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Nine sickies a year? Just one is too many

Ian Wallace

by Ian Wallace

08 Sep 05:40am

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Filed under: Illness, Mental Health Days, Sickies, Work

163 comments

Workers should never feel bad about taking a sickie if genuinely sick. Your first priority is you, your wellbeing and quality of life.

Being hungover is not a pretext for a sick day.

Unfortunately Australians are notorious for taking ‘sickie’for all the wrong reasons. If they are stuck down with flu they often choose to come to work so that they can preserve their sick leave for some non illness related purpose. This leads to increased “real” sick days by other employees whom they infect.

There are the self-proclaimed martyrs who say they never have a sick day even when they are sick. These same people often get angry at those who do genuinely take a day off.

Chucking a sickie is considered by many to be a fundamental right and not a privilege. A prevailing attitude is ‘I deserve it’ or ‘I am owed it’. Selfish workers who do not feel well treated or appreciated justify their decision in taking a day off by regarding it as a non-cash form of remuneration that can be taken in lieu of a pay.

In Australia there has been a rise in the number of workdays being claimed as sickies. According to recent Australian research the cost of sickies on the economy has jumped to more than $30 billion a year with workers taking off an average 9.3 days.

About 2.7 per cent of the working population is on a sickie every day and employers claim that up to 25 per cent of sick leave is not genuine. Among the leading reasons why employees claim sickies are poor management, inflexible workplaces and job dissatisfaction. Stress, anxiety, and depression caused by the impact of the global financial crisis in 2009 was identified as the third biggest reason for taking days off last year.

A migraine headache is a popular excuse for a sickie. A media poll of 2,105 people found 15 per cent of workers who admitted to making up illness to get a day off, used migraine as their excuse. Faking migraines is doubly dishonest. It cheats the employer and puts real sufferers in a difficult position if they need to use sick leave.

The age factor also seems to play a part in sick leave decisions. The working attitude is different for the older generation who are grateful to have a job whereas the younger generation do not seem to care and regard sick leave as an entitlement to be expended annually.

A doctor’s certificate should be a requirement for every sick day immediately before or after a public holiday, a weekend or any other special event such as the upcoming Melbourne Cup. Recovering from a head splitting disabling hangover is more likely the real problem and to claim to be sick is a lame excuse.

Many companies now use psychometric testing of potential employees. They claim the results can indicate which employees are most likely to take sick leave without actually being ill.

Feeling perfectly well but phoning in sick is by any measure dishonest and just a case of bludging on the employer and fellow workers.

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163 comments

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    • up the sicky says:

      07:05am | 08/09/10

      Your article might have some validity if the purpose of life was to surrender yourself like a slave to the betterment of an employer that would steal your kidneys if they had half a chance. Thankfully as an Australian I retain enough self respect to demand fairness and take sickies as needed.

      Psychometric testing has about as much accuracy and scientific validity as Tarot cards. Besides, judging from the sociopaths I’ve worked for I don’t think it’s the employees that need mental health testing. Thank god I don’t work for you.

      Reply

    • Maverick says:

      10:30am | 08/09/10

      Don’t knock Tarot cards. We tried to play poker with them once and two people died.

      Ha Ha.

    • Dilbert says:

      10:48am | 08/09/10

      Agreed. I quite enjoy cheating the psychometric testing that we are made to endure when going for a job.

    • Jools says:

      12:07pm | 08/09/10

      psychometric testing doesnt weed out psychopaths. They can lie their way through anything.

    • Langdon says:

      12:43pm | 08/09/10

      ‘Sick of work days’ are often needed to maintain an individuals psychological wellbeing.

    • hot tub political machine says:

      06:45pm | 08/09/10

      Yup, have some fun with any psychometric testing - just make sure you wildly change your behavior/answers at each opportunity. Enjoy the thought of some corporate slave trying to make any sense of you…

    • T.Chong says:

      07:20am | 08/09/10

      And it is the moralising, know it all, I know if yur really sick, type attitude, so beautifully demonstated by Mr Wallace that would drive anyone to take a sickie.
      Employers claim 25%  sick leave isnt geniune ? what a surprise !
      Any actual research, or just Ms / Mr Bosses opinion. ?
      Unions have fought for even the most Right wing individual to have sick leave entitlements, a necessary fight still, while the Mr Wallaces can still seek to decry this hard won entitlement.

      Reply

    • Super D says:

      07:23am | 08/09/10

      Not taking a sick day when sick should be a sackable offence.  I remember when a relatively junior woman I worked at felt whatever she was doing was so important she had to come to work despite being visibly ill.  The upshot was that she got whatever she needed to done and half a dozen people were off sick for the rest of the week.

      Reply

    • Bells says:

      01:00pm | 08/09/10

      You are not wrong, because of the same problem the flu is making the rounds of my office,,,,, over and over again. i am now sick for the third time in as many months!

    • Front Row says:

      07:12pm | 08/09/10

      With you, Super D.
      I’d extend that to making sure that anyone whose chlldren or family were sick stayed home on sick leave.
      The try-hards come in when they are infectious, but feel fine. Then everyone else suffers. Enough!

    • MarK says:

      08:32am | 09/09/10

      Also the author encouraging people to come into work drunk, or while operation under severely diminished capacity, This will do wonders for workplace safey

    • Matt says:

      10:39am | 19/05/11

      MarK, I think you will find the author is advocating for people to not drink so much that they have a hangover (a.k.a. diminished capacity) when they go to work. Personally if it is Sunday - Thursday, one or two drinks is the limit.

    • toms says:

      07:31am | 08/09/10

      “A doctor’s certificate should be a requirement for every sick day immediately before or after a public holiday, a weekend or any other special event such as the upcoming Melbourne Cup”

      what a load of rubbish. ian, have you ever tried to get an appointment on the same day with your local medical clinic? I know that its impossible with mine becasue its always full of old malingering pensioners bitching on about their athritis. if you’re really sick then your suggestion is to drag your sorry butt around town looking for a doctor who will sign a certificate rather than stay at home and rest?

      Reply

    • TimB says:

      09:27am | 08/09/10

      That’s actually the requirement at my company. In addition to that, you aren’t allowed any more than 4 non-consecutive days in a 12 month period without a certificate, and any periods of 2 consecutive days or more off automatically require them.

      It’s part of the reason I don’t bother with sick days unless I feel REALLY terrible & unable to work (I’ve had about half a dozen sick days in 8 years of employment).
      Going to so much hassle for what is usally a simple case of the sniffles isn’t worth it, it’s easier just to come into work.

    • DMR says:

      09:57am | 08/09/10

      Exactly.  Almost all of the sick days I’ve ever taken have been due to colds/flu that aren’t going to be made any better by visiting a doctor just to get some ‘proof’ for a non-trusting employer that’s implicitly accusing me of being dishonest.

    • NEFFA says:

      10:34am | 08/09/10

      so true, my work requires a docs certificate. All you have to do is say ” i have a migraine, i need a certificate” and they give you one.
      The whole thing is ridiculous, you dont really need to be sick. Doctors know as do we all, sometimes you just need a day off

    • Fred says:

      11:09am | 08/09/10

      Toms - completely agree

      as for the people that disagree - maybe I live in a bad area but I can never get an appointment on the same day.  If I take more than 1 day off then fair enough, but otherwise I find it impossible to get an appointment let alone a certificate!

    • Sick of Non-Believers says:

      11:18am | 08/09/10

      So true Tom…..those Doctors we need to see to get a Certificate are never there because they’re taking that “extra day off” for the weekend or “special” event.

    • Deb says:

      11:22am | 08/09/10

      NEFFA - If you need a day off why not take an annual leave day, instead of a sickie?  If you’re a permanent employee you have annual leave to use at your discretion, so try a little planning and plan to have a long weekend occasionally using your annual leave, not having a sickie.  If you really are sick by all means have a sick day, but don’t misuse your leave this is why employer’s don’t trust employees and start dictating strict conditions for any type of leave.

    • NEFFA says:

      02:31pm | 08/09/10

      deb - annual leave is a nice idea, however at my company it can take anywhere up to a month to be approved, even if it is just one day.
      The red tape involved in being upfront with an employer is a massive deterrent. it is easier just to ring in sick on the day.

    • Cathie says:

      02:42pm | 08/09/10

      This thinking is just stupid. If you can’t have a sick day next to a weekend that would be 40% of the work week. So law of averages it makes sense that 40% of the people get sick on these days.

      People get sick. Most people don’t have life threatening conditions, they get a cold. UNTREATABLE by doctors. Instead you are told to go home rest, drink plenty of fluids. So rather than allowing a person who has the common cold to stay home, get better & not overburden the medical system you would like to waste the doctor’s time. Congratulations you are the problem!

    • Roja says:

      03:05pm | 08/09/10

      We get 5 days a year without a cert, any more and you need to get a cert (or if you have more than 2 days in a row). 

      I also see a chiro semi-regularly, who fortunately can write out a medical certificate.  Any time I get a cold or similar minor ailment, I go see the chiro and get an adjustment, a massage, some aromatherapy, some advice on diet and a nice relaxed chat - all for a whole 30 minutes of complete attention which costs me $18 with my health insurance and no waiting time.

      If I see a Dr, I get medicare and can pay up to $35, wait up to an hour to get 5 mins of time and get dirty looks for wasting their time as I have a cold and it’s pretty damn obvious what I should do.

      Sure the first time I told my team leader I had a cold, then handed him a cert from a chiro he gave me a funny look.  Once I explained why, now he now does it.

    • Sic E says:

      04:57pm | 08/09/10

      Is other evidence acceptable? If I have diahorea can I bring in a sample? How about vomiting?

    • HappyCynic says:

      08:57am | 09/09/10

      Officially I already have the “doctor’s certificate requirement for every sick day immediately before or after a public holiday” but honestly it depends on your manager.  I get leave approved when I tell my manager to approve it because I’ve asked her beforehand if I can take the time off, I’ve got 6 sick days to use plus 1 “personal” day which I can take at my discretion with little or no notice as well.  But as I don’t get sick often I don’t use it.

      Having said that though, I love my job so I’ve very little incentive to chuck a sickie unless the surf is amazing or I’ve somewhere more important to be, in which case I’ll use my annual leave instead or personal day.

    • B says:

      12:17pm | 09/09/10

      You can get sick certs from pharmacists

    • shane says:

      07:33am | 08/09/10

      Australia has less public holidays then just about any other country in the world (second least I think). All research indicates that we are among the worlds longest and hardest workers. Add to that the fact that people are increasingly reluctant to take their annual leave in case they’re perceived as not a hard worker.

      Mmmmm, why would people need a mental health day? Why are they drinking, smoking, taking drugs, whatever? Baffling isn’t it?

      Add to that the politics of dealing with idiot or just plain rude management and I’m surprised there’s not more suicides then there are.

      If someone wants a day off because they haven’t had a holiday in years, they’re overworked and deal with the horror that is the office environment, then go for it.

      Another case of ignoring massive social problems and complaining about the symptoms.

      Reply

    • Meggles says:

      10:41am | 08/09/10

      Isn’t that what Annual leave is for?  Or if you have an arrangement for Time-in-Lieu?  This is sounding more and more like an excuse as opposed to a reason!

    • Mayday says:

      01:26pm | 08/09/10

      Shane maybe in the western world although I think Germany would be higher on the list when you say we are “among the worlds longest and hardest workers”

      Surely you don’t include China and India in this statement!?

    • Marty says:

      01:38pm | 08/09/10

      Meggles, that’s exactly why Shane said that people are reluctant to take Annual Leave in case they’re perceived as lazy workers.

    • shane says:

      02:06pm | 08/09/10

      Mayday. Certainly not.

      yes, I was speaking about developed economies I guess. The horrible soul crushing conditions of people in the worlds factory countries are a whole different level of horror (one that makes issues of sickies pale in comparrison). Though as consumers of the goods theose people spend god knows how many hours a day making, we’re all somewhat responsible for that. Thats a different topic though I guess.

      Again, just another symptom of a society and world that values people less then the work they do, and the money that work brings in.

      Marty, yes indeed. Also, if you’ve had a horrific day, followed by potential stresses at home, and you wake up in the morning thinking that you just cant face it today, asking for annual leave at that point is likely to piss your employer off. Especially if you do it more then once.

      Meggles. Excuse or reason. Its the underlying problem thats important. And as to the underlying problem, see my comment above.

    • Woza says:

      03:17pm | 08/09/10

      Time in Lieu is such a Myth (unless you work in the public service).  It basically suffers from the same problems as sickies.  Employers don’t want to accept that anyone is doing overtime, because well, that’s illegal, and no overtime means no time in lieu.  I just quit a job that just expected that I would do 50+ hours a week for no pay and the very rare occasions where I could get time in lieu just meant more overtime later because no-one else would do the work.

      The government really needs to regulate the whole sick leave thing.  Getting certificates for anything less than 3 days off is plain ridiculous.

    • sha says:

      07:25pm | 08/09/10

      I ust got fulltime work(with same company)after 6 years of casual work at 37 hours a week.No sick leave .No annual leave…what happens?I am run down.Exhausted.And why would I not be?Casual work is a time bomb in this country.we have families where both mother and father are casual(mine until recently).We lived paycheck to paycheck.We just want fulltime work with benefits but we are dying from trying to reach unrealistic goals ..and Miss Gillard..we are tired.

    • WinnerIsSydney says:

      10:51pm | 08/09/10

      Mayday, why people assume Australian has more public holiday or maternity leaves than China or India. Can’t you do some research using wiki(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maternity_leave). Have you lived or worked in China? How many Chinese/Indian public holidays do you know of? Do you know Shanghai has smart Travel card for public transport and metro services in Hongkong works more reliable and faster than City rail?
      Why don’t we treat sick leaves same as annual leaves so people don’t take sickies get paid at Xmas time? Why we are wasting time on discussing this while we can sack the NSW government and start building infrastructure we need! BTW, you pay Chinese $2 flat rate to catch any air-conditioned buses in Shanghai(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Bus)

    • James says:

      10:21am | 09/09/10

      Someone give this man a “NEW”

      I concur, other coutries have a public holiday for the sake of having one.  They laugh at us in europe, people there have told me our hours are too long, absolutely they are!

      There are days where you just don’t want to be at work, and need the get yourself together.  I call them “ME” days, and they work, after which I might not take another for many months. 

      Burnout is the main reason we do it, and usually there is this other thing called ‘life’ that gets in the way.

    • shane says:

      07:34am | 08/09/10

      Australia has less public holidays then just about any other country in the world (second least I think). All research indicates that we are among the worlds longest and hardest workers. Add to that the fact that people are increasingly reluctant to take their annual leave in case they’re perceived as not a hard worker.

      Mmmmm, why would people need a mental health day? Why are they drinking, smoking, taking drugs, whatever? Baffling isn’t it?

      Add to that the politics of dealing with idiot or just plain rude management and I’m surprised there’s not more suicides then there are.

      If someone wants a day off because they haven’t had a holiday in years, they’re overworked and deal with the horror that is the office environment, then go for it.

      Another case of ignoring massive social problems and complaining about the symptoms.

      Reply

    • Graham (Mental Health Worker) says:

      07:36am | 08/09/10

      Mr Wallace, you list anxiety and depression as ‘leading reasons why employees claim sickies’.  FYI both anxiety disorder and depression are mental health and medical conditions and may well be legitmate reasons for accessing personal leave.  In much the same way that taking time off to fight off a cold can be a positive choice, so too can taking time to effectively manage a mental health issue.  Stigmatising people who access personal leave to address mental health difficuties does not help anyone.

      Reply

    • Sarah says:

      09:07am | 08/09/10

      I wholeheartedly agree. Claiming people suffering from anxiety and depression are faking sickies is a pretty ignorant and offensive thing to say.

    • AFR says:

      09:14am | 08/09/10

      +1. As someone that suffers from depression, I have taken the occasional day off as I was at the point where I needed a break to recharge the batteries. We have an entitlement to so many days a year absence if we are sick, and it is attitudes like yours that ensures taking sick days is stigmatised.

    • Ceejay says:

      01:53pm | 08/09/10

      If you’ve ever suffered a mental health issue you would never say that it is not a legitimate reason for taking a sick day. I suffer from an anxiety disorder and depression and take medication for both but there have been days when I could barely get out of bed. When I did drag myself to work on some of those days I was incapable of doing my job as I was bursting into tears every ten minutes. Luckily my employer was sympathetic and understood. This happens rarely and I haven’t gone over my incremental entitlements but I was genuinely unable to work on those days. People that come to work with the flu are the worst problem as they are the major cause for the knock on effect of making numerous others too unwell to work.

    • Beka says:

      06:51pm | 08/09/10

      I agree completely.  In ten years in the workplace, I’ve maybe taken a dozen sick days, and only when I was genuinely, puking on my shoes, sick.  Then I went through a terrible period in my life, suffering major depression, and three times in a year I knew that if I had to go into work I’d jump off a bridge on the way there. So I called in sick, and the sense of relief was almost the same as physically having a weight lift off my chest - I could breathe! To say that I should have gone into work anyway, because I wasn’t showing any physical signs of illness is almost criminally negligent.

    • Kate says:

      10:13pm | 08/09/10

      I completely agree Graham. I have anxiety and depression and there have been times when I haven’t been able to get out of bed, let alone work. If I did manage to get to work, I’d be a complete mess and utterly useless to the company - sometimes it’s better to take the day and try and recover from being really low rather than make yourself worse.

    • Hermano says:

      07:54am | 08/09/10

      Cutting edge commentary there.  Really gives those bludgers something to think about.

      Reply

    • Juice says:

      11:06am | 08/09/10

      Yeah I agree, yes sometimes some people need a day off but lets stop kidding ourselves, people take sickies all the time because they cant be bothered going to work and no other reason. I think thats what this article is about and the inconveniece that it caused to managers AND coworkers when poeple flippantly take unnecessary days off

    • KH says:

      08:10am | 08/09/10

      I’ve known people at work who have told me days in advance they are having a sick day ‘next wednesday’ and so on.  And yes, when they are really sick, they come in and complain all day, whilst spreading their germs around so the rest of us get sick.  There is one person I know who has at least 1 day off every fortnight and treats sick days like RDOs.  I know another whose company is a little slack, and they don’t even bother to put in the sick day on the system, so they extend them by up to 5 days a year (he bragged about it, thats how I know).  Apart from being just wrong, it also puts pressure on the rest of their team to carry their workload whilst they swan around doing whatever, and makes others more resentful/unhappy about their jobs. 

      People who do this kind of thing are also deceitful - often they don’t even speak to anyone when they ‘call in’ - they sms or leave a message so they can’t be challenged.  I would like to see the ability for an employer to call them back and ask for a medical certificate where they think it might be malingering, and if it isn’t produced, they lose a days pay.  Employers aren’t running a charity - its their business, and they shouldn’t have to pay lazy people for doing nothing, especially in smaller businesses where margins are much tighter, and a missing person is really noticeable.  I work on the principle of ‘what goes around comes around’ - people do notice, even if no one says anything, and eventually it will come back to you in some way.

      Reply

    • Johnno says:

      08:10am | 08/09/10

      This is from Ian who according to his Punch bio is “Now semi retired Ian enjoys his freelance writing and pursues an active lifestyle with his wife at major ski resorts in Australia, New Zealand and Canada”” Bully for you mate!  The rest of us still in the work force and maybe the same age as you need a day off occasionally to recover from feeling sick at reading your drivel. Sorry we have to share the same city, you are welcome to go to Canada any time you like and leave us in peace.

      Reply

    • Kordez says:

      11:09am | 08/09/10

      @Johnno, another thing Ian has failed to touch on is the growing lack of loyalty organisations have to employees. Perhaps throughout his career there was a sense of pride developed between the employer and employee relationship, depending on your longevity. Now days you could turn up to work and be restructured out of the organisation with 4 weeks notice. In 12 months I was retenched 3 times out of 2 different organisations.

      Large corperation doesn’t care about the little guy, so why should they care about them?

    • Daniel says:

      02:00pm | 08/09/10

      Too right Kordez, employees are treated like commodities and all they care about is how much they can squeeze out of you. One thing I have observed to be true is that if employees don’t feel appreciated they will steal from you. If it’s not goods, cash or benefits it will be time or productivity. Corporations reap what they sow. They just aren’t always aware of the consequences of their actions.

    • James1 says:

      06:04pm | 08/09/10

      You communists might not realise it, but to an employer - particularly in the private sector - an employee is nothing but a commodity.  Much as I hate to say it, Karl Marx was right.

    • Chris L says:

      09:28pm | 08/09/10

      That would explain why personell is now called human resources.

    • Phil says:

      08:10am | 08/09/10

      Ian you have bought out all the union hacks, bludgers of society today. Ian said if your really sick them take a sickie. If your not your only lying, take a RDO or a holiday day off. Only once in 15 years did i say no to a day off for an employee and there were exceptional circumstances to that. If an employee asked for a holiday off you gave it. No ifs no buts.

      Reply

    • Markus says:

      11:04am | 08/09/10

      Good to hear that Phil, but the fact is most businesses/companies do not approve leave so willingly.
      A plethora of excuses is given
      * This is the busiest time of the year (which time isn’t?)
      * We are understaffed as is (hire more staff?)
      * Wait until the ___ period is over (after which they will say wait until the next ___ period is over).

      People are not allowed to take leave, and are often looked on as slackers if they do.
      These companies then act outraged that workers occasionally burn out and take a ‘sickie’ to recharge?

    • Woozy says:

      02:36pm | 08/09/10

      The other thing with using holiday leave is that you have to ask for this in advance, have it approved by upteen layers of management and then HR before it is approved.
      This is hardly practical when you wake up one morning and can’t face the world due to numerous reasons that would be considered cheating by this pompous so-called journo.

    • Roja says:

      04:07pm | 08/09/10

      @Phil - you are the exception to the rule as far as employers go, but a shining example of what a great employer / employee relationship should work like.  You are no doubt reaping the benefits of such.

      As an employee and I have worked with both types of employers, let me guarantee you that I took plenty of sick days (often unpaid) when getting out bed in the morning to go to a sick workplace (eg morale was crap, overworked) as compared to my current situtation where an arrangement such as yours is in place and I barely ever use it as I no longer dread coming to work.

    • HappyCynic says:

      09:12am | 09/09/10

      Markus if an employer tells you that the period of time isn’t right, or they understaffed etc, put your foot down and insist, proving that you can have your work covered with minimal impact to BAU.  Most bosses will roll over in the face of undeniable logic and you don’t need to whinge or whine or create a scene, just quietly take them into a meeting room and quietly, calmly rationally dispel all of their excuses.

      With enough notice it’ll work wonders.  Too many employees are too gutless to speak honestly to their bosses, it’s no wonder bosses think they can get away with a lot of the sh*t that they currently do.

      Also screw what other people think, it’s all in your mind anyway.

    • Bob H says:

      08:18am | 08/09/10

      I have only once ever been in a work environment where sick days are an entitlement and regarded as part of leave to be taken whenever one fancied, that was in the public service.  In the commercial world I have only found the work place to be full of hard working conscientious people, who you would wish took sickies in order to avoid germs spreading to uninfected colleagues.  Mr Wallace appears to have had an existence in the latter and sheltered form having to meet hard targets.

      Reply

    • Anita says:

      12:48pm | 08/09/10

      Hear hear. I’m reading this thinking that I have never been in a job where I felt comfortable taking a day off when actually sick let alone when I wasn’t. I once spent 2 weeks in bed, leaving only to go to the hospital for more tests, suffering from some kind of infection in my liver and when I went back to work (early) the boss looked ay my pale yellow skin and sunken eyes and said “Wow you really WERE sick” !!!! This article just reinforces a lot of negative sterotypes when most of us don’t have the luxury of the ‘sicke’.

    • kk says:

      08:44am | 08/09/10

      I’ll stop taking “convenience” sick days when I either get paid overtime, or manage to get out of work at 5:30

      Reply

    • front Row says:

      07:21pm | 08/09/10

      What kk said.

    • Kordez says:

      08:46am | 08/09/10

      The old man just resigned with over 900 hours of sick leave and was paid out 120 hours of annual leave. It’d be hard to be proud of that.
      I’m a contractor and get no sick leave. So if I want a sickie I take it at my own expense, however if I were my old man I’d have used up at least a month of leave before leaving.. Who am I kidding, I’d have used it all lol..

      Reply

    • Scum-of-the-earth-contractor says:

      10:14am | 09/09/10

      I’ll second that: I was in a staff position for 7 years. Was grilled any time I took sick leave, which I only ever used when I legitmately needed it. I used 20 out of 70 sick days acrued in that time & didn’t get paid out a cent when I left. Then went contracting at a much higher rate (since they aren’t factoring leave entitlements) and have never looked back. Now any time off is my own and none of anyone else’s business.  And since contractors don’t get sick, well I’m laughing…

    • Jane says:

      12:33pm | 09/09/10

      Ill tell you teh story of two males I know. Both were diagnosed with bowel cancer of the same severity. One always used up his sick days as “hangover days” and took all his annual leave every year. The other only took sick days when he was sick and made sure he always had some annual leave up his sleave. Both got the same medical treatment.

      This is where the stories divurge dramatically. The one who had saved his sick leave had 6 months off work on full pay. The one who always used his sickleave found himself having to continue to work and any absence was without pay. He didnt qualify for sockness benefits either.

      Based on those two very true stories are you still sure you want to use all your sick leave when you arent sick?

    • Eleanor says:

      09:05am | 08/09/10

      I only ever took one sickie in my career, and it was the day after my 21st birthday. Karma got me, though - I said I had an upset tummy, and the next day I actually did get an upset tummy, so much so it meant a 4am trip to the emergency room and a week off work! Lesson learned.

      Reply

    • Alex says:

      07:18pm | 08/09/10

      Sorry, what’s the lesson?

    • sal says:

      09:26am | 08/09/10

      There is no longer enough time in the day.  We lead increasingly busy lives and are forced to juggle work, family, social obligations, education and the like with policing everyone else.
      There are people out there, as I post, taking sickies, drinking too much, reproducing irresponsibly, smoking, eating transfats, pursuing obesity, wasting water, paying too little tax, sexualising children, promoting eating disorders, wasting money, religiously obsessed, being athiests, dressing inappropriately, not exercising, driving V8’s, coming by boat, being over-exposed to the sun, voting for the wrong party, watching mind-numbing television, reading the wrong books, choosing unsuitable partners, undermining our culture, not paying fines…......the list goes on and on.  Then again, maybe it is easier, to focus on what I can do, change and be responsible for, rather than fixating on policing everyone else.  Imagine?

      Reply

    • Deane Coxall says:

      10:19am | 09/09/10

      Very, VERY well said : +1
      You can’t always change the reckless and destructive actions of those around you let alone those who are not, so focus on how you *can* help and as long as you have a hard work ethic, and focus on the greater good, you will stand out and people will notice and respect you for it.

    • D says:

      09:32am | 08/09/10

      I agree that taking a sick leave day when you aren’t sick isn’t a good thing.  It often leaves the rest of your workplace having to cover your work as well, putting other people under unnecesary stress when you could organise some annual leave and allow it to be worked around.

      However, I disagree with the article dismissing depression as a fake illness.  That is a genuine illness that needs to be managed.

      Employers “claim” all sorts of things, doesn’t make it true.  And given the leading reasons for sickies were poor management, inflexible workplaces and job dissatisfaction, I think employers need to take more responsbility for their part in their employees’ attendance. 

      As for the suggestion of obtaning a medical certificate - the author obviously doesn’t have to deal with access to a GP in a regional area.  The author also hasn’t ever tried to go to a doctor while under the effects of gastro.  It’s problematic sitting in a waiting room, 40mins past your appointment time, while you suffer from gastro.

      Reply

    • AdamC says:

      09:43am | 08/09/10

      Important point that is raised above, and I second: genuine stress and anxiety are reasons to take sick leave. People should also be encouraged to seek assistance and treatment for these issues, before they result in prolonged time off work.

      Another thing, there seems to be a lot of hostility to this article, seemingly on the basis of a misplaced entitlement mentality. When one sees juvenile Frenchmen protesting about not being able to retire before their kids leave high school, one realises that Australians are less extreme in our sloppy, casual approach to work than some other people’s. However, we could also take a work-ethic tip from our Asian neighbours. They are, after all, our main competitors for investment. I don’t see many Sinagporeans or Hong Kongers thinking they can chuck a sickie whenever they want a day off.

      Reply

    • Colleen A says:

      09:50am | 08/09/10

      I agree with every word Ian

      Reply

    • Joolz says:

      10:10am | 08/09/10

      I can’t bear the guilt of a non genuine sick day. I took one once and couldn’t leave the house because I thought the sickie police would be looking for me.

      But if I’m really sick, I make the most of it. I get onto the couch with a rug, make myself a hot drink and watch daytime chat shows.

      It ameliorates the suffering.

      Reply

    • Brenda says:

      10:41am | 08/09/10

      I hate taking a sickie however i save mine for when my three children are sick and if i don’t use mine i get a bonus at the end of the financial year! So its a win win situation.

      Reply

    • Feed up with the excuses says:

      10:52am | 08/09/10

      As someone who works in a corporate environment, with multi-generational groups, allow me to state my point of view - Sick (or unplanned) leave is to be used for illnesses or unplanned events (flooding of apartments).  Using unplanned leave because you can’t be bothered or because you feel you are inundated with work and pressure, is unacceptable.  In my experience, and I know many of my colleagues would agree, staff take sick days to suit them and without thinking of the impact it has on the business, their team mates, and most importantly, themselves. 

      Learn to manage your time and stressors, and know your limits!  Arrange a day off!  There is not rule in any HR booklet/policy that says that annual leave must be taken for holidays - have a long weekend!  If your feeling under the pump, take a day or two. 

      At the end of the day, if you are THAT sick, don’t come in and infect everyone else.  If you’re well enough to come in, and go downhill during the day, go home! 

      But if you get up, and can’t be bothered, suck it up like the rest of us do!

      Reply

    • hugh says:

      02:36pm | 08/09/10

      Firstly, how is taking a sick day not thinking of one’s self?

      People usually do think of their teammates before taking leave - this is due to people wanting their team mates not to screw them over at a later date. God knows i have purposely organised leave when the team was busy just to get back at someone for ditching me on an extremely busy day

      People usually do think of the business before taking leave too - its just a matter of how the business allows itself to be perceived by its own employees.
      Over the past decade, businesses have removed entitlements such as leave loading and asked ever more time from their employees. Poor pay, no overtime, no time in lieu ,(or if time in lieu - only based on billable hours after the company has taken a 10 hr leeway), no leave for funerals unless directly related (i was forced to take annual leave for my grandmothers funeral) and no RDO’s

      Unfortunately, 20 days a year is inadequate time off for most people now working on average 45 hours a week in Australia (probably longer with the advent of remote email access and citrix connections) - so people use a non-vesting entitlement of which they are legally entitled and fully aware.
      It has been proven that by allowing limitless sick leave entitlement, the number of days taken within the organisation actually decreases, instead of people just taking their full entitlement - usually 8 days.

      Never blame employees for the behaviour - they are human and will always attempt to do something in the most efficient and effective manner possible (ie cramming in study for exams - not the most prudent method, but gets the correct output for hours input).

      My argument is - this problem is managements fault, not employees.

      Smart businesses have adapted and changed “sick leave” to include “personal leave” - it cuts out the sickies and allows the stressheads to recouperate

    • doctrinal says:

      10:53am | 08/09/10

      There is nothing worse than a bludger and a liar.  What goes around comes around you lazy set of people.  Go on the dole and call in sick all you like.

      Reply

    • Chris L says:

      09:37pm | 08/09/10

      Then we can hear (read) you whinge about dole bludgers. I can deal with that.

    • craig says:

      08:26am | 09/09/10

      “What goes around comes around” -  Very true.  So you needn’t worry yourself. 

      Seems though, that you fail to realise that this rule applies to us all.

    • randomscrub says:

      10:54am | 08/09/10

      the better question to ask is ‘why are we working anyway?’. in a country like australia most material comforts are satisfied and the demand to work comes from a systemic requirement to make profit. why? would our standard of living decline significantly if people worked one day less a week, or in a more flexible fashion that saw them spend more time with their families or enjoying their time on earth as they see fit? if so, by how much and is that a worthwhile trade given the social benefits that may stem from such an arrangement?

      most people are here for about 75 years or so and are born into a paradigm which holds the notion of work above all else. i question the value of tying a short existence to pushing levers so as to make ends meet when we have the capabilities as a species to move past such feudal notions.

      the great ideal of mechanisation was that toil would be reduced and free time increased, though this doesn’t seem to have transpired. what we have instead is the ability to produce on a scale never before seen and, in first world countries like ours, wastage on a scale never before seen yet people are still scrabbling to make ends meet. the whole structure is deeply illogical.

      i have spent time in workplaces (both government and private sector) where there have been necessary tasks to perform but also a requirement to sit at a desk until the clock hits 5. if i have been efficient in my work and met my daily/weekly/monthly requirements, why should i then be forced to waste my limited time in exchange for my pay check?  i have also worked in environments where i have been free to set my own deadlines and think through problems in my own way without being tied to set working hours. i realise this is a comparative luxury but i don’t have to tell you which one was more satisfying and led to less stress and greater pride in my work. the idea of working hard needs to be assessed for actual meaning and the question of ‘what are we working for?’ needs to be seriously considered.

      it would be interesting to throw open workplaces across the nation and look at what people are actually doing, conduct an honest assessment of the value of their activities and consider how things could be done better instead of dictating ‘thou shalt work hard and not take sick days’. productivity becomes a fraught notion in the face of dwindling resources ...

      Reply

    • Cathy says:

      07:10pm | 08/09/10

      I agree entirely!

    • craig says:

      08:12am | 09/09/10

      Unfortunately this level of understanding is beyond the ability of most.  Ego, control and self service are the driving factors behind the draconian wage slave paradigm and the transference of guilt is simply a tool to perpetuate it.

      It’s a shame really.

    • Sick of Non-Believers says:

      11:14am | 08/09/10

      Bot oh boy…..can I relate to this one. I work for a large company that pays for sick & carers leave. Only downside is that immediate management doesn’t believe my leave is genuine. I took my case to upper level management & they put in me in touch with our HR Team & our Occupational Therapist, now I’m being case managed for any unscheduled leave. I also have to see a Psychologist every fortnight to “talk things over”. I am one of those people who suffers from genuine migraines & also have young children who always seem to catch every “bug” that goes around. I also don’t believe in going into the office when I have a bad cold so that I don’t infect others. It’s not my fault that immediate management is a “self-proclaimed martyr”.

      Reply

    • jane says:

      06:35pm | 08/09/10

      Taking time off for the children is obviously a neccessity but it should be your annual leave, not your sick leave. I have children but unlike others in my office i don’t constantly take days off at short notice and i do respect my employer.  I have had cancer twice and have had to use my sick leave for that so in the end, saving those sick days by not taking fake ones, paid off.

    • DMR says:

      11:20am | 08/09/10

      It’s illogical to dictate that genuinely sick people should stay at home until they’re better, and then require a doctor’s certificate for all sick leave.  I’m an adult, I know when I have a cold or flu and I know the only thing that will fix it is bed rest - visiting the doctor doesn’t help me and uses up scarce resources for people who genuinely need medical treatment.  So the only choice I’m left with is to drag myself to work and infect everybody else.

      Reply

    • Dani says:

      11:23am | 08/09/10

      easiest way to end sickies would be to pay out sick leave or allow it to be converted to annual leave at the end of the year. or even just half of it, if the full load would be too much for businesses. but if people knew that when they took a sickie they were losing themselves money or another half day off, they might think twice.

      Reply

    • woman says:

      01:30pm | 08/09/10

      Absolutely spot on.

      I have accumlated months of seek leave over a decade plus in Govt but you never know when you might need it for something dreadful like long term recovery from serious illness (yours or child’s or spouse).  Otherwise I might take a day here and there (eg for gastro where you can’t go in but it’s over in a day so you don’t need a Dr’s cert).  Beyond that all my sick leave is used for my child or a quarter in the morning or afternoon for doctor and dental appointments where you can’t go on a weekend.

      Requiring a medical certificate for one day, for illnesses like flu or colds etc, sounds like major distrust from employers, to say nothing of a waste of time and money.

    • head says:

      11:24am | 08/09/10

      “A doctor’s certificate should be a requirement for every sick day immediately before or after a public holiday, a weekend or any other special event such as the upcoming Melbourne Cup.”

      My company requires a doctors certificate any day you are ill. Doesn’t matter if it’s a quite Wednesday in the middle of March. No certificate = no pay.

      Reply

    • em says:

      11:25am | 08/09/10

      I would like to know what the cost is to the public health system for all those people who are forced by their employers to go to the doctor for a certificate when all the healthcare they need is a few days in bed and an over-the-counter medication. Just because they have a bad cold that knocks them around for a couple of days or happens to fall near a weekend.

      Reply

    • Lydia says:

      11:26am | 08/09/10

      I chose to be a contractor with higher pay and no annual or sick leave.  And guess what?  I’m virtually never sick, and if I am I can rest in bed for a day without having to drag myself to a doctor’s office for a medical certificate to state the bleedingly obvious.  I wish we would get rid of sick leave altogether and use annual leave if you get sick.  Then you could cash it all in when you leave.  Why should the healthy staff have to work harder to subsidise the everyone else?

      Reply

    • T.Chong says:

      11:46am | 08/09/10

      maybe the company could employ locums / temps to cover the work?
      Why do so many people think its ok to blame workers for the poor management practices of the company?

    • Deane Coxall says:

      10:21am | 09/09/10

      I agree with that, Mr Chong. Sometimes I get so sick of being on the front line whilst though in their ivory tower have no idea of what we put up with so they can meet their arbitrary budgets.

    • Darren Parker says:

      11:32am | 08/09/10

      I suffer real migraines and was not aware that people used this debilitating condition as an excuse. I am appalled.

      Reply

    • zatnikatal says:

      04:21pm | 08/09/10

      I agree. I occasionally get actual migranes that sometimes even put me in hospital. People do not understand how bloody horific they are.

    • vic says:

      11:34am | 08/09/10

      Nothing wrong with the occasional sickie at all. We (like lots of people) call them mental health days and they are MORE valuable to productivity than anything else.

      Reply

    • Henry says:

      11:35am | 08/09/10

      I once worked for a company where one person in my group took over 20 sick days in a three month period alone.  Other people including myself had to constantly cover his workload.  He was an arrogant and lazy little prat with behavioral issues who seemed to be proud of himself that he was able to get away with it.  Or so he thought.  When they got rid of him they introduced an Absenteeism Policy.  It was unofficially named after him as there was nobody else in the company that such a policy would apply to.

      Reply

    • Smokey says:

      11:46am | 08/09/10

      Personal/Sick leave should be able to be cashed out on leaving the company. It is taken into account in your total cost to the company, so why should the company get this money for nothing if you dont use it?

      You should also be able to use them for RDO’s if you wish, but limit this use to once a month. Mental health days are important and stress shouldnt be excluded from your work related health.

      Reply

    • Daz says:

      11:47am | 08/09/10

      I lead a relatively healthy life and am fortunate enough to rarelyever be sick.  In the past 5 years or so I have probably taken 5 sick days.  I don’t come to work sick.  My work accrues sick leave, so it isn’t wiped out at the start of each year.  As such I have now accrued ~900 hrs of sick leave, that I don’t ever look like using.  These 900 hours are factored into my rate of pay (ie, if I was not a salary employee and not accruing sick leave I could expect a tiny bit extra in my pay packet). 

      I’ve never been one to ‘take a sicky’ to go and play golf or bum around the house, and my workplace requires medical certificates for sick leave.

      Why can’t sick leave be payed out if an employee has more than 4 weeks or something to that effect?

      Reply

    • Peter says:

      12:11pm | 08/09/10

      Building up sick leave is a good form of income protection should you REALLY get sick..

      Like you I have accrude many hours and last year I dumped my income protection insurance, saving me a bit of money….

    • Paul says:

      11:59am | 08/09/10

      In my experiecne the attitude to sick leave hasn’t changed in 25 years. In the mid eighties I suffered from Krones Syndrome which was undetected for 6mths. I was embarassed of my health situation and then shamed by immediate supervisor who thought it was ok to share the details of my sick leave in front of my work colleagues. (In every other year i had less than a handful of days off with sick leave.)  It didn’t matter that the situation proved legitimate, it was all about signalling the lack of trust that such amounts of sick leave bring up in the workplace. It was stressful at the time ( which isn’t good for Krones sufferers). Eventually I left that workplace, I’ve been successful in my career , I’m healthy and not had the need for a sick day in a number of years however I have always felt the issue of trust with sick leave has to be handled carefully and privately from both employee and employers, particulalry with young people and those who are susceptable to stress related issues.

      Reply

    • ana says:

      12:11pm | 08/09/10

      I like to take sick days sometimes because I can’t be bothered getting out of bed..

      smile

      Reply

    • Dean Matthews says:

      12:25pm | 08/09/10

      I think good on people for using up their sick leave. Its an entitlement, meaning you are entitled to do so. I leave for work at 7am and get home around 530pm which means I spend 10.5hours at work (or travelling to and from work), I am awake for one hour getting ready for work, and go to bed around 10pm each night. So for a typical 5 day working week I have 57.5 hours ‘working, travelling to/from work, and getting ready for work’, I spend 40hours sleeping which leaves me only 22.5 hours of ‘free time’ during weekdays which also includes domestic activities cooking, cleaning, etc. Thats only 18.75% of the total time available.

      I honestly believe that the working week should only be 4 days a week. I would almost never have a sick day if this was the case.

      Reply

    • Kordez says:

      12:40pm | 08/09/10

      @Dean Matthews, I’d agree. a 10 hour day 4 days a week would provide great work/life balance.

    • Nafe says:

      02:58pm | 08/09/10

      Dean, Spot on, 4 day weeks, 10 hours a day. I would even go 11 hours a day due to the extra breaks required for that length of time. Bring it on.

    • Chris says:

      12:28pm | 08/09/10

      I’ve worked for a number of companies with similar sick leave requirements (eg. doc cert before a public holiday, etc). As is usually the case when you get sick, it usually happens when getting IN to seeing a doc is nigh on impossible (eg. Sat arvo). Like most on here, I and others have been made to feel like criminals when we’ve had the temerity to use sick leave for genuine purposes - and quite often, be working from home while sick, so I don’t fall behind.

      What ISN’T as flexible is the idea of paying overtime for additional work, or actually adhering to the so-called ‘work life’ balance that most companies bleat on about, but very rarely deliver.

      In one of my previous jobs, they let one worker leave - and didn’t replace them. I picked up all their work (two people, two workloads now reduced to one person total). My hours shot up, and not to mention the fact that like most people, I was tethered to my computer checking emails well after I managed to arrive home, and that included weekends as well.

      Fact is - I burned out pretty quickly. I had no personal time to ‘switch off’ from work, and when I was genuinely ill, I was made to feel like I was inadequate, in spite of the quality or volume of my work.

      Times have changed radically in the last 20 years. With the advent of mobile technology, we’re all in many ways connected to work even when at home. It’s all fair and well to say we shouldn’t take sickies - but when corporate Australia takes the piss and doesn’t take the effort to look after its most important asset (that is, its staff), then it only has itself to blame when staff take matters into their own hands.

      Reply

    • Max says:

      02:17pm | 08/09/10

      There used to be three full-timers and two part-timers in my team but two years ago, at the same time, three left (including the manager) and one went on three months workers comp. I was left alone to carry the department. I have been left exhausted, stressed and anxious as no one else has been hired to replace them. I very rarely was off sick before this time, but now the company wants to know why I’ve had six or so sick days off this year - I’ve told them because I’ve carried the department for two years without assistance - but still no support. I can’t even take annual leave because my return to work off-sider is unable to carry out my duties - therefore ‘no cover’. I have long service due in 18 months so I don’t want to leave. I’m trapped.

    • Economist says:

      12:50pm | 08/09/10

      For starters I’m dubious about the figures. We have an ageing workforce, which are more prone to serious illnesses, such as cancers that require more time to be taken, that will blow out the average. We have more women entering the workforce which means potentially more time required to be taken off to look after sick kids, I’m not being sexist here its just women generally are more likely to take the time.

      What I want to see is the distribution of sick leave days, an average of 9.2 days tells me nothing.

      We have stats that show Australians work some of the longest hours and I believe around $72B in unpaid overtime (though this is a union figure) so that puts the $30B in sick leave into perspective doesn’t it?

      Quite frankly good employers know who their good workers are and who their bludgers are and every employer I’ve fortunately worked for makes theri judgement calls on demanding certificates on this basis.

      The fact is sick leave is factored into your package, so all contractors whining on this site should have no grievances.

      As for the 25% figure from employers, how do they know that the leave wasn’t geniune?

      Reply

    • AdamC says:

      01:06pm | 08/09/10

      Economist, it is not just employers but also fellow employees who know who the ‘bludgers’ are. I agree with some of what you said, but am sceptical of all this ‘Aussies work some of the longest hours in the world ....’ stuff. Maybe when compared to European countries we work long hours, but not when compared to our dynamic regional neighbours.

    • Economist says:

      03:50pm | 08/09/10

      Adam C you may well be right, but even if you halve the estimate of $72B it still cancels out the $30B. In addition what’s the Health and safety like with our Asian neighbours do they have higher workplace death rates?

      Remember that we should work to live not live for work.

    • john doe says:

      12:54pm | 08/09/10

      “A doctor’s certificate should be a requirement” ? i’ll think about that next time i ring every doctor within 50km and get told that there are no appointments available for over a week…

      Reply

    • yakka says:

      01:10pm | 08/09/10

      i bet ians never done a dinkum days work in his life.

      Reply

    • Mark says:

      01:22pm | 08/09/10

      I never used to take sick days because the dread of making the call was worse than the effort to go to work… I then realised that it is part of a full time contract that your are ENTITLED (thats right) to 10 days sick leave per year. Whether I have the flu, a hangover, am stressed and need to go to the beach for the day or just get to bed to late and want a sleep in, should be of no concern to my employer unless I exceed my ENTITLEMENT per year.

      Attitudes like those expressed by Ian are what is distroying the work life balance in Australia. Thankfully my current employer shares a similar phillosphy to me and gives employees 10 ‘personal’ days per year so we can take time off to go house hunting, to a wedding or to pick family up from the airport without needing to fake a sickie or cut into our annual leave.

      Reply

    • AFR says:

      01:50pm | 08/09/10

      I actually think a large hangover is a legitimate excuse for a sick day. You are SICK. How it happened isn’t in your work contract. A lot of company policies (for example, requireing doctors certificates for Mondays off), are usually counter-productive as you are treating your staff like children and are making an assumption they can’t be trusted.

    • Woozy says:

      02:47pm | 08/09/10

      I agree with AFR.  A hangover is legitimately being sick and you can’t go to work feeling like that.

      Nor would I want a hung over colleague vomitting all over my desk because he was forced to come to work with a hangover.

    • Tom says:

      01:32pm | 08/09/10

      “The age factor also seems to play a part in sick leave decisions. The working attitude is different for the older generation who are grateful to have a job whereas the younger generation do not seem to care and regard sick leave as an entitlement to be expended annually.”

      “Seems to play a part?” To you maybe you old codger. Unless you produce some evidence then you are doing no more than reinforcing the lazy young whipper snapper stereotype that every single younger generation has copped from above, including your own.

      Reply

    • matty-boom-sticks says:

      01:34pm | 08/09/10

      “If they are stuck down with flu they often choose to come to work so that they can preserve their sick leave for some non illness related purpose. This leads to increased “real” sick days by other employees whom they infect. “

      If you believe this - wouldn’t then the infected employes still come to work?

      Your talking in circles my friend.

      Reply

    • I'm sick... sick of bludgers taking sickies says:

      01:36pm | 08/09/10

      Taking sick leave when you are not sick is stealing.  Just like shop lifting.  Sick leave is for when you are genuinely ill - I don’t understand why the debate.

      Reply

    • Loxy says:

      07:08pm | 08/09/10

      And making employees work 10, 12 + hours a day when they are only paid for 8 is also stealing. This is a two-way street and not all about how employees behave. Treat your employees well, value them, don’t over-work them and you won’t have a problem with sickies. However, if your staff are taking a lot of sickies then the reality is the problem usually lies with the employer.

    • V says:

      01:38pm | 08/09/10

      I LOVE my boss. If I am sick, I am sick. I was hospitalised with an infection last month and he insisted I take a whole week off to get better. I also had a problem with my neck last year he had no problem with the eight days I needed off then. I think that in the end my productivity was about the same as it would have been if I had had to come into work while I was recovering, as it would have taken much longer to get better.

      And you know what? I would never lie to him about a sick day, because he treats me so well. A lot of bosses could learn from that.

      Reply

    • nrm says:

      01:42pm | 08/09/10

      I once worked for a small company who only allowed 3 sick leave days a year (work choices days). I later found out that this wasn’t even legal!! I brought it up and they amended the policy, but made comments like ‘you must have a terminal illness if you need more than 3 days a year!’. These same managers would come in and cough all over everything and make us sick. Grrrr. Such bullies!

      I only take a sick day when I’m not able to get out of bed. I’m petrified of taking sick days and when I do I feel even too guilty to turn on the TV or read a book.

      Reply

    • jf says:

      01:42pm | 08/09/10

      A couple of years ago I was a small business owner.

      Two policies that I had were that every employee got their birthday off (over and above annual leave) on full pay and every employee was able to take a four personal days per year as part of their sick leave entitlement as long as they gave reasonable notice.

      The result was a focussed and dedicated work force that knew that they could take time if things became overwhelming, people would give me notice when they were going to chuck a sicky and people would tend to chuck sickies at ta time when things weren’t to hectic.

      I really believe that not only did I have a happier more dedicated work force but a more productive one.

      Reply

    • V says:

      03:23pm | 08/09/10

      Amen to that. Treat your employees well and majority of them will show their thanks in their continued loyalty. (Though some people are just jerks and lazy, no matter how well they are treated…)

    • thatmosis says:

      01:50pm | 08/09/10

      Sickies and all the other little perks that employees have had foisted on the employer was one of the reasons I sacked all my workers and employed only contractors. It cost a bit more but I got 50% more work out of them as they knew if they didn’t do the job then they didn’t get paid. The Unions threatened to black list me but I held firm and eventually sold a very good going concern with good contractors and guaranteed output. Not interested in this touchy feely crap that is being espoused here but work for a good wage and productivity without the usual Union crap and corruption and it worked extremely well and profitably for both myself and the contractors.

      Reply

    • My say says:

      02:02pm | 08/09/10

      I find it quite amusing that for the most part the comments on here are not really addressing the underlying reasoning for “sickies”.... Employees these days are being given higher workloads by their employers than ever before and expected to just “cop it on the chin”...because we value our jobs??? because we love being underpaid?????....being overworked is a sure way to make yourself ill eventually, so why not take a “mental health day” every now and then smile It makes for a more productive workplace, so long as this isn’t abused

      Reply

    • Ben H says:

      02:16pm | 08/09/10

      Remember that your greedy employer doesn’t have the right to inquire about your illness. If they don’t accept the explanation of ‘medical condition’ typed on your certificate, threaten them with legal action and follow through if they try to make life hard for you.

      Reply

    • jf says:

      06:44pm | 08/09/10

      Yeah. Selfish b@stards. Working hard late at night, early in the morning and over weekends to create something good. Creating jobs for other people. Risking their own money.

      Stick it to those cats. They deserve everything they get. Luckily, Ben H, your boss almost certainly has nothing to worry about with you as you are almost certainly to lazy to get up off the couch to revolt.

    • Jay says:

      02:17pm | 08/09/10

      You couldn’t resist the old generational bugbear, could you: “The working attitude is different for the older generation who are grateful to have a job whereas the younger generation do not seem to care and regard sick leave as an entitlement to be expended annually.”

      The total opposite is true in my workplace, the regular sickie takers are all within 5 years of retirment and the gen-x & y workers never use even a quarter of their entitlement. And it isn’t just me, all of my friends work with baby-boomer co-workers who take every one of their 10 sick days each year, regardless of if they are sick or not.

      When I was in my twenties, I read article after article in the popular press about how gen-x didn’t have the same loyalty and work ethic as the boomers and now I’m seeing it all over again directed at gen-y.

      Pure lazy journalism, just take all the articles written a generation ago and recycle them.

      Reply

    • Emma says:

      02:42pm | 08/09/10

      You know what? Sometimes you just genuinely need rest. You may not have a cold or a flu, but when you are so drained that its a struggle to open your eyes and being awake makes you feel sick, you need a doonah day.

      I know I have done it (though I have said to my boss its from being tired). Most of us work our bums off at work, come home, cook dinner, do chores (some even take care of children), have sex etc. And then their weekends are spend doing more chores, running errands, doing gardening, seeing family and friends etc… it can wear you down! I am just lucky my boss understands that a day off is better than a week of bad work.

      Reply

    • V says:

      03:25pm | 08/09/10

      Agreed. If I feel like miscellaneous crap I call my boss and tell him I feel like crap and am taking the day off. Why lie? I think he respects that I don’t put on ‘sick voice’ and make up stories.

    • ben says:

      02:50pm | 08/09/10

      A hangover is a legitimate reason for a sick day.  You only need go to the doctor and have him diagnose you as recovering from a poisoning (the truth) then get a doctors certificate.  Just tell him that as you do not want your employer to know about your medical problem with alcahol and he can write for personal reasons on the certificate giving you a completely legitimate sick day to get over a hangover.

      Reply

    • Jane says:

      02:58pm | 08/09/10

      Im curious to know who has been topping up their sick leave with mine. In 15 years of employment I have only taken a total of 8 days sick leave. 1 for a 2nd degree burn, 2 for chicken pox (the entire workforce has been coming down with it for over 2 months and I was the last person standing and covering everyone else so despite having had it before I got it again but only an extremely mild dose. I was diagnosed on Weds evening and back at work the following Monday) and 5 days post ankle reconstruction.

      Yes you read the last one correctly. Time off before surgery but after wrecking ankle = zero (once again happened on a weekend and I was on crutches). Time off post ankle reconstruction surgery = 5 days.

      Unfortunately I dont get sick. Im the person who keeps the place ticking over when everyone else does, but no I would never take a sickie. It is morally wrong in my books.

      Reply

    • Economist says:

      03:40pm | 08/09/10

      You do realise that with something like Chicken pox you may have been bringing a serious illness to your workplace. With this disease you certainly wouldn’t win any friends if they got it off you, particularly if they were male. I personally don’t see your act as heroic to be back at work after 4 day off, particualrly if you hadn’t scabbed up.

      I can tell you now when I died and was back at work 4 days later I didn’t receive and kudos for it, nor for being back at work 2 days after a major crash that occurred in cab while working.

      I’ve learnt from both these experiences that when you have a geniune reason for taking time off, take it off.

    • jane says:

      07:59am | 09/09/10

      Well aren’t you marvellous. i just had cancer, i suppose i should have just taken the day off for surgery and told the experts not to bother with the chemo and the radiation.

    • Working Mum says:

      03:03pm | 08/09/10

      I don’t have a choice but to stay home when I’m not sick to look after my sick child. Then when he is better and is ready to go back to daycare, he has infected me, but as I have already taken time off to look after him, I go back to work sick.

      Reply

    • Damo says:

      03:16pm | 08/09/10

      I don’t take sickies if I feel under valued or unappreciated. I just come in and use the bosses broadband and electricity all day.

      Reply

    • Emma says:

      03:32pm | 08/09/10

      Well sorry but sometimes I just need to take a mental health day and you cant plan in advance for that….....
      Its either I take a mental health day or I take it out on the first person that looks at me sideways.
      Anyway, most work places have rules that after so many sickies, you need to get a medical certificate….... perhaps doctors shouldnt be so willy nilly handing them out to people then….....

      Reply

    • The Sword says:

      03:35pm | 08/09/10

      By all means take the sickies you are entilted to,and remember this…..no one says thanks for not taking them!! Bosses take sickies as well you know….you only live once!!!!

      Reply

    • Brett says:

      04:12pm | 08/09/10

      People do have to remember that Unions fought for sick days so the genuinly sick could have days off to recover. Older workers often accumulate them over many years so that when something very serious happens they still have an income to support their family. They value this leave.

      It is NOT an entitlement. You did not earn it like annual leave, it is not paid out, cashed out or transferable. It is a privilege that some people worked very hard for back in the day. Don’t screw with it.

      (And that is the only nice thing I will ever say about unions)

      Reply

    • nrm says:

      08:42am | 09/09/10

      my father never took a sick day at his job, he had 9 weeks saved up. He suddenly had to be rushed in to hospital and have 5 heart bypasses. He was off work for exactly 7 weeks and had a few spare for rest when he needed it.

      THAT is what sick leave is for! We would have been financially screwed if it wasn’t for those sick days.

    • Vera says:

      04:18pm | 08/09/10

      I have worked as a Casual Relief teacher for 15 years. My weekly income depends on and relies on teachers taking sickies. And Boy, are they good at it. I have become an expert at being able to tell who will be “sick” tomorrow. The teacher who has not done their reports, due next week, or the teacher who organised a school performance,or the teachers who went on camp. Better still the teacher who is angry over some petty issue in the staffroom and feels they have missed out on APT time and is therefore “owed time off. Teachers ,and I am one of them, are the worst and on average out of a staff of 25,20 will take at least their full 10 allocated days each year. No wonder our education sysytem is so bad.

      Reply

    • James1 says:

      06:07pm | 08/09/10

      Sorry, have I missed something.  People taking what they are entitled to is why our education system is bad?  I suppose that you never claim full pay for a days work, either, because that would be taking everything you are entitled to as well…

    • Teacher says:

      08:08pm | 08/09/10

      Not all teachers are bludgers, thank you very much!

      We spend all day surrounded by a bunch of snotty kids whose parents regularly send them to school when they’re sick just so the parents don’t have to take sick leave. Strangely enough, the teachers get sick!

      As to some teachers taking ‘sickies’ for reasons such as having just organised a major school production or been on a camp, I think they’re often fair enough. I took a group of students to Sydney for 4 days - including a Sat & Sun I didn’t get paid for and won’t get time-in-lieu for - and managed a grand total of about 12 hours sleep in that time. The school was good and reduced my timetable the next week but if they hadn’t I would have had to take a day just to get some sleep. When we put on a production, the hours are HUGE, including weekends and many late nights and it’s not like your teaching load is reduced to allow for it. It gets to a point where you just have to catch up on your rest.

      Cheers,

    • TDJ says:

      05:16pm | 08/09/10

      Some employers are just plain morons. I know people who have been made to feel guilty and threatened with sacking for taking time off with the flu, even with a doctors note. The answer is simple, go to work sick and make sure you cough all over the boss.

      Reply

    • anna says:

      05:19pm | 08/09/10

      I work with a girl who has had 87 sick days last year and a further 69 already this year and my compnay will not fire her. It is a different story everytime from sore eye to the flu. Her latest disease is something I actually suffer from and I can’t say she has even one of the same symptoms. I just don’t see how she could honestly be sick everytime. My company stated there is some law that means you can’t fire them until they have had more than 93 sick days in a year - does anyone know if this is true???

      Reply

    • hot tub political machine says:

      05:30pm | 08/09/10

      The Doctors certificate is utter bs. I am lucky enough to have always had Dr in the family or home to tell me if it was anything to worry about - almost always the answer is that I need to rest and have plenty of water.

      Going to a doctor is a waste of their time and mine for a flu when you are a relatively healthy person. Frankly we could both be doing more with out time. Should my employer ask a sick certificate for me for one day off work - they will have my letter of resignation that day. I won’t work in a poisonous/untrusting work place.

      Reply

    • DofC says:

      06:00pm | 08/09/10

      Hilarious.

      I love this kind of fluff, especially the line, “According to recent Australian research ...”. Don’t by shy now, Ian, feel free to actually cite the research.

      The young-people-today generalization is pretty good value too. And all the other major problems with this article—there’s just so much to choose from.

      So, in the spirit of Ian’s rigorous methodology, here’s some more recent research.

      According to a recent study, albeit one based on a very small sample, white Australian males under the age of 40 were found to believe that semi-retired elderly types dabbling in “freelance” social commentary should, first, learn the basics of their new trade.

      Reply

    • G. Boss says:

      06:10pm | 08/09/10

      30 billion a year is enough to build 30 teaching hospitals,therefore the workers wouldn,t be so sick, wake up, the lucky country is only lucky coz, it is the land of the long weekend.

      Reply

    • Wage Slave says:

      06:14pm | 08/09/10

      I feel about as bad taking a sick day here and there when I need it as I’m sure my employer does about the fact their chronic under staffing means I work about 6 weeks a year in unpaid overtime.

      Reply

    • Mark S says:

      06:46pm | 08/09/10

      Any correlation between increased sick leave and increasing work hours? Increasing stress and harassment in the work place? Decreases in real wages? More complex tasks? The simple battle to get to work in the first place now due to over population, under investment in public transport and infrastructure? The complete inability to get a same day dr appointment when you ARE sick due to employers demanding med certs when you simply have a cold and need a day in bed? I could go on and on. A rubbish article written by an obvious right wing nutbag.

      Reply

    • Louisa says:

      06:47pm | 08/09/10

      My husband has not taken a sickie for 12 years.


      He works from home smile

      Reply

    • Alex says:

      07:22pm | 08/09/10

      VW implemented a scheme in Germany where if you were at home sick, you would be visited by a Manager. Sick days dropped by a quarter!

      Sickies are often the only way an employee can balance things up in the face of unpaid overtime, lunchbreaks cut short, weekends worked, etc. My last employer took these things for granted, so has a massive staff turnover, which just costs him lots of money. He doesn’t seem to realise he’s a twat, although a distinct lack of self-awareness is probably right up there on the list of twat characteristics, to be fair.

      Now I just do contract work - no guilt trips, less emotions, just an hour’s pay for an hour’s work. Awesome.

      Reply

    • Gary says:

      08:00pm | 08/09/10

      As a casual worker you get paid a higher rate of pay over a fulltime perm, but do not get paid for sickies, if my boss wants me to stop taking sickies when im not sick well then pay me the rate of a casual..Otherwise i will use my sickies as a extra 8 days off a year as compensation for my lower pay..

      Reply

    • Lousia says:

      09:33pm | 08/09/10

      Your attitude is common - you will never get anywhere Mate.

      Probably voted Labor as well ??:

    • Erin says:

      10:24pm | 08/09/10

      :-D
      Yay!!! Good on ya Gary!
      “use my sickies as a extra 8 days off a year as compensation for my lower pay”
      Totally right!! Lave loading is to compensate for not getting sick/annual leave.
      And to the person who said you don’t acruee sick leve like you do annual leave, I don’t know where you got your information but yes you do.

    • Ancela Superman says:

      08:06pm | 08/09/10

      Talking about ‘Martyr’: 9 = nah.. more. Truth: I work 15 months/year so 15 days plz.

      Reply

    • Louisa says:

      09:42pm | 08/09/10

      I was in management for many many years. I had a few hundred employees under my control - mostly females.

      Every morning I would receive the phone calls from those calling in sick and I kept a record of the reasons.  On average I would receive about 8 calls each morning.

      I found that the main reasons for being off sick were either diarrhea or period problems.  Problem is that most of the women who used the period problem had experienced them at least twice a month !  Obviously they thought I had a short memory smile

      I used to tell them that I would rather they tell me the truth and lie, as I could understand if they just wanted a day off. Slow learners, as they just continued to lie to me. The result was that they would be docked a days pay

      Reply

    • Chris L says:

      10:14pm | 08/09/10

      I have worked in different teams with the same company for a fair few years. In the teams where I’m allowed to joke around, work at my own pace and take an odd day off without question I was very productive and would stay late to finish if it had been a particularly busy day. In the teams I’ve worked in where we were pressured to work more, account for every moment and supply a dr cert for every sick day I found myself listless and completely unmotived and sometimes even felt physically ill at the thought of going to work some days.

      If you’re complaining about the bludgers you hire you may have a legitimate gripe, but more likely you are simply shooting yourself in the foot.

      Reply

    • Kate says:

      10:21pm | 08/09/10

      In theory I do agree with the idea that a medical certificate should be provided when taking paid sick leave (as opposed to annual leave or unpaid sick leave).
      However, this doesn’t work so well in practice, mostly because it’s very hard to get a doctor’s appointment on short notice (and occasionally it’s hard to afford one). When you have something like a cold or a stomach bug, there is very little a doctor can tell you that you don’t already know - so you’ve just wasted their time, your time and your money to get a little piece of paper saying you’re sick.
      Some pharmacists do provide medical certificates and I think this would need to be extended to make compulsory medical certificates in the workplace possible. Unfortunately many pharmacists are also overworked and this would take up even more of their time.

      Reply

    • Lachlan says:

      10:31pm | 08/09/10

      It’s all to easy for some “right-wing” commentators to drag out the old “Australians take too many sick days” chestnut, but it’s not always black and white. I worked at a company where the management was dysfunctional to say the least, with cliques forming in the office, open warfare between the communications room upstairs and the administration downstair, always underpaid, under appreciated and overstressed. I know a few who took sick days off just to get away from there. When you can’t afford to quit and look for another job, you do anything just to get a break from a workplace such as where I worked.

      Reply

    • Mike Barton says:

      08:09am | 09/09/10

      If your a teacher and you have a sick day on a Friday then you loose3 days of sick leave taken away. If you have non cumulative sick leave and you dont take it you just loose it so doesnt this encourage people to just take a sickie . Iam a sole trader IT contractor (not by design) we dont get sick and come to work regardless because not work no pay

      Reply

    • MarK says:

      08:25am | 09/09/10

      Sorry Mate, but your attitdue is whats wrong with a lot of Executives, yYou’ve noticed a problem, okay, Your solution , Blame the worker, why can’t they do better, its their fault,
      Now what has company mangment done to help solve the problem?
      NOTHING,
      set up employee beinefits in a way that gives them an incentive to do the right thing? NO
      Your suggestion is a joke, lets create a rule which will force genuinley sick people stress of having to go a doctor on a day the should be resting, expose the doctor and their waiting room to the infection, waste the doctor’s time, for cold and flu, the adivce would be to gome home and rest.
      Its an epic fail.
      Was the only managment unit back in your day Slave Driving 101: ‘how to crack the whip harder’

      My question to managment whenever they complain, is
      okay i agree this is a problem but what have you as the leadership team done to put the systems in place,/promote a culture that helps us the workers ahieve this, unfortunately the answer is too often sweet FA

      Problem unplanned leave is more disruptive and costly to business,
      Possibly a more costly problem(which you completly ignored) is people who are infectious, soldier on, come to work at less than full capacity and cause many other workers to be sick.

      Solution: Take an interest in employee health and well-being,
      find some way of rewarding people who don’t use their sick leave, while at the same time discouraging/punishing people who do come into work with an infectious illness.
      It’s not rocket science.

      Reply

    • craig says:

      08:40am | 09/09/10

      It’s not really very difficult to spot the pattern here.  Only one side of this argument continues to spread hate and fear.

      Which in my book is by far the greater crime.

      Reply

    • CK says:

      09:25am | 09/09/10

      The business that I run has a very flexible and fair sick leave policy. The last thing I want is for one hero to come in to work with the cold or flu only to affect 4 or 5 others who cannot come into work. Many times I have sent guys home who are not fit for work. I’d rather have one off for one day than 4 off on another day. There are two major benefits with this approach:
      1. It is far more cost effective having one employee off than having more than one off, that is self-explanatory.
      2. My employees understand what the policy is and as a result they are less likely to abuse the system by taking off unwarranted sick days.
      Most employers misunderstand the importance of their employees. More often than not they are the most productive element of any company, and therefore should be treated like a commodity. After all, if you have no employees you have no business. My employees understand this as do my fellow employers. Perhaps the hardline stance taken by suspicious business owners and managers is actually counter-productive to business success.

      Reply

    • Terry says:

      09:43am | 09/09/10

      A doctor’s certificate should be a requirement for every sick day immediately before or after a public holiday, a weekend or any other special event such as the upcoming Melbourne Cup

      WHAT PURE AND UTTER CRAP is the above. 

      Getting a Doctor’s Appointment one is required to book in 2 weeks plus in advance.  You have to know when you are going to be sick at a future date, to get in to see your local Doctor.  Those same Doctors can take time off work during the week plus have their weekends off.  Work hard they do, YEAH.  Biggest rip off con artists ever..

      Sick Leave is an ENTITLEMENT.  If you are sick you are sick be it a Monday, Friday or any other day in between.

      Reply

    • Lunchis Forwimps says:

      01:10pm | 09/09/10

      Sick leave is an entitlement - only when you are sick. My wife and I had not taken many sick leave days over the past 5 years, and then last year she has a life-threatening illness. Was in hospital for over a month, and needed 24/7 care for weeks after she got home. Because neither of us had used up much of our ‘entitlement’ we remained on full paid sick and carer’s leave (carer’s drawn from my sick leave balance). This aided recovery remarkably. One of the doctors showing student doctors around, and my wife’s case, made the point to the students that not all people would have 2 months leave available so most patients and their families would be under incredible financial pressure in similar circumstances.

      Plain fact - if we too had of used our ‘entitlement’ we would have lost our house, and have been bankrupt. Income protection does not kick in until 6 months for us, and even then was only 75% and did not cover my absence at all.

      You should always have enough sick live accrued to take you up to your income protection kicks in - at least. Once above that, well i guess you can go nuts if you must.

      Reply

    • Terry says:

      02:35pm | 09/09/10

      Lunchis Forwimps says…..“had not taken many sick leave days over the past 5 years”

      That may be valid for you in your set of circumstances and employment.

      However, there are many Employees who are retrenched, change jobs for whatever reason.  Their sick leave does not accumulate and is forfeited.
      I would not forfeit any “entitlement”.  Read into that what you will.

      If we all worried about long term illness we would never go into debt..

      Reply

    • Mike says:

      10:13pm | 14/09/10

      Ian, so glad you invoked the ‘Things were so much better in my day’ argument. It’s so reassuring to hear that from someone of your generation. I mean, things were so much better in your day. No wars, no crime, no discrimination and I’m certain no crushing bores from the previous generation telling you how much better things were in their day. Enjoy your skiing Ian ... and if I have made any grammatical errors please point them out to me.

      Reply
 
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