Should I Take A Day Off Work?
- The Little Physio
- Apr 14, 2019
- 4 min read
It is that time of the year again where the common cold starts to rear its head. Those sore throats, runny noses and sneezes begin to infiltrate workplaces. I am in the midst of a cold myself and this had me reflecting on sick leave culture as a physiotherapist.
Non-existent sick leave
One of my first observations of sick leave culture as a physiotherapist was that sick leave didn’t exist and was only taken by ‘non-macho’ people. I don’t mean we weren’t entitled to leave, we definitely had sick leave to use under the enterprise agreement but taking a day off was not viewed upon well.
If you had a cold, the non-chalant response from upper management was, “What is a cold, what cold? Oh, it’s just a cold. Power on!”.
When management changed, I hoped the approach would be better. Verbally, it was; sick leave was touted as appropriate when needed but upper management would continue to treat despite hefty colds. So there was a discrepancy in what was being said and done.
And so, I would come to witness colleagues treating clients with runny noses, coughs, sneezes, red eyes, extreme fatigue and headaches. Often, they managed to get through the day with a pharmacy in their lockers. Each physio would strategically stock cold and flu tablets, pain relief, throat lozenges, cough syrup and decongestant nasal spray for every cold.
I thought this response was...rather irresponsible as an employer and as a health practitioner working with people in the community. However, despite having my own firm principles about treating when sick, I too felt the irrepressible pressure to come in when physically sick.
Why?
First was the pressure to maintain your caseload, particularly if your salary is commission based. If you took a day off because you had a cold, some clients may not reschedule or will reschedule only to cancel. This then means a few days of sick leave can wash out your caseload, which then impacts on your salary if you are commission based.
Secondly, being surrounded by a leader who does not demonstrate good sick leave policy and who responds with a look of anxiety and sometimes annoyance when employees are sick, doesn’t give you much confidence in taking a day off. One questions whether you are being judged for not ‘sucking it up’ and when combined with being a woman, are you ‘too weak’ and not ‘macho’ enough to handle work when sick.
Surprising contrast
This approach to sick leave starkly contrasted to another setting when I had a cold with the usual symptoms. After a lot of deliberating, I made the decision to stay at home and was awash with guilt and anxiety because I felt like I was letting my clinical supervisor and myself down.
This was rather unnecessary, as the response I received from my supervisor was to take the rest of the week off if necessary and to just keep him updated. As with usual ‘protocol’, I diligently saw my doctor for a certificate. However, this too turned out to be unnecessary.
When I turned up the following week with the certificate, my supervisor gave me a funny look, shook his head and said he didn’t need to see it as I didn’t need permission from a doctor to take sick leave.
Actions speak louder than words
The two approaches say a lot about how an employer values their employees.
In the first situation, sick leave tended to be shirked off. The message upper management was sending across was as an employee your health was not first priority rather it was all about the bottom line. You were only valuable if you were coming into work and your health came second. This, at the end of the day, compromises client care as if you are not 100 percent you are likely not thinking and treating as clearly as you could be.
In the second situation, the opposite message was sent out. This was a message where you were valued as an employee and your health came first . Your capacity to be well was important in order to give clients 100 percent great care. Not requiring a certificate also said there was trust between the employer and employee to use sick leave appropriately.
Personally, when I have taken time off to rest and recuperate from a cold, my recovery is quicker. When I have had to work through a cold, it has taken longer and exhaustion permeates all aspects of work and non-worklife. When you are deciding to take a day off, ask yourself, what are you trading off by going to work sick? It is not always easy to make this decision if a contract is casual and/or commission based but hopefully sick leave entitlements can be upheld for all workers...eventually.
Final Thoughts
A positive workplace culture is huge in influencing wellbeing and it all starts with our leaders. Culture really is everything and this includes sick leave culture. And a great workplace culture where leaders lead positively and demonstrate their vision and good principles starting first with themselves, has a huge influence on wellbeing and thus, prevent burnout.
What kind of leader do you want to be? What do your actions say about you? What will you do next time you are unwell and when an employee turns up to work feeling sick?
Resources
Want to know more about building a thriving workplace? Check out this informative guideline with examples of actions created by Superfriend https://www.superfriend.com.au/resources/
Tips on colds
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