Posted on 06/11/2002 8:28:37 AM PDT by BIOMAN
Seriously though, in my line of work, I am ordered home if sick, and for good reason. I work with severely physically challenged children. They are in wheelchairs, many in the slow process of dying, and a simple 3 day cold for us, can stay in their system for a month.
We are given 10 sick days a year, but most of us don't use them all up. But, we also have substitutes in the system to cover us when we are out.
I would rather be accused by some of being a wimp for staying home with influenza, but I would feel worse if one of my kids perished as a result of it. One of my students this year did pass away from a chronic congestion problem. He got the bug a week before school started in September, never could fight it off, and passed Dec 23, 2001.
Off topic a bit, I know, but there is a time when you should stay home when ill.
Well, I chose to go to work sick instead of getting fired. After vomiting all over a customer's groceries for the second time, he finally admitted I was sick and told me I could go home if I wanted to.
From the way you describe your management style, I would rather work for him than for you, and he was the biggest A--hole I've ever had the displeasure to work for. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you're not a nice guy, you probably are. But have you ever considered taking some courses in personnel management? Reading your posts, I can't help but think about all the times I've heard my grandmother say that "you can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar."
In the 5 years he's been with the company, he's taken exactly 4 days of sick leave, all due to his admittance into the hospital.
Taking things too far can go both ways.
That said, I have no doubt whatsoever that my employees are very happy with me as their manager. We have a very positive working environment and we all like coming to work each day (which probably explains more than anything else the good attendance in my department). I am a "hands-off" manager. You come in every day and do your job, and I don't hassle you. That's the way I prefer it. I don't like being a babysitter. I like to be around self-starters with positive attitudes who are dedicated to doing a good job and don't need a lot of supervisory intervention.
After all, the key to any manager's success is to surround himself with good people. I don't need to infect my department with people who have a poor work ethic and lousy attitudes. (I'm not talking about you, I'm just making a general statement.)
We don't have a "company doctor." My breaking point with this individual was that he reinjured himself by jumping on a trampoline just as he was about to return to work from his third medical leave in three years. To boot, he was a mediocre performer when he was at work. You think I am dancing on his grave? You should have seen how happy his co-workers were when they learned that he was gone for good and that we could finally replace him with somebody who could pull his own weight. They were far happier about it (his termination) than I was.
When doing vacation schedules, I try to build in a tolerance for "reasonable" sick time but when two guys call out on the same day, it can be a real killer!
That is not considered "sick" time but personal time. From time to time, I will have an employee stay home with the child and I do not hold it against the employee, especially a good one.
I've worked for companies that called it sick and I've worked for companies that called it personal. The company I work for now doesn't call it anything. Because I'm salaried (Finally!), I don't accrue sick or personal leave like those on wage. If I or one of my kids gets sick, I just shoot an email to my manager and take the time off that I need. The assumption is that if you're on salary you'll make up the time later, and I do--in spades. But the last company I worked for would have severely reprimanded me if I had taken that much time to stay home with one of my kids.
I have never had a pregnant employee arrive two hours late two weeks in a row.
This actually happened to one of my co-workers about 17 years ago. Fortunately, we didn't have the same supervisor as she was fired for excessive tardiness and absenteeism. In his defense, however, I have to say that she was in a position where it was important for her to be punctual, though I think had he wanted to he could have found someone else to cover for her during the time she was sick. Like I said, I didn't work for him, but people I knew who did were deathly afraid of him.
A year ago, I had an employee fighting breast cancer. She had to miss a significant amount of time for radiation treatments over a period of six months. She is an outstanding performer who never had a problem with sick time. She still managed to get her job done during that time.
Years ago I had a manager who had a rare thyroid disease that made him feel very lethargic. Yet four days a week he managed to arrive at the office before me and sign off on all the things I had left for him on his desk the day before. On Tuesdays he would drive to another city for his weekly treatment. He had the sick time to cover it, so it wasn't an issue to the company, and he made sure his responsibilities were covered during his absence.
On the other hand, I once had a technician who went out on medical leave three years in a row for "back problems", always during the summer.
Hmmm....this sounds like my ex. He went on medical leave twice in one year for "heart problems" when the real problem was alcoholism. When he had used up all of his sick leave and was about to be terminated for absenteeism he tried applying for disability, but he died (suicide) before the application could be processed. The truly sad thing is that before alcohol started robbing him of brain cells, he was world recognized in his field and a really nice guy.
When he returned from that medical leave, I fired him for poor performance shortly thereafter, so that he could take the fall and winter off as well.
This might surprise you, but I think you did the right thing.
I don't...when I'm sick. In my line of work (courier) performance reviews are affected by absenteeism and tardiness. We are alotted a certain amount, and whatever is not used is paid to us at the end of the year.
It's not the end of the world in my business when people are sick. We have people whose job it is to fill in wherever there is a gap. Also the mechanics of my job are such that I can leave it for vacation and have no piled up work upon return. I realize most jobs are more affected by sick calls than mine.
What is funny, though, is the pride I've seen diplayed by the folks who "never call in". And the hypocrisy displayed when, next week, they call in. What they mean by their criticisms of sick calls is: It's okay when "I" do it! (I'll take your word for it that you don't call in. It's just your hard-line attitude that reminds me of people I've observed through the years. You may just be a tough old boot who needs to cut the wussies some slack?)
*An employee needing to stay home for 3 days with a sick child.
That is not considered "sick" time but personal time. From time to time, I will have an employee stay home with the child and I do not hold it against the employee, especially a good one.
Sick kids should be tended by their mom, who is at home.
*A pregnant employee arriving two hours late for work for two weeks straight because of severe morning sickness
Why ain't she at home with her other kids, where she belongs?
That's not to say all illnesses are really related to booze. It is to say that most excessive illness absences are related to a poor work ethic. You are right to documemnt them and will be right to reward those who are not absent excessively. Your company will have the proper information on hand on which to base future promotions.
Last year, I had to go to the hospital with a bad case of pnuemonia, and I was out for 10 days straight. I wasn't shirking, I just have very weak, scarred lungs from childhood. Now, does that make me a bad employee? No...I'm one of the hardest working at my store, and often spend hours after work, off the clock, to fix customer's files and set up print jobs.
Ed
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