Taking sick days is more important than ever. US workers lost about $28B in wages during COVID-19 due to lack of access to paid leave. The number one thing to know about sick days is that there’s no shame in taking them. They are a part of your compensation for a reason.
When I was a young whippersnapper and first out of college, I was terrified to take sick days. We got close to 12 sick days per year and I thought taking them meant that you were weak. I also thought taking sick days meant that they will scrutinize what you are using the days for.
Of course, this was just in my younger days and I no longer feel so guilty taking them anymore. They gave it to me as a part of compensation for a reason. Furthermore, when I got another offer from another company offering 27 PTO days that combined the sick days together, everything made sense.
Some companies separate out the sick days because they know you’re not going to take them. They know you are going to feel guilty taking them. That is just money down the drain for employees. Don’t let them play mind games against you.
Actually use your sick days because taking sick days is a part of your compensation. Your employer is pleased every year that you don’t take them because they won against you. Employees win so much against employees already through paying low wages.
We can’t let other forms of compensation go.
Taking Sick Days: 9 Things You Need to Know
Below are 9 things you need to know about taking sick days. It’s an important part in the money and career intersection we are constantly faced with.
1) There’s no Need to Feel Guilty
It’s a part of your compensation. I get it, you want to make a good impression on your boss and the last impression you want to make is that you are weak. Only the ones with weak immune system gets sick right? Wrong. Everyone gets sick at some point in their lives.
Taking sick days doesn’t mean you have to feel guilty nor does it mean that you are weak. It means that you are a human being and sometimes you need to take a step back in order to recharge. This is different from taking a vacation. This is about taking control of your health and life back.
Productivity can’t be high if your health isn’t high. It’s in the company’s best interest for you to take sick days. Some bosses actually expect employees to work even when they are sick! I’m talking about it from personal experience.
Most bosses and companies, however, are actually encouraging of employees to take sick days.
2) Actually Take the Sick Days
One of my Managing Directors at a prior job had 60 days of sick days racked up. She was there for 25 years and we could accrue 12 sick days per year. That means she hasn’t taken a sick day in the past five years before her retirement. That’s insane!
The chances of her not being sick any days in those 5 years is zero.
When companies give you sick days, taking sick days isn’t a bad way to go. I personally only took sick days when I was actually sick. I had a sprained ankle that lasted weeks on end or I had a nasty cold that wouldn’t cure. When my mental health was affected, I didn’t take any sick days.
That was one of my biggest regrets of my career. That’s giving up free money to the company when the company should be paying me. When you’re younger, you want to make a good impression. Companies use your desire to make a good impression for their own benefit.
Companies work the young ones particularly hard and see who survives by the end of it all.
3) Taking Sick Days Doesn’t Require an Over-explanation
You don’t need to explain to your boss what you’re doing on your sick day. Taking sick days doesn’t mean you need to give a long drawn out explanation nor does it mean you need to present your boss with a Doctors note. One of my coworkers actually did that.
She was one of the fresh out of college graduates and thought she needed to present her boss with a Doctors note. Like she was in some sort of kindergarten. How humiliating. You don’t need to say any more to your boss than, “hey, I’m taking a sick day on this date, all my work is covered by that date but wanted to give you a heads up”.
That’s it. No more and no less. Your boss is not going to ask you for more of an explanation than that. At times, prying and asking more might even hurt employers because you might be taking leave for an FMLA related leave.
When you are sick, you are sick and there’s nothing more your boss needs to know.
4) Mental Health Counts
Taking sick days is not just for your physical health. It’s for your mental health as well. Too many employees refuse to take sick days because they don’t think mental health is a valid day to take for a sick day. That’s just not true.
Companies don’t pay for your physicality anymore. Companies pay for your sharp mind and mental acuity. We are in a knowledge economy where the smartest ones who provide the most value are the highest paid. Our minds and intellect allow us to earn more money.
Not our brute strength and physical well being. If you are disconnected from the workplace because you can’t think straight, that’s money the company is losing. Sick days aren’t these tracking devices that employers use to decide which employee gets cut.
They’re there for you to take so you can balance both the demands of the job and your well being at the same time.
5) Companies Don’t Reimburse Sick Days
Unlike Paid Time Off where it gets paid out, in the vast majority of cases, if you leave the company, sick days aren’t paid out. That’s money you leave on the table for your employer to enjoy. That’s like you paying your employer for the privilege of working for them.
Not the other way around. Taking sick days is essential because they’re not reimbursed at the end of the day. Your boss doesn’t remember you for not taking sick days, either. All your boss cares about is how much money did you make the company during your tenure.
That’s all they care about. They’re not going to care you worked overnight. They’re not going to care you worked on the weekends. All they care about is what recent results you brought to the company and department. That’s it.
You don’t gain anything by not taking sick days. All you do is lose.
6) Contact Your Manager
When you are taking sick days, you HAVE to communicate through your employer. It doesn’t have to be in-person, it can be through email, text, or phone call. Or any communication channel. You can’t be absent at work and expect your boss to be OK with your absence without explanation.
If you are taking sick days, you have to talk to your manager and boss. Especially if you have a transmissible disease. Your boss would rather have you take sick days rather than come to the office, anyway. You don’t need to go further into detail what kind of sickness you’re feeling.
A simple, “I’m taking a sick day today” will do. Your boss will most likely not go into further detail than that. I did have one boss who wanted me to work on my sick day. However, that’s in the bad cases out there. If you have a boss who is that bad, that’s in the minority.
You cannot be a lone wolf when you are taking sick days. Communication is crucial.
7) Take Sick Days Even if You Work From Home
Sick days isn’t about taking care of your physical health, it’s about mental health too. It doesn’t matter if you work from home. If you are sick, your productivity falls off a cliff. You may say the wrong thing to your boss or the wrong thing to your coworker or clients.
Whatever the case is, taking sick days is fine even if you work from home. If you are in charge of major responsibilities, your mental and physical acuity has to be in top shape. Otherwise, you are costing and losing the company more money than if you just took a sick day in the first place.
Taking sick days is necessary even if you work from home. There’s no need to feel guilty, especially since you are actually sick. There are people who take days off during work anyway. Taking sick days is no worse than that.
You have a business case for why your leave is justified.
8) It’s in the Employers Best Interest for You to Take Sick Days
Being present when you’re sick costs companies $150B per year. Not only does your productivity go into the negative, you affect your coworkers as well. It would be one thing if your productivity declines. But if your entire team‘s productivity declines, that’s not good for your employer.
There’s a reason why employers offer sick days in the first place. Somehow, they figured out that it’s in their best interest to offer them to you. Taking sick days is good for you and your employer, a true win-win situation. There’s no need to feel guilty.
There was one week where I sprained my ankle so I was on bed rest for 3 straight days. It was a nasty bruise in which my friends called the ambulance. Three straight days. It felt weird not being at work during those days but I made do with it.
Taking sick days is a good thing.
9) Taking Sick Days Isn’t just for Doctor Visits
Taking sick days covers everything that’s medically necessary. Dentist appointments, eye doctor appointments, and the like. They all count. It’s not just for when you have the common cold. Taking sick days is more important now than ever because the coronavirus pandemic is still out there.
Even annual checkups count. There aren’t many doctors who offer weekend appointments. Many people took advantage of the work from home era and took doctors appointments while working from home. Now that the work from home culture is slowly shifting away, it’s time to review your benefits.
There are a lot of reasons to take sick days and leave for and it’s not just for when you are sick. There’s no need to use your weekend time to do so when you can make your company pay for it. You shouldn’t have to pay money to work for your company, that’s just not how it works.
Even if you are in the proving yourself stage.
Taking Sick Days is a Necessity
It’s heartbreaking to see so many employees let their sick days go without a fight. Taking sick days is a medical necessity, not just for you but for the company’s bottom line as well. Your company doesn’t mind giving 1 day off to you if they get 4 rock solid work days out of you in return.
That’s a good trade off to them. It’s not about the quantity of your work but rather the quality of your work. Many companies are now doing the right thing and lumping sick leave and PTO days together. However, there are many more companies who don’t lump them together.
Therefore, it would be a mistake to not take sick days. The exception is if we are in a recession in which you need to show your company how dedicated you are at the job. I didn’t even take many PTO days in 2022 because I didn’t mind demonstrating to the company how dedicated I am to the job.
That’s compensation I was willing to give up because I didn’t want to get laid off. I hoped my compound effort pays off. Taking sick days is a necessity but that’s not to say that there aren’t exceptions. If you don’t take sick days, that’s not a bad thing either.
I’ve seen so many people legitimately not take sick days.
Even when their company wanted them to. One of my former coworkers was so dedicated to the job that her bosses basically forced her to take vacation and sick days. That’s not where you want to be. You want to have a healthy work=life balance the best way that you can.
Taking Sick Days: 9 Things You Need to Know Shortlist
- There’s no need to feel guilty
- Actually take the sick days
- Taking sick days doesn’t require an over-explanation
- Mental health counts
- Sick days aren’t reimbursed
- Contact your manager
- Take sick days even if you work from home
- It’s in the employers best interest for you to take sick days
- Taking sick days isn’t just for doctor visits
