What are your thoughts on
“Farewell to the Sick Leave: Has Remote Work Replaced Sick Days?” ?
discuss below.
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The company I work for does not have sick days for their employees, therefore they come to work ill (wasn’t a great situation during Covid) or they were forced to take unpaid time off or vacation days. Employees were not happy about that.
That is so difficult. I believe this is why the federal government has now mandated 5 sick days per year. Still not super helpful when we needed to isolate for two weeks, but it does help.
Since working from home I have taken significantly less sick days. When I am not feeling well I will often still work and just take a few hours here and there. I like that when I am just a little under the weather I can still work and not be concerned about getting anyone else in the office sick.
I can say during Covid and working from home, I worked while sick never taking a day off.
I do find that since I have the capacity to work from home, I have taken fewer sick days because I am working through more than I would if I was going into the office. On one hand it’s great because sometimes I’m feeling well enough to work but not well enough to be around others (i.e. infection control) so it allows me to continue to work and not have to take a day off or use an entitlement. Other times it is not so great, as I am working when I probably should be resting and recovering. There is a sense of obligation to do something when my office is in my home. My employer has not changed their expectations, so honestly it is an expectation I have put on myself. I need to set clear boundaries for those situations.
Typically, if I’m taking a sick day/using my sick leave, I disconnect from work–if I’m sick, I need to rest & focus on healing. Conversely, if I’m working (or expected to be working), I don’t draw from my sick leave accrual.