calling in sick to work

PrairieMom wrote: the other thread about the flu got me wondering about what your job's policy on calling in sick is.
Mine is really screwed up.

Officially , the rule is that if you are not feeling well, call in sick. they don't want you coming in and infecting others, and because we work with patients, they don't want us spreading germs to our patient population.

But, I work in a very social department, where there is a lot of talking and a lot of gossip and everyone knows everyone elses business. Plus, esp. in the winter time when we are so extremely busy, if one person calls in sick , it creates a ton more work for everyone else, so there gets to be a lot of resentment, and people become suspicious of other peoples motives.
Heaven help you if you try to trade out of a shift, then just happen to be sick that day. people will find out, and you will be labeled a "faker" .

And as far as calling in with an ill child, forget it. Esp if you are married. Everyone expects the spouse to be able to stay with the kid. Esp. working the night shift. If I am home with a sick kid all day I am still expected (by my general work population , not management, but that is who matters..) to show up for work because my spouse doesn't work at night and they can stay with the kid. Even if that means that I won't be able to sleep all day, night and the next day.

We have a lot of pressure to show up for every shift no matter what.

Even way back when Al was 1 yo. She got super sick and had to go to the ER and get admitted. My coworkers were angry because I had to leave work and needed to take the rest of the weekend off. They thought, since I would be working in the same place she was admitted that i should be able to do my job and be with her at the same time. I was in the hospital anyway.


I love my job.

coasterqueen replied: We have no true sick policy, meaning we don't get sick days. When you are sick, you are sick. When your child is sick, they are sick. Just call. If it's a time when we are extremely busy Ryan will stay home and vice versa for him. Otherwise if we are both busy at work, then I usually bring my work home with me (i.e. go into the office, grab my computer and work and bring it home). Ryan has a sick policy - so many days, but don't even remember how many.

I am also very lucky that I have a DCP (aka second mom ) that will keep the girls when they are "sick" since they are the only ones she has. Her feeling is she's already exposed to the sickness before they show symptoms, so why fear it? I don't send them if I can stay home or if they are VERY sick, but if they are just sniffles/cough/bouncing off walls happy sick I'll send them. She offered to take Megan yesterday, but I stayed home with her instead. She's still out of school today (that happy, just a cough/sniffle sick ) so she wanted to go to her DCP today.

So our family is extremely lucky to have what we have.

moped replied: Here they are very supportive. If you are sick you stay home, if your kids are sick you can stay home with them....they are very flexible and very good here......

PrairieMom replied: I am allowed 1 1/2 sick days every 6 months, or 3 days a year. but, we clump our shifts together, so we usually work 3 days in a row. So, If I get sick on friday, and have to miss friday and saturday, that is grounds to be put on probation. I don't know how strict they are going to be with that now that everyone is getting the flu and being out for extended periods of time, in my department, it totally depends on who you are personally. One person could miss 5 days and not get in trouble, another could miss 2 and get a call from the boss.

moped replied:
Tara, that just seems so wrong iMO!

If you are sick, you are sick.....and especially in a hospital

I am shocked by that, and it really sucks for you too

PrairieMom replied:
yup. My director sucks. he also won't honor Dr's nots that say a person should not be working a night shift, and it is really really hard to get him to approve time off in advance, for like surgeries and that kind of thing. scheduling vacations is really hard too. basically, they make everything hard. Our Morale is really low.
Right now I am working just unscheduled part time, which means that I just pick up hours when ever I want. tonight is the last shift I have scheduled, and I am really trying to get myself to get enough nerve to quit. I am so scared to be a full time SAHM tho. I detest my job.

moped replied:
Why are you scared to be a SAHM? I woudl think you of all people would be the champion at that! No?

MommyToAshley replied:
I agree, I think you'd be a great SAHM.

I'm sorry that you work in such a hostile environment. I think health care professionals are up there with teachers in that we should do all we can to retain the very best.

coasterqueen replied: Wow Tara, that's terrible. You know though, it's not surprising because I know a lot of people who's job has that policy. I passed up two great paying jobs because of those stupid sick (and other) policies. I'm not in it for the career, I'm in it to do what's best for my family since I have to work to bring home a paycheck - and those jobs didn't do what was best for my family.

If you can afford to SAH, do so, why not?

PrairieMom replied: I'm not really sure what my SAH fear is. We lived on one income all summer and did just fine, we had to dip into savings once, and that was a special circumstance.
we just aren't able to save as fast without my income. Plus, once I leave, I won't be able to go back. I have specialty training, so once I loose my credentials, they are gone. If I were to go back to work some day I would have to go into another line of work, which scares me. Basically, I am sure we could make it, but I am scared of change, and there is comfort in doing what you know. Not to mention the fact that I don't like relying 100% on Dh. What if he were to leave me? I would be jobless, moneyless, and have no retirement, plus, very little social security.

I know all these things are hurdles that I put in my own way, and they can be over come. My whole family would be happier if I would just quit, I am just a big -ole chicken.

boyohboyohboy replied: I think the sick policy for most medical people sucks..ours is you need to be on your death bed to call off and even then with a note from the dr and the hosp...you have to make it up..
and they also expect the spouse to watch a sick child.

they tell us not to come in if we are sick, but I dont think they mean it, they will say you can wear a mask and still work.
I am sure patients love the nurse who walks into their room with a mask on all sweaty and coughing!

Tara, I will tell you that I have only been a SAHM mom for almost 4 yrs now. (wow saying that I was sure it was less then that) but at first I though cool, I have worked hard now I get to relax and I thought the kids and I would have all this leisure time to play and hang out, but had no real concept of what it was like, so when it hit me what my days were like, it was hard and I think I was depressed for a while. I felt like I had lost my sense of who I was, not just mommy. I am able to keep my license and just keep paying to renew it each year. Are you not able to do that?
Where I realize that you might not be able to go back to the hosp you work in now if there wasnt a space but couldnt you go to another one?
I think we all worry about what if we had to do this alone, the thought of retirement and bennefits, but stay at home has really been a good thing for my kids, and it has taught me a lot about myself..and you are so homey and crafty and always doing things to better your families lives, I bet you would be really really good at it.
I do enjoy just working my 4 days a month now, it gives me a sense that I am still more then mommy, and can have conversations that dont involve the word poop.

luvmykids replied: You can do it, Tara! I'm miserable just hearing about your job.

Since having kids I've always worked for DH which is handy for sick days. But heaven help me if I'd had kids at any of my previous jobs.....they were TERRIBLE to people who had to stay home with sick children.

PrairieMom replied:
Not really. I can keep my in order to keep my liscense I have to pay a yearly fee too, plus all the continuing education credentials, and that is totally do -able. but I know that already with my comfort level, that if I left for an extended period of time that I would fall so far behind in my skills that I would not feel comfortable returning to work. Not that I love my job so much that I would want to anyway. I would much rather open a day home or work retail somewhere or something.
I have worked 6 days a month since Ben was born< so I have a pretty good taste of what being a SAHM is like, I could totally do it, and I am sure that I could be completely happy doing it. I am just scared to take that leap because of what the future may hold.

kimberley replied: your job has sounded miserable for a long time. i agree with the others, you are a natural SAHP. i know it's scary to close a door and not be sure where the next one is but it won't improve until you take that step. you are very talented with your crafts, maybe that could be a side income for you. or work part-time at a store you shop at a lot to get a discount lol. staying homes doesn't mean you can't have some sort of income. don't underestimate yourself

boyohboyohboy replied:
I was so worried about losing my skills too! I went back to work scared to death that I had "lost it". the new machines, the new techs. the meds. but it came back really fast.
I do understand though, you work with some high tech machines, vents freak me out, and although I do trachs, and suctions almost every time I work, I am always scared I am screwing up...and then someone cant breath...
so I do get it.
but you also work a schedule like mine, so its not so bad, I just wish you were not exposed to so much yuck...but honestly tara out of all the hosp jobs, you deliberately went into the yuckiest one!!
I would prefer to be up to my elbows in blood, but not the "stuff" you in! (I kept that clean for the non medical people who just ate!) how did you ever pick that profession out of all the medical ones? and you are such a caring person, how come you never went to nursing school?

sorry I hijacked your thread!

PrairieMom replied:
I could never ever ever ever be a nurse. I have a 10 sympathy span. I can tolerate most anything for that 10 or so minutes I have to deal with someone. There is no way I could be stuck in a room or repeatedly deal with some of the people you have to deal with. I would loose my ever lovin mind.

jcc64 replied:

These are valid concerns, Tara. I don't know much about your marriage or dh, but I have the same feelings. When I was a teenager, my father left my mother clear out of the blue to have an affair with her bff. She was completely blindsided and knocked off of her feet. Luckily, she already had a well-established teaching career, but their financial situation was entangled with my father's in a way that still compromised her financial security. She told me then and many time thereafter: do not rely on ANYONE but yourself for financial stability, including your dh, b/c people can make very strange decisions that cannot always be foreseen.
I know that sounds like a cynical way to view marriage, but I prefer to look at it as eyes wide open. I have been essentially unemployed for two years now while I finish up my teacher certification (I graduate in 7 wks---yay me!), and I have to admit, I've been extremely uncomfortable relying on dh to support me. He's been very gracious about it, but it unnerves me. What if he gets into a car accident?
I'm not saying you should stay at your current job if it's not a good fit. Maybe a career change is in order. I'm simply suggesting that you don't ignore those voices in your head about self-sufficiency. They must be there for a reason, rational or not.