Laura's Corner

PAID SICK DAYS!!!

Posted by Laura Beyer on Nov. 6, 2008

Alright folks, normally my blogs are usually on the serious side.  I finally have decided to break on through to the other side. 

Those of us who work full time are at work more than we are at home.  If you work 8am until 5pm your typical day goes as such.  You probably wake up at 7am unless you have children.  Then you start around 6am.  You get the kids/yourself ready and head out the door.  Sometimes you travel up to an hour to get to work.  You work 9 hours and then head home.  Another hour (and a half if you have to pick up the kids) and you get home.  Rush to make dinner, do homework, family time, check emails and then get ready for bed.  Kiss and hugs and time for bed.  Goodnight John-boy, goodnight Jim-Bob, goodnight Mary-Ellen... 

Now, let me ask this.  Who was the wonderful soul who ever came up with full time as a 9 hour workday?  Why can't full time be closer to 6 hours?  Do you not think we as Americans would have an improved quality of life if we had equal time with our families and in our workplaces?  I mean, honestly, how many of us work full time and wonder where the time goes.  Do you not wish for a moment (or two) that you had more time with your children?  How about those whom have sacrificed their entire lives only to be "downsized" within an hour.   Maybe employers should realize that we are worth a couple of paid sick days per year.  Due to the economy, most folks are working more hours for less pay just to have a job.   Employers are taking full advantage of us knowing that for every job opening, there are at least 500 people vying for the position.  They know that in order to feed our families, we are willing to lower our expectations and will "take what we can get".  No wonder we are getting sick.  Stress is the greatest cause of illness within any individual and it's on the rise.

I can honestly admit, I was so excited to see a line to cast my vote to paid sick time.  In previous companies I have worked for, we had what they called PTO, which was "paid time off".  What this meant was that you were allowed 40 hours per year you worked for a company. So, after 2 years, I had gathered 80 hours and the allowed you to take PTO as you wished.   Most of the time, they "suggested" you request your PTO in advance.  So, what happens when you are sick?  It's not really something you can plan ahead for, right?  Well, it's been awhile since I worked with the PTO company, but I thought we could use this blog to our advantage. 

We all know how strict employers are going to be when this law goes into effect.  I am sure they are going to require doctor's notes, proof of prescriptions and things of that sort.  Yet, how do we get around this?  Suppose you aren't feeling up to par, but not bad enough to visit your doctor.  Let's say you catch the flu and we all know that it takes a couple of days to get back to 80%. 

I think it's time we all pitch in and come up with some fantastic "ideas" for sick days.  Yep, you heard me.  It's time we come together as a nation and help each other out.  Even if we didn't agree on who to vote for, the least we can do is assist one another in this area. 

I am sure more than one of us has already used the "relative who has passed away" excuse to get out of work.  Yet, if we are going to call in "sick", I am calling in the troops.  I am asking those of us who may have "fibbed" to get out of work to comment below for the best excuses ever.   Let's work together so we can get the much needed time off, regardless if we are sick or not.  How about let's say we use an "I am just sick and tired of going to work" excuse.   Or, "After 10 years of service I deserve a day off" excuse. 

I will begin folks.  I will give you an example.  One night, 5 years ago, (notice, I said FIVE years ago), I spent some much needed time with some friends.  We wrapped things up around 2:30am at a friends home and I knew I was pushing it.  Needless to say, after dropping off a girlfriend, I got to sleep at 3:30am and set my alarm for 7:15am.  I knew I would be cutting it close, but felt if I took a cold shower, I would be good to go.  I wake up at 7:15am and hit snooze.  I couldn't do it.  I felt as if I had been hit by the 4 hour sleep truck.  I called in sick.  My excuse was that "my daughter had passed on the flu to myself and I hadn't gotten any sleep".  Not original, but it worked. 

Ok folks, I 'fessed up. so now it's your turn.  The more the merrier.  I would love to hear your ideas about "sick" days.  Let's ban together and help each other out.  Trust me, you may need one of these sooner than later..