This is my first article after I spent a whole week at home recovering from a common cold, something that usually doesn’t affect my work or daily routine has knocked me down this time, between the fever and night sweats, cough and mucus, I had to ask for several days off to be able to recover.
I consider myself fortunate because my wife has a very flexible work schedule and has managed to find the time to take care of driving to school our 9 years old boy and pick him up afterwards and at the same time coordinate with our babysitter for the daily care of our 13 months old daughter.
I think of what other parents or single mother/father would do to deal with a similar situation in which he or she or a child gets sick and need to stop working for a disease as minor as a cold or passing fever. But taking time off work is not as simple as it may seem, it actually could put your financial future at stake or even the well-being of your family.
What do people do if they don’t have family leave or a flexible schedule to take time off?
For most people who depend of a full month of work to be able to afford paying their rent and bills staying at home seems almost like an impossible situation, particularly if your work doesn’t pay for illness related absences or if you could risk losing your job because you or your employer aren’t covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act FMLA.
Sometimes the financial hardships are what make us want to get up and show up for work no matter what, but we have to remember that we are not only putting our own health at rish but the health of our coworkers and people around us. Even if you are not a physician who is going to perform a very delicate surgery you should consider how your job responsibilities could be affected when you go to work feeling sick.
If you are a cab or Uber driver and a headache makes you feel dizzy you should take time off otherwise you would be putting your life and your passenger’s life at rish, or if you are taking a prescription drug that’s making you sleepy and you work with dangerous tools or equipment. Even If you are just sneezing a lot, imagine you are at a restaurant preparing food or even on a meeting with a client while you can’t stop sneezing.
How to report that you or your child is sick?
I hope we understand by now that if we are sick and report it to our boss and take the day off then we are doing our job a favor.
Search online for how many sick days are allowed by your state law, you may not be using them all. Many people go to work even being sick because they don’t have any knowledge of how many days they are allows to take due to illness.
If you are worried that your boss or your colleagues think you're lying, you should call your immediate boss or supervisor right away, as soon as you know that you will need to take time off, apologize for the inconvenience this may cause to your work place or coworkers and explain the reasons why you believe it will be better if you stay home and recover. There is no reason to lie or exaggerate by sending your boss pictures of your being sick or come to show them in person, just be sincere and explain the situation.
Most of the times, your boss probably won't ask you for details however in order to avoid being caught in a lie that puts your job at risk, it is best that you only absent when you are truly sick.