Comments on No Debt MBA: Sick leave

I was a teacher for 4 years and we got 10 sick day...

2011-11-18T14:42:15.937-08:00

I was a teacher for 4 years and we got 10 sick days a year. Especially being around germy kids, these were essential. I would never want to work at a place where management can't recognize the economic and morale costs stemming from employees who have to choose between their health and their money.

While I think sick days are essential, even for use as "mental health" days, I do think management needs to be careful about how they message to staff the proper use of these days, and how they keep track of sick day use. I think it is important that employees are invested in coming to work every day, and management should a) provide some kind of incentive to have perfect attendance b) forestall sick day use by implementing sustainable work practices (sane hours, flexibility with remote work if possible, incentives to eating right or exercising, etc), c) show some kind of awareness about who is working and who isn't and d) meet with employees who use a lot of sick days to make sure they are ok--support them if they need it, or warn them if they abuse it.

I receive 10 days of sick leave or personal absenc...

2011-11-17T18:14:09.932-08:00

I receive 10 days of sick leave or personal absence a year. I d o not use it and I accumulate it to use toward retirement. In 11 years, I accumulated 115 days.

My company's HR department sends out emails re...

2011-11-17T16:00:30.904-08:00

My company's HR department sends out emails reminding office staff to stay home when we're sick. Thing is, we don't get paid for staying home. And there's still work to be done. I wish I had the luxury!

It really irks me when companies don't allow s...

2011-11-17T14:35:13.719-08:00

It really irks me when companies don't allow sick leave. There is nothing worse than a co-worker dragging themselves in and spreading sick everywhere. My husband has an auto-immune disease and being forced to work around sick people is especially hard on him. Productivity goes down on all level when you have that kind of energy in the office. I think it goes back to work/life balance... if you can't even take a legitimate sick day then something is out of wack on a value level for me. Too much corporate-think and not enough give and take.

My husband had unlimited sick leave at the last job he worked at and because he valued and felt valued by the organization he never abused that policy. Again, I think it goes back to creating an environment of trust and give and take with employees.