Microblog Memes

Too few people accept this

In Europe, there are companies that offer unlimited paid time off. In practice apparently people take less time off than when they have a fixed amount of leave because they feel a responsibility towards their coworkers.

In my opinion, entrepreneurship is a high risk/high rewards game. Employees getting sick is part of the risk, and if you can't handle that you shouldn't be running a business.

I know in the US it's incredibly easy to let people go, in the end if specialist workers get scarce, not accepting sick days will ruin your business. In Europe not accepting sick days is simply not an option.

I am convinced treating people well prevents things like burnout. And preventing burnouts and churn gives you a competitive advantage.

I would like to add - fuck those managers that try to make scheduling issues around your sick days your problem. Over the last few years, I’ve heard of more and more jobs where the manager expects you, the sick person, to find coverage for your shift in order to call out. That is, you’re expected to call around your coworkers and find someone who will work your shift for you… yes, even if you’ve got no voice or are busy puking your brains out. Somehow, this practice has become prevalent in some jobs in the US. I worry about the younger workers who accept this as normal. It is not normal, and should never be normal!

The manager is paid to manage the employees - including finding coverage when someone’s sick. If you ever find yourself in a job where a manager tries to make you find your replacement before “permitting” you to call out, GTFO out of there! It’s a fucked up practice and sane employers don’t pull that shit.

(For all the Europeans reading - yes, this is real. Yes, we need better labor laws.)

I once listened to a presentation by a guy who had this really elaborate plan, based on everyone doing their jobs absolutely perfectly, with nothing going wrong at all. If anything skipped a beat, anywhere along the way, the entire house of cards would come down.

I asked what would happen if someone didn't accomplish their objectives, and he said they would. But what if they didn't? They will. That's when I said, you aren't taking the human factor into account, and he said that the solution is to "fire the human, and get a new human."

The only thing you do by keeping things running through heroic effort is to send a message to management that they can lower the priority of dealing with the issue.

Managing upwards (getting management to make decisions in your favor) means that you can't let yourself be the reason they don't feel the pain of a problem like poor staffing. Sure, you can step in and save the day if you really, truly, need to build up your reputation as dependable/hero, but it's a thin thin line.

One thing I often do as well is try to look at people in other departments and their general attitudes towards time off, vacations, having to leave for Dr's appointments, that sort of thing.

I'll be damned if I'm going to live in a constant crunch time situation, feeling like I need to take lunch at my desk, and put off things I need to do for me.

Especially while other teams are having regular team building outings during work hours on the company dime, one guy takes a long lunch and to go to the gym, and two others were clearly taking the video call meeting while out walking their dog.

Everyone deserves consideration of the fact that they are human, and everyone deserves the kind of flexibility that often is only for business side "important" people.

In my opinion, at a healthy workplace, someone taking time off shouldn't be noticed

It's true and i agree but it's still my coworker suffering the consequences.

I guilt myself enough as it is. My boss tells me don't worry about it and that I need rest like everyone else lol. I'm lucky, I both have my dream job and a boss that actually goes to bat for me. I wish everyone could have the same.

Shit, If a client is even just a little rude to me my boss will basically threaten to pull their account and force them to apologize.

also, by going to work sick, you are unnecessarily endangering your coworkers, your customers, and yourself.

Called off work on Friday because I accidentally fucked up my back Thursday night and woke up unable to move without excruciating pain. My boss left me on read. Didn't even fucking reply.

The only two people who I am putting any stress on by calling out sick the morning of a shift is the scheduling manager who has to find someone to cover, and the person they get to cover if they happened to be off that day and now are being asked to come in. And I could always cover that other person's shift when they call in sick to make up for when they covered for me.

Any extra slack the already scheduled people get told to pick up is on the manager if they do not find anyone else to come in, and that is entirely on those in charge of staffing the place.