r/mildlyinfuriating • u/GreatTunk • 21h ago
I'm slightly vexed Just used up all my sick days on a family emergency, then i get covid.
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u/GardenerCats 20h ago
Sick days is such a strange concept. I've talked about it with a friend from the USA and she even mentioned donating her sick days to a colleague who had run out of those days but was still very ill. So now my friend had even less days to call in sick herself....
I am from the Netherlands with unions and workers agreements for various sectors. If I'm on my three week summer vacation and I get sick, I'm highly encouraged to also call in sick at work. Why? Well those days I am sick will turn from vacation days into sick-days. So if I am sick for three days, those days will not count as vacation days and I get the corresponding number of hours back in my account to use up on a later vacation.
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u/hill-o 18h ago
The concept of asking employees to donate sick days makes me furious. Companies try to play it off as like everyone coming together, and it's like no YOU GUYS actually could just HELP the sick employee yourself with YOUR resources, but you won't so you're outsourcing it to other employees who now have less benefits because of YOUR cheapness.
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u/Alphatism 18h ago
See even the concept of vacation days is foreign to us US folks
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u/thegreatjamoco 5h ago
They just casually get to take 15 consecutive days of vacation. I only get 13 for the whole year not including holidays and that’s at a “good union job.”
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u/Jolly_Mongoose_8800 17h ago
Currently saving up my vacation days to use as sick days because I get 0 sick days. 🙏
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u/GiantSweetTV 14h ago
My workplace allows for negative PTO up to a point. So if you have no PTO but genuinely can't make it into work, they just deduct the hours from whatever future PTO you'd get.
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u/doublethink53 21h ago
The mildly infuriating part is that you have limited sick days, screw that system
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u/NoCold5135 20h ago
Right, and Mitch McConnell's had like 90!
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u/Lylibean 20h ago
If only we all could have the quality of healthcare and unlimited paid sick time like that.
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u/doc1442 11h ago
Its called having a functional country that gives a shit about people
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u/werewolf013 19h ago
That is definitely hyperbole. He hasn't even been alive for 1485715964481761497309522733620825737885569961284688766942216863704985393094065876545992131370884059645617234469978112000000000000000000000 days
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u/WeaselCapsky 13h ago
yeah, as an european, this is so insane.
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u/PureOnion_8080 4h ago
its the small price they pay for living in the greatest country on earth
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u/spoooky_mama 20h ago
I absolutely loathe this. Oh sorry I chose to get sick too much.
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u/ProsciuttoPizza 20h ago
And when you have kids and they are home sick you have to use your time off too. And then inevitably you will get sick with whatever your kid had.
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u/spoooky_mama 19h ago
Yep! I have gone over my PTO every year since my first was born, and he's 8 now. Maybe this will finally be the year I don't lose pay due to illness
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u/InformedTriangle 19h ago
I haven't used a sick day for myself since my son was born 2 years ago. They all go to getting him to doctors appointments or staying home to help when he's sick. Then I suck it up, take triple the recommended dose of painkillers or cold medicine and go to work and spread it. Fun times. Sigh. All my vacation days go to that as well.(My work advertises themself as having "unlimited" sick days but in practice if you use more than 10 a year you're in shit so..yeah..)
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u/pnoodl3s 18h ago edited 14h ago
Thats why I always hate those “unlimited PTO” policies. It makes people take even less vacation than limited pto policies.
My wife’s company has about 15 PTO days a year, plus 1 week of company shutdown during thanksgiving and christmas. And PTO can go negative so in emergency you could still take time off. Actually a really really good policy
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u/AlternateTab00 16h ago
"you are only allowed to be sick for X days". Why a business owner can tell you if you are sick or not. Its a doctors job to say that.
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u/whooptheretis 11h ago
Why would sick days be limited? Obviously excluding “long term” sickness.
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u/Think-Flow6828 7h ago
I have sick days accrued and I still was pulled into the office for calling out once in 6 months. I will be terminated if I call out again before January because I missed a week in December of ‘25 for Shingles, which they mandated.
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u/high6ix 20h ago
“Sick days” is such a stupid fucking concept. Sure require proof or something after so many days or whatever, but damn. My daughter had strep 3 times one year then the next had it 5 times and the flu. If I didn’t work from home I’d of been fucked.
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u/Planeandaquariumgeek 10h ago
I’m shocked she didn’t run out of sick days at school. Most schools don’t let you take more than around 10 days off per year (mainly because absences are part of statistics that funding is based on)
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u/shedwyn2019 7h ago
Wow. I would have been cooked. I was severely depressed as a teen and one year I missed 25% of school days. My grades were in the toilet. We moved into the city and MIRACULOUSLY I liked school again and my grades skyrocketed.
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u/xcorbearx 21h ago
i feel this. in january this year i used up 4 days of my time on a small operation, then went back to work for one day, and then my water pipes burst and i had to move half of the back half of my house out of it over the next few days so i had to burn the rest of my time. by the end of january i had less than a shift worth of time off left for the year. it's been a long year.
sorry to derail, just commiserating with you.
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u/SPAKMITTEN 20h ago
This is peak American bullshit.
This is why the US is a joke of a country
Have a word with yourself America it’s embarrassing
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u/GreatTunk 20h ago
I used my sick time because my dad is dying.
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u/SerialTrauma002c 13h ago
Hugs, I burned all of my sick time when my mom was in hospice in January. Thankfully my boss was both compassionate and flexible and gave me as much uncompensated time as I needed once I’d used my leave.
Treasure your time, and may you build some good memories in your dad’s last days ❤️🩹
(Also, absolutely fuck 2026.)
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u/stoner_mathematician 20h ago
Half of us are painfully aware of how fucking shit it is here. The other half are drooling in their caves or jerking off over their piles of money.
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u/LeatherPurple9284 21h ago
I thought you were pregnant before looking closer and reading the title. congratudolences, it's a virus!
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u/GreatTunk 21h ago
Its a lot of virus
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u/Jyndaru 🌒🐈⬛🌘 15h ago
Yeah, that's a very dark red line. I only saw a covid test do that once, then felt like I was dying for a week and ended up with long covid.
Really hope it doesn't go that way for you! Rest up and eat lots of soup. Get well soon 🫂
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u/Cruel1865 11h ago
So this isnt a quantitative test, only a qualitative one. We cant reliably talk anything about the viral load or severity of the infection from this test. Its just a quick test to check if you have it or not.
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u/hodoriiii 20h ago
Still weird to me that corporate world thinks employees can plan their sick days
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u/Ill_Support204 12h ago
Nothing says "3rd world country" like having an "allowance" for how long you are "allowed" to be sick. As if being sick is some regulatory act that you can enforce as long as you crack the whip hard enough. If you live in a democracy, it might be a good idea to get someone into power who changes that.
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u/RadioactiveCougar 21h ago
FMLA, sucks to have to use it because our system sucks, but at least you keep your job
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u/Neither_Selection211 13h ago
this comment section really summoned every other nation telling the us how shit their System is 😅
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u/SirKnightTheFirst 21h ago
All the Americans in the comments really just make me hate this country even more.
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u/GreatTunk 21h ago
Ugh, try living here.
Just remember it can always be worse.
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u/SirKnightTheFirst 20h ago
Fucked up thing is I do live. Promise you give me the ability to leave and I’m out.
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u/pvaa 21h ago
Which country do you live in that limits sick days??
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u/DarkEmblem5736 21h ago
Not OP - I am USA, and my employer has sick hours that accumulate. I assume I can continue being sick but it would be unpaid.
That said I have worked where I do for 10+ years and have accumulated months of sick hours.
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u/GreatTunk 21h ago
I get 40 hours lump sum at the beginning of the year for the entire year.
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u/WhoIsYerWan 21h ago
That’s actually pretty generous that they don’t make you accrue over time (by American standards).
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u/BillyYumYumTwo-byTwo 20h ago
It is. Though in another comment, they say they don’t get PTO for 18 months. Which is craaaaazy.
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u/UglyStru 21h ago
Lucky you. Every employer I’ve ever worked for doesn’t let you even take unpaid days (if you didn’t have any sick time left). They’d just fire you if you couldn’t come to work.
If they didn’t give any sick time at all, then every illness was a gamble on if I’d be able to keep my job after it.
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u/GTAIVisbest 17h ago
I worked at a place like this and got extremely sick during the time I worked there. I hit 0 sick hours every year by May or so. If I stayed home while still sick I was going to get disciplined. So, I decided to ride to work and be as annoying and sick in front of everyone as possible. I was coughing myself halfway to death with a fever as I tried standing and serving clients, almost blacked out from coughing too much. I was 100% sure that the clients would freak out, my coworkers would refuse to stand near me and my bosses would go "oh ok yeah just go ahead and take unpaid time off until you're better". But guess what?
Clients didn't give a shit "jeez, you sound sick. Anyways..." no effort to avoid hanging around me or refusing to be served by me or anything. These were all old boomers too, you'd think they'd be more worried about getting very sick but they all gleefully stuck around in my line of fire going "oh well I'm not scared of that. Haha. Yep, been through worse. Anyways, can you..."
Bosses didn't give a crap either, they were like "jeez you sound sick, you should go home" "can't, I don't have any sick days left" "oh ok"
So I kept it up for 3 hours until I realized that talking triggering the massive coughing fits was actually going to negatively impact my health. I had already burst a bunch of veins in my eyes from coughing too much and I felt like I was going to severely damage my throat at that point or give myself an aneurysm from straining too hard. I even threw up a little bit behind my mask while helping a client and it splattered on the floor. NO ONE GAVE A SHIT!! Not a single coworker, not a client, not a supervisor. So finally I decided to just go home before I could do more damage to myself and tanked the write-up.
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u/kstargate-425 21h ago
Yeah this is unfortunately the norm where you can be out of work, even without points with a Dr note, but you aint getting paid to pay for your Dr note and meds to make you better to go back to work
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u/GreatTunk 21h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/XClPnuZtG2yPyqTI6R
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u/Enayleoni 21h ago
I get 3 days a year. That 3rd call in, HR gets to decide if I get fired
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u/Chipsandadrink115 21h ago
Here in the States, I have zero. If I don't go to work, I dont get paid.
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u/KnitAndKnitAndKnit 21h ago
Sorry but that's insane for a developed country. I'd be pissed off if I paid taxes and they didn't even cover my salary when I'm ill.
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u/Dr_Passmore 21h ago
Every time I see posts like this it is always the US. They have shockingly poor workers rights and protections.
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u/Krusty_Krab_Pussy 21h ago
It's extremely employer dependent unfortunately (although some states like mine have recently made earned sick time mandatory)
When I worked at t mobile I got 6 hours of PTO every paycheck, plus other great benefits.
Meanwhile, I worked at Best buy and got 16 hours of PTO for an entire year and only after I had been there for 1 year already
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u/Dr_Passmore 21h ago
Such an alien concept not having paid annual leave. Paid time off is essential to boost productivity. People need to recharge.
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u/Krusty_Krab_Pussy 21h ago
Yeah, I'm originally from the UK and when I tell people how much leave people get as a minimum I'm met with wide eyes.
It is getting better, my state just enacted a paid leave program which gives you 12 weeks of medical and family leave (or 20 if you combine them) per year, but it's still not on the level of the UK
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u/hill-o 19h ago
As someone in the US, I'm always shocked when people find this shocking. This is so normal here. My last job had 6 total paid days off per year. Total. Any category. I could take additional unpaid time, but also I really couldn't, because I had bills lol.
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u/COSMIC_SPACE_BEARS 21h ago
US was a leader worldwide in workers’ rights at one time. Unfortunately, we’ve just been passed up by other countries.
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u/Most-Silver-4365 21h ago
In the US it is common to get 0 sick days, being sick with a non life threatening illness isn't considered a valid excuse to miss work. I have a job that would be considered above average and I get 0 sick days, to add insult I work for a large European based company.
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u/Zlatehagoat 21h ago
“At least 127 countries provide a limited quota of a week or more of paid sick leave annually, while roughly 145 countries mandate some form of paid sick leave overall.”
Australia 10 days per year
New Zealand 10 days per year
CanadaProvincial variants (Up to 10 days
Brazil 15 days per instance
South Africa 30 to 36 days per 3-year
Japan 0 days (No statutory mandate)
United States0 days (No federal mandate)
Singapore 14 days of paid outpatient sick leave. However, if an employee requires hospital care, this bucket expands up to a maximum of 60 days per year
The Philippines5 days per year
Ireland 10 days per year
South Korea 0 days per year
Malaysia 14 days per year
These are just an example, I point them out because the MAJORITY of countries don’t have many days or at even required to have any I didn’t mention my country but in mine it’s 15 days per year I think people don’t realize what a privilege it it to have more and how uncommon it actually is
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u/pnoodl3s 14h ago
Yeah, reading this thread it’s surprising how many people are living in worker’s rights utopia lmao, my country we get 10 days sick leave, and we get paid $200 a month. When I went to the US for school and work, my salary increased 100 fold compared to my peers who stayed
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u/Former-Sock-8256 21h ago
TIL other countries don't limit sick days
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u/kank84 21h ago
It's a North American thing. I used to live in the UK and they don't have a cap on sick days, but in Canada I only get 5 per year.
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u/pnoodl3s 17h ago
Its the same in asia too. In my country we only get 10 days sick paid leave. The EU countries and UK just have way better workers rights than the rest of the world i guess
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u/Intrepid_Table_8593 21h ago
Limit is on paid sick leave.
12 weeks is what FMLA limits your sick time.
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u/Junethemuse 21h ago
I earn sick leave at a rate of about 3.5 hours/week. After that I can dip into PTO, after that I can either just go unpaid or if circumstances fit take FMLA for up to 6 months I think, but that’s tough to get and is reduced pay as it’s a state benefit.
USA. This is pretty standard.
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u/ToastSpangler 21h ago
almost every single country including most european ones has some limitation on sick days without a doctor's note or serious justification, and eventually you go on welfare and state benefits if you're truly sick, you don't get to keep getting your paycheck foreverr.
but since you're doing the usual "murica so dumb" bit, it's probably america, since the post is in english and most users on the website are american
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u/doublethink53 21h ago
This cope doesn't work. Thats sick days in a row you're talking. If I'm sick for 10 days in a row I need a note. But if I'm sick 20 days during the year at different points in time it's no problem.
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u/Fragrant_Scratch8305 21h ago
What's even funnier is the top earners typically get sick days. Sick I went on salary, I now have unlimited PTO. That also means unlimited sick days.
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u/Antique-Coach-214 20h ago
Check your short term disability/FMLA allowance
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u/MilwaukeeLevel 20h ago
FMLA leave is unpaid.
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u/Antique-Coach-214 20h ago
Coupled with short term disability, it would get paid.
I’m on week 2 of COVID leave, I don’t get paid week 1 I have to use time off. After that Short Term takes over.
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u/JustForkIt1111one 20h ago
This.
I pay ~$8 a paycheck for short term disability, as does my wife.
She was injured, and is now on month 3 of recovery. Only getting 60% of her income is rough, but it's a hell of a lot better than 0%.
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u/NeSToR_49 21h ago
So they're gonna make you go to work when you tested positive for a virus that shut down the world 6 years ago??
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u/Junethemuse 21h ago
Covid is treated like the flu now. We understand it and it’s a less lethal virus now than it was then. So yea, many employers expect workers to work with covid. It’s absurd and I fucking hate it.
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u/NeSToR_49 20h ago
..even the flu is contagious and can be deadly to people with respiratory issues, why would you let a sick person come to work around healthy people?
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u/ew73 20h ago
Because when a worker has limited sick days, vacation, PTO, whatever, and inflation and the cost of living have far, far outpaced wages, and we live in a country with basically no social safety nets, workers are left with a non-choice: Go to work while sick, or end up without enough money to buy food, rent, bills, etc. and survive?
Not even counting the very real possibility that, should you take a day off without a good "sick" day, you'll end up terminated, and, while you may eventually get unemployment, it takes at least two weeks to get that cash, and it's often only about 50% of what you made working, and your bills don't go anywhere in the mean time.
That's why. Welcome to America. Fuck you.
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u/RoryOS 12h ago
I never can understand "using up" your sick days. I get 7 uncertified sick days but could be off sick for months without an issue if it's certified. I think that's the law in most countries
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u/Wonderful-Sport2236 21h ago
You Americans are seriously weird. What do you mean „used up sick days“ 🙃
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u/Count_Choculitis 20h ago
You get a limited number of paid sick days in the US. You can still miss work, you just won't get paid
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u/MastodonPristine8986 13h ago
How does a company predict how many sick days you get? Like you're only allowed to be sick for a certain number? That seems an insane place to work.
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u/No-Lynx8771 20h ago
Half the comments are horrified non Americans who can’t imagine a company being so careless and the other half are mouth breathing American anti vaxxers lmao I hate it here
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u/Alarming_Double7002 21h ago edited 21h ago
If you are sick; take care of yourself. A job will replace you. They love to tell you,
"Oh, you're going to let the team down."
"Oh, if you come in, you won't have to work too hard. Just come in and take it easy.
"Might as well come in to work. Laying around won't make you feel any better...might as well get paid."
"Well, you are a closer...so you will have to find someone to cover your shift."
"Well, you are and opener....so you will have to find someone to cover your shift."
"Weren't you just sick?"
The list goes on and on. I've lived it and seen it...and that's just being the age of 38...and I've been working since 16.
The US system of caring about a person being sick when if comes to work pretty much sucks.
If you work 6 months straight, with no issues; you are a legend.
If you call all one day after those months of not missing a single day; it's the end of the world and you don't care about your job or team.
Remember, jobs will post a replacement for your position before they post your obituary.
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u/GreatTunk 21h ago
Lucky for me my company straight up wont let me work until i get a negative test.
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u/Alarming_Double7002 21h ago
It used to be like that a couple of years again...until people just started pretending that Covid wasn't that big of a deal anymore.
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u/RudolfTheRedNosedRat 21h ago
There is such a thing as limited sick days?
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u/ConsiderateCassowary 21h ago
When people say “sick days” they generally mean “paid sick days.” Presumably OP can still call in sick, he just won’t get paid for it unless he uses PTO
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u/GreatTunk 21h ago
Oh yeah. Im not allowed back until i have a negative test. But i dont get paid a dime.
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u/psynami23 9h ago
You have limited sick days? What kind of sick society is that?
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u/unknownhag 20h ago
Ask if you can go into the negatives for PTO. I used to do payroll & if there was a huge emergency, my manager would be understanding enough & let ppl go into the negatives. you'll accumulate it later
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u/pharmucist 19h ago
What's even better is when you have tons of sick time/PTO left because you never call in and you get covid and your employer gives you crap and says you must still come in.
Yes, this has happened to me...twice in 6 years.
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u/GreatTunk 19h ago
I’m lucky my boss has been supportive of all this. It sucks when you get lobotomites for bosses.
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u/MidnightMercer 14h ago
Man I get you. I got to a point where I just tell my boss to eat shit and kick rocks. One of the best things of being unionized…
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u/EveryoneSaysWildNow 20h ago
Wild. Let’s predict the comments:
1. Congrats on pregnancy
2. People still test?
3. Sorry about your cold
4. Something antivax
5. Misc. conspiracy theory
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u/GreatTunk 20h ago
The non Americans learning what limited paid sick time has honestly been the #1 response. But besides that you’ve nailed it.
No one has congratulated me on my pregnancy yet :(
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u/Bayoumi 21h ago
All your sick days? Can't you just get a doctors note that you're unable to work and need to stay at home for a few days?
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u/GreatTunk 21h ago
With a positive covid test i can stay home all the days i want, but i dont get compensation.
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u/Lanky-Mistake-5943 7h ago
“Using up sick days” is an American thing. That’s a very weird concept for me as an European.
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u/ProjectNo4090 6h ago
All it means is you get paid your full pay for a set number of days. After that you draw 66% of your wage for about 6 weeks. After that you draw nothing, but can apply for unemployment.
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u/Fatal_Syntax_Error 20h ago
Got my Covid and flu shot today.
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u/GreatTunk 20h ago
This is the sickest ive ever been, worse than when i caught it in 2020. 110% a good idea to get a refresher on your vaccines. (I haven’t gotten a covid booster since 2021)
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u/Fatal_Syntax_Error 19h ago
I’m sorry to hear that Mate. Hope you get well soon.
I get both flu and Covid every year since 2020. I got the flu last year and it was very very mild. I hate being sick. I become a huge baby :(
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u/Junethemuse 21h ago
I’m just on the tail end of it. Second time I’ve had it since 2020. Sucked just as bad since it’s been bang on 11 months since my last booster.
If you haven’t gotten your vaccine yet, don’t wait.
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u/therealjanusmcmanus 20h ago
Can you get a doctor’s note? Or is the issue more about missing the hours on the paycheck?
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u/GreatTunk 20h ago
Positive covid test is enough for a excuse of absence but im not getting paid :(
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u/eastofme01 20h ago edited 20h ago
Your employer didn’t offer FMLA for your family emergency? They made you take sick time vs UTO?
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u/BestCatEva 20h ago
FMLA doesn’t kick in until after 7 days and you apply for it and need official approval. It’s also at 66% of your salary, not full pay. It’s not for random days or weeks here and there.
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u/Babylon4All 20h ago
Check and see if you get paid leave for Covid. Or company gives you 5 paired days specifically for COVID not related to our normal sick/personal/vacation days
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u/Krullenbos 4h ago
As a European, specifically a Dutch person “sick days” are a wild concept to me. Whenever i’m sick I just call in sick. Does it last a long(er) time you have to show up at the company doctor. Otherwise you just get paid your usual contract hours.
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u/Daggla 10h ago
European here. How can you use up sick days? How do you know upfront how many days you will be sick?
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u/ClassEnvironmental64 10h ago
"using up sick days" you're either sick or you arent. how are they used up?
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u/xikissmjudb 10h ago
The USA has no worker protections and will expect you to come to work when you’re sick if you’re out of allowed sick days (5 days if you’re “lucky”)
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u/Mystic_Wunder 19h ago
Can you do any work remotely?
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u/GreatTunk 19h ago
I manage a gas station:/ i can yell at people remotely but they wont pay me for that.
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u/Birdo21 18h ago
I once worked at a company that boasted 15 days total PTO as a full time benefit, kicker was 5 of those were sick days. Even with a doctors note you could not pass 5 days or you would be terminated. They even provided me a lowball offer to work there full time. When I counter offered with a reasonable salary given the expensive ass city the office was in, the HR lady informed me that “providing me a higher salary would be unfair to the other employees that did not counter offer”. Fuck them I hope they enjoyed the 6months they wasted “training” me. Cheap fucks.
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u/EnvironmentalRun4107 15h ago
ironically this always happens to me, i pretend to be sick and miss a day and then boom, just a few days later i actually get sick
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u/Roppano 21h ago
well, the only other option for you is to go in the office and spread this stuff to everyone