Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have worked at a large corporate company for the past five years. There are a lot of positives: It's overall a good place to work with co-workers I get along well with, my reviews have been rock solid and my direct supervisors allow me to take the lead on bigger assignments as a result. Additionally, and keep this in mind as you read through the post, I have not missed a day of work over my entire career at the company. While I of course take my weekends and paid vacation time, I haven't called out sick or taken an unpaid personal day"- I don't feel comfortably screwing my co-workers over (even though they have taken numerous "sick days" of their own in the past without any evident consequence). I also feel not missing a day of work shows that I'm as reliable as they come. Unfortunately, and I made a thread about this before, upper management doesn't see me moving far up the company ladder (supposedly I have two years left). One management member who I met with said that while my evaluations have been great, they have hesitations about promoting me, yet have never given me a reason why. Needless to say, I have begun reaching out and applying to other companies while I continue to work.
With all of this being said, I just learned that a slew of events for something I am really interested in have been scheduled a couple of hours away, events I would want to attend in a few weeks. Some fall on my off days, but some do not. Because my iron man streak and good work seem to have little effect on my progression within the company, I am considering breaking the streak and calling out sick/taking personal days if I cannot get a co-worker to swap work days with me so that I can attend. If I cannot get the schedule swaps I need, I would be calling out once or so a week (not frequently). For what it's worth, I might not need to call out at all, making this moot. The absolute most would be four times over the three week span, none of which would be on consecutive days.
My question to the forum: how many "sick/personal days" would make management want to question it? There's no way they could question me the first time since I have never called out in five years, but I presume they could if it happens enough times. I am not accustomed to calling out sick, as I only missed one day of classes in college for a funeral and have never missed a day at previous jobs/internships, so I am unsure how this sort of thing actually works.
Sick days over three usually requires a doctor's note... or a reason.
Personal time, who cares?
But never taking vacation doesn't make you a better employee... they give you the time so take it. If they wanted people to stay at work, they wouldn't give it
Sick days over three usually requires a doctor's note... or a reason.
Personal time, who cares?
But never taking vacation doesn't make you a better employee... they give you the time so take it. If they wanted people to stay at work, they wouldn't give it
Two things I should clarify:
- Three days in a row requires a doctor's note. I wouldn't even be taking two days off in a row (more like once a week).
- The company gives us three weeks paid vacation. I use all of that. The sick/personal days exist, but I doubt it's recommended you use all of those days.
No one there cares that you are the Cal Ripken of the office.
You're employee handbook should tell you what the attendance policy is and how you many occurrences you can get before a write up.. Use that as a guide for yourself.
It would certainly raise eyebrows, especially since you don't miss work. You'd have to consult policy to determine whether you would be in violation of policy for the days themselves. Calling in sick and going to an event should be a violation of policy. There is a difference between sick days and personal days. Sick days are for calling in sick, going to the doc, etc. Personal days are for whatever you want, but typically need to be pre-approved. Or do you just have a pool of "whatever" unpaid days? What will you be using?
As an aside, getting your work done on time means you are reliable. Never taking a sick day doesn't get you any extra points unless your boss is one of those who has never taken a sick day either.
I read through the employee handbook, and oddly this nugget of information is not mentioned. All it explains is the protocol when calling out. Therefore, I'm not sure what would result in action. What I do know is that, as mentioned in the OP, co-workers of mine have called out when they're not actually sick, and none of them appear to have been severely disciplined for it (despite what the perception the company gives out might be).
You're over-thinking it. Mix it up. A sick day one week, a vacation day the next, a personal day the third. But beware that management may take notice of a change of pattern in their rock-solid employee.
I think my hubby has taken 1 sick day in almost 20 years. You know what, that's his "thing", his mental issue. He won't get promoted, a raise or even a pat on the back for it (I take that back, he did get some binoculars about 10 years ago!). Mgmt encourages days off. So, take your days. Never calling in sick or never calling out doesn't make or break your career progression, your mgmt and company culture do.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
