In Sickness and In Health

Does your boss make you feel guilty about calling in sick?

Image Source: MSN Healthy Living

We have all been there, we get sick and have to call in sick. We are afraid to do it and often just go into work. However, when we do call in sick we hear the tone of indifference from our boss that makes us feel guilty and more worried than we need to be about our job.
The fact is that we should not feel guilty.  This is a time when your boss should show concern for your well being and ensure you that we all get sick from time to time and you just need to work on feeling better.

The most important thing to remember is that if you go into work while you are sick, you are not doing your company any favors. Logic would dictate that an unhealthy employee is an unproductive employee. Furthermore, one unhealthy employee jeopardizes the health of other employees. Your co-workers would thank you for not spreading the germs.

Medicine.net provides us with a list of appropriate reasons for calling in sick. When you do call in sick make sure that it is for a valid reason such as a contagious illness. Otherwise, you might weaken the trust between you and your employer.

5 Things you can do to minimize the guilty feeling

1. Communicate One reason why your boss might be making you feel guilty is because he/she does not believe you are really sick. Unfortunately, some employees do lie about being sick to get off from work. Keep in mind that a pattern of being sick on Mondays and Fridays could lead your employer of being suspicious about your true state of health. 
• Give your employer as much advanced notice as possible. Call your employer as soon as you know you won't be able to come in to work. Do not email or text message your employer as this would seem as you are trying to hide something.  
• If possible, send your employer the doctor's note or proof about your illness by scanning it and emailing it to him/her. You can then provide him/her with a paper copy once you return to work. 
• Remember to apologize for the inconvenience and to ask if there is anything that you can do to ease the day besides getting sufficient rest.
• Your communication should be short and to the point. Your boss does not want to hear all the vivid details about your illness.
Communication should ease your boss's doubts about your absence. More so, it should help you towards the road to recovery without unnecessary stress.

2. Remember to breath and relax. Your employer is not mad at you for being sick. He/She might just be busy or short staffed with many other worries.  
3. Check in if you must.  If you must check in throughout the day, do it comfortably and in a way that it won't keep you from getting better. Otherwise, you are not doing anyone any good. Your primary focus right now should be on your health. 
4. Ask yourself, "How productive would I really be?" Think about being in a meeting with clients/co-workers and you are coughing up a storm and looking like a truck hit you. No one wants to be near someone who can potentially give them an illness let alone conduct any business with them. You are at your best when you have a smile on and clients/co-workers feel comfortable around you.
5. You work to live, you don't live to work. If communication with your boss and any of the above is insufficient, it is time to look for another job where you are respected and understood.  If your boss makes unnecessary comments about your absence, remember you are not the problem. There are many companies that understand the importance of a healthy employee. If your boss chooses to work through his/her illness, it is his/her problem. Unfortunately, it is perhaps why you became sick in the first place.

So, there is no reason to feel guilty about calling in sick. You are only effective and efficient to a company when you are at your best. I hope you feel better soon.