Is this silly of me?

[JoitheArtist]

Ok, so this morning I called in sick to work. I'll spare you the medical details, suffice to say it involved a nearly-sleepless night, mad dashes to the bathroom every hour, and this morning, I have no food left anywhere in my system.

And yet, I feel guilty about calling in. I keep thinking, 'Well, I could go in, it's not like I'm bedridden or anything." And yet I know that would be idiotic, because I'd be exhausted, grouchy, and wouldn't get anything done there.

It's silly, really. I haven't had a sick day in two months, and rarely have them at all. I work hard every day I'm there and even when I'm sick, will often do some work from home just to stay on top of things. I haven't taken two days in a row off sick since last winter when I completely lost my voice along with getting a horrible cough.

And even with all this, I still feel guilty about it. RARGH.

Am I the only one who feels guilty about calling in sick for a stomach bug?

[SteeleDragon78]

youre not the only one who feels guilty for calling in, but dont think for a minuite that its silly. i had a killer case of the mayan quickstep and was forced to call out from work. when i told my sup he understood. just remember to drink plenty of fluids and rest for the day. dehydration sux,

get better SD

[katie kaboom]

Nah, i feel guilty on the rare occasions i'm sick enough to call out. It never fails, if i'm home sick in bed, even if i can barely lift my head up, all i can think is, oh i was supposed to do this today, i had to do that, etc...

i somehow suspect it might be a woman thing because we're conditioned to take care of everything and everyone before ourselves. As a gender, we're cursed

[XCashier]

i somehow suspect it might be a woman thing because we're conditioned to take care of everything and everyone before ourselves. As a gender, we're cursed

Marla's going through it in today's Retail comic.

You can't take care of your work if you don't take care of yourself first. I hope you're feeling better soon.

[JoitheArtist]

Marla's going through it in today's Retail comic.

You can't take care of your work if you don't take care of yourself first. I hope you're feeling better soon.

I noticed that, thought it was oddly appropriate.

I should be able to go back to work tomorrow, feeling a lot better already. Though I did discover that yesterday's spectacular trip-on-a-rug-and-fall-hard-onto-a-stone-floor escapade at church took more of a toll than I initially thought! If it's not one thing, it's another...

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

i somehow suspect it might be a woman thing because we're conditioned to take care of everything and everyone before ourselves. As a gender, we're cursed

It isn't, because I feel the same way on those rare occasions where I call out sick, or even when I take a day or two of vacation.

[Becks]

I have felt guilty about calling out...and just THINKING about calling out.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

First off, no, you aren't the only one. Sometimes I do, too, especially if I know we're busy. Anyone with a work ethic does, I would think.

However, everyone needs to remember this: you can work sick, you can feel guilty, you can let them use you up. And they won't appreciate it. You work hard and are reliable because it's the right thing to do. Not because it will get you any appreciation. It won't.

So rest easy on your day off, and it doesn't matter if you are "well enough to go in" or not. You won't get to the end of your life and say "gee, I wish I'd gone in when I took that day off." If you call in and find you don't feel so bad after all, go outside and enjoy sitting in the sunshine. Prop up your feet and rest. Slow down. Your mind and soul need to get well sometimes, too.

And for God's sake, don't feel guilty.

[draftermatt]

Everytime I want/have to call out. I've never done it to play hookey, but everytime I'm sick I feel bad.

Shoot, I feel bad when I go on vacation!

[JoitheArtist]

Shoot, I feel bad when I go on vacation!

Vacation is guilt-free for me, especially since I try to get ahead on my work before I go. But I hate calling out sick, especially just for a stomach bug or something. Heck, when I had the kidney stone ordeal, I called out sick the day after, and tried going back in the following day, even though the stones were still working their way out of my system! Yeah, that was DUMB. I got sent home halfway through the day.

Back at work today, though still headachy. Feeling much better, though.

[Sparky]

And did you enjoy your night of bathroom visits? Of course you didn't.

Instead of feeling guilty, pat yourself on the back for doing your coworkers -- and even the SCs -- the enormous favor of keeping your germs at home. I know when one of my coworkers comes in sick I want to throttle them.

Aside from the fact that you HAVE EARNED and DESERVE your sick days, you are being generous by staying home. You did the right thing.

[Gerrinson]

I do feel a bit guilty when I call in sick, but usually I'm so miserable being sick there's little room for guilt. I've called in sick to play hookey a few times. Those times I felt guilty. Especially when I was at Six Flags at the top of the coaster, I felt sooooo bad for not being at work...

My boss has flat out told us to call in if we feel we need it, even if it's only a mental health day rather than a physical illness. As long as we're not going over our alloted sick time, he doesn't care. Of course, in the accounting department, you can often do something tomorrow rather than today, and it will still be fine.

[Pezzle]

. I know when one of my coworkers comes in sick I want to throttle them.

Not our fault when the boss whines their way into our skulls. "But caaaan't you just come iiiiiin come on you aaaalways come iiiiiin we neeeeed youuuu bawww"

[Naaman]

A point worth remembering is that if you don't call in you're potentially spreading something to your work colleagues, sometimes it is a lot worse than just 6 hours of forcefully emptying your digestive tract.

It's a personal thing (and we do have it a lot easier over here) but I really dislike 'martyrs' - the people who drag themselves into work, cough up a lung, hardly get anything done, give everyone nearby whatever nasties they're carrying and then moan when the other people are staying toastie in bed when they eventually succumb to it.

Edit - Not a personal dig, I know working conditions are vastly different over there, but when we get Government mandated sick pay over here so there's really no excuse.