Reason #846 to FIRE

[brewer12345]

I had to go to the doctor today for the first time since 2005 (cold which turned into a respiratory infection, it seems). I felt awful on Sunday and spent most of the day on the couch, sleeping part of the time. Yet I dragged myself into work yesterday even though there was nothing going on and I now work in a place where you are encouraged to stay home and get better if you are indeed sick. So why did I drag myself into work yesterday? Dunno about everyone else, but most of the places I worked at over the past decade had the expectation that unless you had actually lost a limb or were unconscious, you would be at your desk. I can't remember how many times I sucked it up and worked for a week or more sick when a day or two in bed would have seen me better. And now that I am working for a more enlightened employer it has all become so ingrained that my first reaction to getting sick was to be at my desk, come hell or high water. How toxic is that? Anyway, just another reason to insulate myself from dependence on any employer.

 

[Dawg52]

I had to go to the doctor today for the first time since 2005 (cold which turned into a respiratory infection, it seems). I felt awful on Sunday and spent most of the day on the couch, sleeping part of the time. Yet I dragged myself into work yesterday even though there was nothing going on and I now work in a place where you are encouraged to stay home and get better if you are indeed sick. So why did I drag myself into work yesterday? Dunno about everyone else, but most of the places I worked at over the past decade had the expectation that unless you had actually lost a limb or were unconscious, you would be at your desk. I can't remember how many times I sucked it up and worked for a week or more sick when a day or two in bed would have seen me better. And now that I am working for a more enlightened employer it has all become so ingrained that my first reaction to getting sick was to be at my desk, come hell or high water. How toxic is that? Anyway, just another reason to insulate myself from dependence on any employer.

Hey, is this the "dream" job you were hoping for?

 

[brewer12345]

Dunno. Will tell you in about 3 years when I have had time to find out whether I will become bored (major problem in my career to date). But in the meantime, its a pretty sweet spot IMO.

 

[Poundkey]

I can sure relate to what you're saying. Being an hourly paid employee all my life I only had two choices when I got sick.....either have a short paycheck or use vacation days. I always gutted it out. Vacation days are precious.
My last sucky place implemented a new company rule saying that if you took any hour of the day off (came in late or left early for example) and had vacation time coming, they would make you take a full 8 hours of vacation.
One of the final straws for me was when I needed to leave work for a dentist visit to have my teeth cleaned. About an hour total. I filled out the required form for a day (8 hours) of vacation and filled in the reason for time off. Next thing I know the bosses wife comes out to ask why I need a full day off for a dentist visit. Long story short....she wanted me to return to work after the appointment, but was still going to make me use 8 hours of my vacation.
It was a real pleasure giving notice to those slobs.

 

[bbbamI]

Congrats on your new j*b Brewer. I hope you feel better soon...

 

[haha]

One of the final straws for me was when I needed to leave work for a dentist visit to have my teeth cleaned. About an hour total. I filled out the required form for a day (8 hours) of vacation and filled in the reason for time off. Next thing I know the bosses wife comes out to ask why I need a full day off for a dentist visit. Long story short....she wanted me to return to work after the appointment, but was still going to make me use 8 hours of my vacation.
It was a real pleasure giving notice to those slobs.

This is the kind of stuff that can cause some employees to totally lose it. It is so abusive!

Ha

 

[Midpack]

I can sure relate to what you're saying. Being an hourly paid employee all my life I only had two choices when I got sick.....either have a short paycheck or use vacation days. I always gutted it out. Vacation days are precious.
My last sucky place implemented a new company rule saying that if you took any hour of the day off (came in late or left early for example) and had vacation time coming, they would make you take a full 8 hours of vacation.
One of the final straws for me was when I needed to leave work for a dentist visit to have my teeth cleaned. About an hour total. I filled out the required form for a day (8 hours) of vacation and filled in the reason for time off. Next thing I know the bosses wife comes out to ask why I need a full day off for a dentist visit. Long story short....she wanted me to return to work after the appointment, but was still going to make me use 8 hours of my vacation.
It was a real pleasure giving notice to those slobs.

I have been in union and non-union workplaces and management like the above is asking for a Union, and they deserve it...

 

[brewer12345]

I can sure relate to what you're saying. Being an hourly paid employee all my life I only had two choices when I got sick.....either have a short paycheck or use vacation days. I always gutted it out. Vacation days are precious.
My last sucky place implemented a new company rule saying that if you took any hour of the day off (came in late or left early for example) and had vacation time coming, they would make you take a full 8 hours of vacation.
One of the final straws for me was when I needed to leave work for a dentist visit to have my teeth cleaned. About an hour total. I filled out the required form for a day (8 hours) of vacation and filled in the reason for time off. Next thing I know the bosses wife comes out to ask why I need a full day off for a dentist visit. Long story short....she wanted me to return to work after the appointment, but was still going to make me use 8 hours of my vacation.
It was a real pleasure giving notice to those slobs.

That sort of thing is just begging for a lawsuit. Beyond dumb.

 

[kumquat]

There can be other reasons to go to work sick. I'd been with mega-corp less than 6 months when, one Friday evening, I had an emergency appendectomy. I was out of hospital Sunday and back to work Wednesday. My mega-corp was fairly good about sick days, so why?

Answer. I had kids aged 2 and 4 at home. All they wanted to do was crawl up on my (very sore) lap, read a story, get attention etc. That was more painful than sitting at a desk.

I think, only a few people at work believed me when I told them why I wasn't recuperating at home.

 

[Poundkey]

I have been in union and non-union workplaces and management like the above is asking for a Union, and they deserve it...

Yep, but 80% of the floor employees were illegal immigrants and they don't do that. Probably a big reason the company located here.

 

[Poundkey]

That sort of thing is just begging for a lawsuit. Beyond dumb.

I checked that out. As long as you get paid for the vacation time, it's not breaking any laws. It's just that you're having to use it on their terms in a lot of cases.

 

[Midpack]

Yep, but 80% of the floor employees were illegal immigrants and they don't do that. Probably a big reason the company located here.

Here's hoping you're in a much better place now...

 

[brewer12345]

There can be other reasons to go to work sick. I'd been with mega-corp less than 6 months when, one Friday evening, I had an emergency appendectomy. I was out of hospital Sunday and back to work Wednesday. My mega-corp was fairly good about sick days, so why?

Answer. I had kids aged 2 and 4 at home. All they wanted to do was crawl up on my (very sore) lap, read a story, get attention etc. That was more painful than sitting at a desk.

I think, only a few people at work believed me when I told them why I wasn't recuperating at home.

Yeah, my 2 1/2 and 4 1/2 year olds gave me a similar working-over on Sunday. Today DW was feeling well enough herself to entertain the kids for much of the day.

 

[Bimmerbill]

I had over 900 hours of sick leave once. Then got orthodontics. That ate up a lot since I used it for the visits. Then DW got pregnant, so I used it to go the doc appts.

Now I'm using it for DDs OT, PT, Speech and other docs appts. Down to 600 or so. People at my work still show up sick all the time. I am sure they have similar leave balances. Heck, the active duty folks have unlimited sick leave, just gotta see the navy doc...

 

[Poundkey]

Here's hoping you're in a much better place now...

Thank you. Actually I had been ready to retire for a while and was just waiting for a push. That was in March 2006. I'm feeling much better now.

I'm glad to see Brewer at a job that treats people with some respect. I think he deserves it. Cool guy.

 

[73ss454]

My last gig lasted 20 years and I only called in sick one time. I have walking pheumonia for 6 weeks and it was so bad that one Monday I got into work, held onto my desk as it spun around the room. Dragged myself home and stayed in bed for 1 week. I should have stayed in bed for the 6 weeks but being on commission changes the rules to the game.

Once I had a knee operation on Friday afternoon and was at work for my 12 hour day come Monday morning.

No sick days, personal days, vacation days or anything else. Man am I glad that's over with.

 

[brewer12345]

The Soviets used to "market" a guy named Alexei Stakhanov, a steelworker who most historians think was not a real person. Supposedly he routinely worked X days in a row around the clock in a steel mill doing heavy labor and he was held up as a model for the workers of the USSR. They even awarded medals to "Stakhanovites" for performing similar feats in the workplace. Amazing to think that we have perhaps surpassed even that ridiculous nonsense.

 

[ChrisC]

Alexei Stakhanov had nothing on Arthur Winston, the U.S. Employee of the 20th Century. Arthur Winston - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[brewer12345]

Yeah, but I bet they never made old Arthur tote around a blackberry so that he could be pestered at all hours.

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

Yep, but 80% of the floor employees were illegal immigrants and they don't do that. Probably a big reason the company located here.

Call the INS or whatever they renamed the alphabet soup.

 

[Purron]

Hey Brewer, I hope you feel better soon. I can't tell you how many times I drug myself into work when I was sick or risked life and limb getting into the office in a snowstorm. Take care of yourself dude.

 

[Dawg52]

Well I'm doing the opposite now. Doing nothing. And I'm better at doing this than any job I ever had.

 

[Nords]

Dunno. Will tell you in about 3 years when I have had time to find out whether I will become bored (major problem in my career to date). But in the meantime, its a pretty sweet spot IMO.

I've had boring workdays and exciting workdays.

Boring is better.

Heck, the active duty folks have unlimited sick leave, just gotta see the navy doc...

In the Navy that's known as "preventive medicine"...

 

[Moemg]

The weird thing is since I retired I rarely get sick . After all those years of dragging myself in when I was sick and now that I can stay home if needed I do not need it . How is that for karma ?

 

[Sarah in SC]

Brewer, congrats on the new job, and if you get bored in 3 years (I do that, too), then move again! Enjoy it while it is interesting and before the sucky parts start getting noticeable.
I never take sick days, but I generally am pretty healthy anyway. I do take about 4 weeks or so of vacation every year, though. Not all at once, and I don't exactly keep track of how many days.