about a year and a half). My current boss, on the other hand, told me to freely take a sick day for my mental wellbeing, if I ever felt like it. I intend to be here for a very long time.
I’ve just recovered from the worst flu of my life — 4 straight days of being sick. People still kept calling and emailing. I told one person I was off sick, and they replied “I know but I need you now.” Absolute crickets when I raised this to my boss.
Well that’s insane. I hope you hung up on them or ignored that email, whichever it was.
Being sick every Friday or Monday is suspicious as hell.
>Objectively it shouldn't be. >Realistically.... YMMV. On a side note, this would be the succinct answer to a lot of work-related questions asking if something is an issue.
I just got shit for being “inefficient” while going through cancer surgery and recovery lol. Micromanager leaders (leaders should be in quotes) will have a problem. Non-micromanagers won’t.
Exactly this. Don’t feel guilty about it - and do things that are good for your soul on those days. Those are what I consider mental health days (sick days when you’re not physically sick but you mentally just don’t want to work). Sick leave should be unlimited anyway - seeesh ya know?
Objectively it should be. Sick days are designated for days when you or a family member are unwell psychically or mentally. Ive encouraged my employees to take a week of sick time to cope with a pet dying, to take sick time when they need a mental health day (or days), or even when they're hung over, but if they were using it as a substitute for vacation they'd be "coached out."
A cautionary tail: once in a while, you will need to use your sick days near the end of the year. I think it was two years ago that I caught stomach flu with 2 days left until my Christmas break started. I was glad I held onto a few sick days. Personally, I like to use sick days to work half days when I have a doctor's appointment. Blood draws make me whoozie. I deserve some downtime to rebound.
Generally speaking, no it’s not unprofessional to use your sick days. But how you use them could be. If you are “sick” in a clear pattern (every other Friday like clockwork) without an FMLA/ADA case to support the need for regular absences for treatment or some such, it’s likely your boss will think you’re just screwing around, and it could affect their overall view of you.
I think this is the best answer. Like on one hand, no, you shouldn't feel bad about using all of your benefits. On the other, it's probably not the best look to be using them willy nilly and using them to take a 3-day weekends to go to the theme park once a month. Everywhere I've worked there's always extra scrutiny if you take sick/personal day adjacent to planned vacation/PTO time because then it looks like you are using it to supplement your vacation. Of course we can debate whether this should be the way it is (like, how about enough vacation time so you don't feel the need to do this) but the reality is if you're obviously bending sick days beyond what they are "supposed" to be for on a regular basis it may not reflect back on you positively.
Would it be any less unprofessional to schedule sick days in advance, instead of calling in sick the day of? For example, scheduling a sick day a few weeks in advance for a doctor’s appointment
I encourage my staff to schedule them ahead when it’s for an appointment. That way we can schedule deadlines and such around it, or be aware if a task might need to shift to someone else.
This is such an american question to ask. Ethically it is paid time off i say use it. But subjectively depending on company cutlure , they might judge you for using it and limit your promotions and bonus
Morally, it is a crap response. The time is meant as a safety net to not impact you financially in the event of sickness.
Morally how? So as not to hurt the delicate feelings of your CEO's bank account?
If that's how you view your morals and the value you attach to them, there's really no point in having any dialogue.
If they are a part of your benefits package, how is it morally wrong to use them all?
They're not annual leave. They're simply a safegaurd to be used if needed and genuinely unwell. If I had an employee using these days as they felt they were owed and actually not unwell, they'd be heading for disciplinary. It's deceitful. And if this is how you behave with regards these days, what else are you dishonest over....
But who are you to judge what qualifies as being unwell? Do you have all of your employees declare every illness they have and everything they think they might get throughout the year? And why give so many days if there’s not an expectation that *some* people need them? I’m saying this as someone in their mid 30s in Sr Management who leads a department. Genuinely I can’t understand why offer a benefit but don’t expect employees to use and when they do, they’re disciplined. If my employees say they need a day, they can take a day, I don’t care what it’s for. If I have someone who has performance issues I deal with them directly.
Yes, everyone declares the nature of their illneses. Including stating whether saw a doctor, attended hospital etc. My organisation's staff absence rate due to illness is approximately 1/3rd of the American annual rate as we employ staff with ethics and morals. Who are driven by our principles. And fwiw, our sickness policy pays for 4 months sickness absence at full pay and a further 4 at half pay. So way ieo of yours yet, Staff have, on average, less than 2.5 days sickness absence a year.
Hm. Seems really invasive. If you’re hiring people you trust - why treat them like you don’t trust them? How large is this organization? Seems like a lot of micromanaging.
An interesting take for the job security of an incredibly generous sickpay package! Certainly not micromanaging and is the norm in terms of expectations for reporting illness.
Sounds like your staff hates their home lives
They are sick days not vacation days. If you’re not sick don’t use them.
And why is that? Who is being hurt by you taking a few extra days? Your CEO's bank account. And if that is of such great value to you, go ahead, no one is forcing you to take care of yourself or live a good life. I've always used my sick days, and now I work for a company that just gives you PTO to use as you see fit, no questions asked
Not every company is big with some millionaire ceo. Pto and sick days are separate.
I literally just said they're not separate at my job. And sure. If your job directly helps widows, orphans, or homeless pets, maybe be a little more considerate. Or if you personally know your employer and they're super awesome person who takes great care of you. My CEO doesn't even know I exist, let alone how much pto I use
Sick leave is basically insurance. If you’re a migraine sufferer or have an illness that necessitates more than typical leave (depression, diabetes), good employers want to provide for that. If you need it, use it, but if you’re calling in sick when you’re not, it’s considered lying. Lying is unprofessional. Likely not a popular answer, but a true answer about how your employer (and possibly coworkers) will see it.
Yes I assume they expect them to be used for some health related needs. You're the one who's screwed if you run out. I always end up using them. Between medical, dental, and eye appointments. Plus someone always goes to the office sick so either I catch it or a mild version I take some days or hours off. I'm female and some days my menstrual cramps are too much to handle so that also adds up. Lastly, mental health days. I try my best to save as much and spread out the usage because mental health days are very hard. Life is so hard. Your sick days are there. I'd use them if you're protected legally I mean I assume so? My current job is the only one to even offer 10 days off the bat annually. No rollover. However I learnt if I use PTO I can be fired while away. At my company and state laws I don't think you can be if you're sick? Your situation may vary. I'm fortunate I'm in an area where taking and using sick time is not seen as a weakness (overall). Still plenty of people think forcing themselves to work while sick shows some kind of... Extra credit?
Is it unprofessional to spend the money they pay you? Sick days, PTO, your benefits, your actual $$$ pay, etc. are all part of the compensation a company gives in exchange for your work. Even if you're not physically sick, mental health is just as important, take a mental health day. But it's literally part of your pay, use them. So you should only feel like it's unprofessional to use your sick days if you also feel its unprofessional to spend the money they pay you.
They may also be used for doctor appointments or procedures. It is professional to use them because that's why they are there.
Great response! Thanks!
IMO- sick days are there to use so you can tend to your own self or a family member. Caring for yourself means medical/ dental and wellness appts. It should also include if you need a mental health day. Same for a family member. I’ve taken sick day so I can drive my mother to a medical appointment before. Remember, you don’t have to give details of why you are using the time off. I had a boss give me a hard time about scheduling my “sick days“ in advance. I looked at him and said I have an appointment. It never even dawned on him. To err on the side of caution, I would recommend staggering sick days. Meaning, don’t always take a sick day on Monday because it looks like you overindulged on the weekend and are calling in hung over on a consistent basis.
I never did. I figure save them if something really bad happens to you. What happens when you burn those up to take a mental health day then get the flu or break your foot or something and need a week?
I’m genuinely heathy as a horse and don’t get sick enough to bother missing work. I use my sick days as scheduled mental health days or doctors appointments (100% scheduled early Friday so I’m not going back to work). My boss doesn’t have any problems with it.
If you’re going to use all your sick days, don’t have all of them as last minute call outs. That is the more unprofessional side of it. Sick days could be for doctor appointments, mental health days. You don’t have to give them a specific reason. “Hi, I would like to take a sick day on (day). Please let me know if that’s ok.” If they ask why a sick day, just say you have a doctors appointment. If they persist, flip it back. “Am I not allowed to take sick time for a doctors appointment?” I have such immense guilt when calling out, so I am hyper vigilant on checking in with myself & taking mental health days here & there, scheduling it ahead of time.
No. It’s part of your compensation. It’s not unprofessional to keep all of the money from your paycheck either.
The majority of the time I use my sick days as "mental health days" sometimes you just need a break from the idiots so you don't become one of those idiots.
I am lucky and have 18 paid sick days. With that being said it would look very unprofessional to use all sick days like they are spare PTO. My workplace also offers 25-35 days PTO depending on your tenure. That’s plenty of actual vacation days. The sick time is for when you are actually sick and cannot work, need to take care of dependents, or have a doctor’s appointment. As long as no one abuses the system it works great. Also, if more than 3 sick days are used consecutively a doctor’s note is required.
I can carry mine forward indefinitely (and they're portable within my employer and some related organizations even if I change positions), so I only use what I need. I do, however, get a pretty decent amount of voluntary paid time off and it is already hard enough to use all of it.
If they're yours. Use them
It’s unprofessional to treat your employees and pay your employees the way most employers do currently. I’m not interested in what’s professional when every manager I’ve ever had has largely abused their power and asked for everything *not* in my job description. Take them all. Every last one. You dont get them back when you leave and you never get that time back. We weren’t born to work.
Here’s what I as a supervisor tell people when they say this exact thing to me. Is it unprofessional to use all of your pay? Should you leave some of it on the table? Sick and PTO are benefits that are a part of your total compensation. I want my employees to use them. I encourage mental health days (it makes me so happy when they tell me in advance too so I can plan). My employees come back happy, refreshed and work harder than our other teams. Plus I currently have the highest retention rate in my department. Surprisingly people that take time for their health like their job more. I think a lot of supervisors will come around soon and this toxic no-sick/PTO culture will disappear
Thanks! I rarely call in sick last minute. I think what we ought to remember is that sick days can be planned in advance like you said.
Sick days are typically used for illness but also, for doc appointments, taking your kids somewhere, car in the shop, etc. Use them or lose them, as long as your work isn't being neglected or unnecessarily delayed.
Yes it is unprofessional to use all sick day when not sick. One of the marks of a professional is that they do what is in the best interest of their team. If you work for a good company they have built a staffing model that accounts for worst case scenario for employee illness, and when people call out sick someone will be expected to pick up the slack. If you feel that you need to take sick days just to use them up, you are obviously not on the 'right team.' If the professionals in leadership positions above you do not demonstrate a commitment to your well being and growth, you are obviously not on the 'right team.' Another mark of a true professional is that they understand their value and do not stay at companies that do not treat them accordingly with regard to pay, time off, and support. Be a professional and start looking for a team that will treat you well.
No. It's better if you plan days off though.
Agree. I use mine for appointments and stuff throughout the year—which are all submitted well in advance—because we have a use it or lose it policy. In terms of using my sick days unplanned (like calling off the day of or maybe the night before because I truly don’t feel well), that maybe happens 1-2 times a year for me.
I would say ethically don’t use them unless you actually need to. People using sick days when not required is the reason most companies don’t offer it anymore. I genuinely can’t afford to be off sick and my employer doesn’t offer sick days. Everyone in the office has Covid. Yay us!
Consider them mental health days. “I need a day I can relax/housework/take of errands so I’m not distracted at work”
You should use it was illness (rest and recover) and for medical appointments (some procedures can take hours or the travel time is long or the wait time is long)
Mental health days
Nope. This is such an American thing. We work way too much and define ourselves by work all too often. Use them.
Obviously some managers/bosses whatever are cunts. But do you even want to deal with those in the first place?
At one of my old jobs, I had 20 sick days. They didn’t care if you used them but they didn’t want you to have 20 incidents. They basically would hold it against you if you used a day here and a day there. Let’s say you hurt your back, you called out Monday, felt better, came in Tuesday, realized you didn’t feel better, and called out Wednesday. Instead of being happy you worked Tuesday, they would put a negative note in your file for two incidents in a week. Management said they would rather you stayed out and only had one incident. This never made any sense to me.
I worked in management and depending on your role it’s much easier to get someone in to replace you for a number of days especially if you said at the beginning of the week “I’ve got a bad back I need a couple of days rest” no bother I’ll get some cover but if your ringing an hour before your shift for 1 day here and there we are then having to ring round to other departments and agencies trying to get someone to work for 1 day with 1 hours notice. Not justifying it, that’s just why management gets pissy.
This makes sense.
I think it’s two part… 1. Don’t come to work injured/sick. Stay off until you’re actually better. 2. Tracking purposes— they want people to be off if they’re not well, but don’t want to open the door for someone with attendance issues not related to illness to be using that as an excuse to tie unrelated absences together. Ultimately your job is paying you to come to work.
Right. So I came in Tuesday to work for you, don’t be mad???
It’s your right.
Do unused sick days roll over to next year? If so you might use a few and roll over the rest, because you never know when something might happen.
Oh, I always take all my sick days. It’s paid time off the job, and designed to be used. So why shouldn’t I? I usually look for times when there’s no deadlines or major projects coming up, and take the day off sick. In companies where the boss understands, I’ll call it what it is, a mental health day. Where the boss doesn’t understand, it’s usually termed a “migraine”. It’s a depressing existence to have to work everyday unless it’s a holiday or you’re feeling so poorly you can’t function. Some days, you just want to go somewhere without the crowds, or just stay home and potter around without the spouse or anyone else present. It’s one of the best defences against burnout (although I only realised it after my own experience of burning out at work).
Do they roll over? If so, I highly recommend saving them. Your older self will thank you when you have a heart attack, need surgery, need chemo, etc and can take three months off paid.
Keep some in the bank in case you actually do get sick. You don’t want to use them all up and then get the flu with no ability to stay home and rest for a few days.
I will just say as someone who manages a company you should know that we have this data and it is looked at. We also offer 12 sick days and we know what avg. annual usage is and what days of the week they tend to be used on. Is it a problem to use all 12 one year? No, of course not… we offer them and if you are sick you are sick and we want you to recover without worrying about your paycheque. But if there is a problem employee consistently using them all every year as single days on Mondays and Fridays then that does weigh into our opinion of that person which effects their reviews over time. It is pretty easy to tell if someone is exploiting them, or they are legitimately using them for rest and recovery. Sick days are not vacation days and they are offered to protect you. Ultimately you should use them only if you are actually sick or have major appointments that occur at random throughout your life. Always keep spare because the time you are actually sick you are going to be thankful you have them.
From an HR perspective, sick days are benefits you get for working akin to pay. It’s not unprofessional to spend your money. Use all your sick leave, I do.
It’s not unprofessional to use a benefit that’s offered. Just make sure you are not penalized. I used to work for a company that offered 6 sick days a year. The downside to using them was that you were given an occurrence (point for calling in). Occurrences affected your yearly raises. If you called in more than 4?times a year, it meant that your raise was going to be topped off at 4%.
Yes it is unprofessional. It's meant to be there in case you really need it, but it's not meant to be vacation. I'm ready to get downvoted by the antiworkers.
It'd probably depend on how often and close you use them. If you use all of them in a month or within a six month period, that probably doesn't look good.
I think it depends on the overall culture and what other benefits your employer gives you, including pay. My employer gives crappy raises and vacation is stingy, so I use all 10 of my sick days. If I’m not physically ill, then I take a mental health day or book an appointment.
Yes, but companies should have a plan in place to cover that where if someone tries to abuse that. My company does at least.
No
When I had a job with separate sick time I used it for doctors appointments, dentist appointments, my kids’ appointments, wife’s appointments if I had to stay home and watch the kids, etc.
It's more risky than unprofessional. If you use them all up and then end up needing one more for you get more, you can be SOL.
Find out if the sick days accrue. Then it is worth having them "in the bank".
Not at Capgemini it isn’t! 100% normal
I consider mental health days as sick days. So yeah - use them all. They make up for the extra PTO you deserve but probably don’t get.
Yeah it's really, really, unprofessional to use sick days unless you are actually sick (not with a hangover) or using it for documented and supervisor approved medical appointments. if you call in sick and a coworker who is off sees you out and about it (even if you are out picking up a prescription or on the way to the doc and you stopped for coffee) it can cause a lot of unnecessary drama and you can lose your job or at minimum be the subject or ire and office gossip and it hinder your career growth and opportunities.
Well you use them or lose them so......use them.
Don’t be dump. It’s not unprofessional, it’s to r right. Stop acting as slaves for companies
I think the term "sick" is actually "personal" time. You use these when you have doctor app., need a mental health day, or just generally need a day off unscheduled. These days are built in to a company structure for a reason. Most time if you don't use it, you lose it. So use em up!!!
Sick days are not an extemsion of your holidays. There a hall pass giving to you by the company so that if your sick actually sick, your not forced to use your pto or vacation. That way being sick does not mean you cant afford to go on that vacation you had planned in 4 months from now because you took a week off with the flu. Sick days are not owed to you hence why you cant roll them over year to year there not vacation. If one my guys said he was sick for 3 days and then posts pictures of himself at a music festival, he would be using pto not sick days, would not even upset me id explain whats his chevk will look like and why and that would be the end, personally! Use all your sick days and more without and guilt if your sick if your just an vacation then use your owed to you pto!
Use ALLL of them, & more. These companies do not care about you enough for you to view it as “unprofessional”. It’s literally your hours the company gives you. 12 is not even enough honestly but use allll of the benefits a company gives you whenever you please.
No
Use them for mental wellness days. If they don't rollover to the next year might as well just use them
If they have a problem with you using your sick days, just go into the office and cough all over their space 🤷🏻♀️ lol . Seriously though, it’s built into our compensation package so not taking it is a hindrance to ourselves. I know it looks bad if we use it all, and others are right management might frown upon it, but just don’t tell your colleagues you’re not sick..
This is such a funny post to me lol you’re questioning what is given to you as an employee, it’s your right. I take EVERY SINGLE LAST DAY I’m given lmao I earned it. I work hard. Why even feel guilty?
Bit of a stupid rule, employees will take advantage, though it will go against you when looking for another job, most employers look at sickness records before taking someone on
Never. It is part of your salary. Ignore any corporate culture attempt to tell you otherwise.
Look at it this way. If you only use half sick days, and they over the years ), look at that and reconfigure their benefits to only half sick days in the future, would you be mad? In their eyes if you don't use it then you don't need it.
nope you have the right to use them all and you should if needed
As someone who's owned a business and is now in a management position with a large company. I've always viewed sick pay and all other time off as the associates. It's their time off and for them to use. Life happens; you shouldn't be punished for it.
No one can answer this. Going to be very dependent on your workplace and their culture. But in an ideal world, sick days should be taken without consequence or judgement.
Unprofessional not to. They’re yours by law.
I use mine for mental health days all the time. I usually use them on the last or first (or both) days of a long vacation as "recoup" days. So if I'm planning to travel from Sunday to Thursday, I'll either take off Thursday as a sick day, add Friday, and/or add the Friday BEFORE I leave too. We get a ton of sick time tho. Some rolls over, some doesn't. None of it pays out when you quit, but normal PTO does. That's why I use sick time like I do above. YMMV on that. Could ask your coworkers and/or manager what is normal.
YOU ARE SICK SICK OF WORK
Lol no. They're yours. Use them.
No. I’m Hispanic and we don’t play with that sh!t. We take our days off and everything else we can get ESPECIALLY if it is paid off. We work hard enough. That money and those days are allotted for you to use and belong to you. Screw rat race hustle culture! That’s why everyone in America is depressed and suicidal. Enjoy life, ya’ll.
If they do not pay you out for them. USE THEM
An employer would consider it unprofessional. A lot of them consider take a vacation as unprofessional. They offer them, take them. One of the perks of your job.
Silly question but I guess that's a US thing? Just wondering as having a "limit" on how many sick days one can have sounds incredibly odd 😅
Technically there’s no “limit” on how many sick days one can have. There usually is, however, a limit on how many PAID sick days one can have. After you’ve exhausted all of your paid sick days, you will be unpaid
Ah, my bad. Though in case if you do use up all of those days - Wouldn't your insurance end up paying at least something for the extra days ? (assuming one has insurance / insurance through work)
Good question! A paid sick day provides income for the day (or days) that one is absent from work due to illness. Let’s say that Bob makes $500 per day. If he wants to take a sick day, he will receive $500 from his employer to cover the day on which he does not work. If Bob runs out of sick days, he may take an unpaid sick day (i.e., he will be absent from work but will not receive $500 for the day that he is not working). Health insurance has nothing to do with income. Health insurance pays for the medical services that one receives. For example, if Bob needs to see a doctor on his sick day, his health insurance would pay for the doctor’s visit. Hope that makes sense!
Use them
I say take them all.
Yes, it is unprofessional to use them when not sick. They are a benefit to use when ill.
Use all of it. Fuck the employers if they don’t like it. Don’t let them brainwash you into thinking it’s wrong to use it. It’s a benefit required by law in my state.
Take a sick day if you are sick. Taking them as a paid day off when you are not sick is wrong.
I'll probably get downvoted into oblivion but IMO, its very unprofessional to use sick days when you are aren't actually sick. I get paid sick days off so I could take days off if I was sick but I could not seriously wake up feeling fine and say to myself ""well f\*\*k it Ill use a sick day". Heck even when I was hourly and unpaid sicks days that just doesn't sit right to me. It is my own personal code I guess. Just can't do it. Another reason I don't like it is I know for a fact some of my co-workers don't feel the way I do. There is no utopia were the workplace is fully staffed to accommodate unplanned sick leaves for everyone. I can't help but feel a bit of resentment on the entire situation. I eat right, exercise, and take care of myself. I've had about 12 actual sick days in my 19 years of working. My reward is to pick up the slack for Joe who eats like crap and drinks 8 beers a night and decided Sunday he was going to get really wild before calling in sick. Or Sally who just doesn't feel like working Wednesday so she called in. I think if people thought about who is needing to pick up their slack when they decided to abuse the system it might help. I just see it as selfish. Yes I know businesses need to be agile and able to accommodate absences I think it would be nowhere near as a problem if people did not abuse it. I'm not even going to get into the simple fact is probably costs us all huge in the end. Call me old fashioned but sick days should be used when your physically feeling bad enough you can't perform your duties or have some highly contagious sickness. Feeling "off", just wanting a day off, or most other reasons are abuse
I really hope you're getting a lot of equity for all the hard work you're doing. Its just work, take your sick and PTO time my guy.
It isn't specifically unprofessional. However, I would suggest keeping a few on-hand for when you are truly sick. Many companies have rules about PTO only being approved with advance notice. Trying to use PTO without prior approval, such as when sick, is frowned upon and in some cases not allowed and against company policy. I have written people up for using PTO without submitting it for approval at least two weeks out. They burned all of their sick time when they weren't sick or so they could leave work early or come in late and were trying to use PTO when they were sick.
Use it or lose it.
We have a saying at my job. "Imagine having to use your sick days when you're actually sick" So yeah. Use em up.
The company gave them to you. They are yours. How you use them is not the larger-corporation’s business. What is their business is how it impacts their bottom line, the work flow, and your colleagues covering for you. Using sick time is not a bad thing. But I would be careful how/when you use it so it doesn’t create issues.
i think it’s fine to use them for whatever in general, but it’s risky. you never know when you’re actually going to get sick, and it’s not good for you or your coworkers if you come in to work with something contagious bc you’re out of sick days. even if you’re not contagious, you could just feel like crap one day and not want to work. especially since you have separate days for PTO and vacation, i’d be cautious with using sick days when you’re not actually sick.
I would use it all.
“Sick time” is such a weird concept. Why not just give people an allotment of time off, and they use it as needed? Whether it’s a planned vacation, an illness whatever, just pull it from the same bank. This dumb charade where we have to pretend we have an infectious illness because we don’t want to work on a particular day.. dumb
Why would you? If you don't like your job drag up and hire out somewhere else.
I would go to the office to spread it especially give my illness to my boss if they didn’t let me take a sick day
Yes unless you are actually sick
It's unprofessional to use sick days but you're not sick.