Should I Stay or Should I go?

Today I noticed something very important, I have enough sick leave to take a day off.  

Ok, maybe not so important to you, but I work darn hard to accumulate enough sick leave to take a day off.

Now I have to make a decision.  Since I am not actually in the traditional sense "sick", should I take the day off?  Is taking a Mental Health Day a valid reason to take sick leave?  I don't have anything I have to complete tomorrow, it can all wait.  But how valid is the idea of taking a day of because you are absolutely sick of work?

If I do go, I will not bring germs with me, but I will probably bring a poor attitude.  Especially since I will have to continue working on a project someone sent over and didn't do their part on.  I would get work done though.

My poll is about me, but feel free to discuss the validity of taking mental health days by using sick leave in the comments.

•  I know i'll be asked

  so here is my obligatory first comment.

  by HK on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 06:57:47 PM PDT

  •  I took a mental health day

    last Monday. As a teacher I need to be 100% to be effective. Sometimes that means mental health days.

    If you need it, take it...I'll be taking another one on Nov 7.

    by ianfrack on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:00:30 PM PDT

•  Take

  election day off and volunteer to help GOTV.

  by pontificator on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 06:58:49 PM PDT

  •  beat me to itt darn it.

    by aggieric on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 06:59:52 PM PDT

    •  Me too. (See below). n/t

      by daulton on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:01:23 PM PDT

  •  My local dem office

    doesn't really have much in the way of finding work for volunteers, i'm sure not on short notice, but I can call over and check.

    by HK on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:11:53 PM PDT

    •  I wouldn't take a sick day and then

      go volunteer.  If someone sees you, it is a sure way to get you fired.

      by hopscotch1997 on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:17:45 PM PDT

      •  That

        is a valid point.  Sigh.

        by renaissance grrrl on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:37:44 PM PDT

      •  Good point

        since most of the people I work with are repubs...

        by HK on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:38:27 PM PDT

        •  Don't you have "personal" or "vacation" days? n/t

          by nehark on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:48:48 PM PDT

          •  No personal

            and I am saving my vacation days for an actual vacation I will be taking soon.  

            by HK on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:50:31 PM PDT

            •  Then take the sick day on November 7...

              ...and don't worry about it. If anyone sees you out--tough. You're out buying medicine. What do they know about what you're doing? It's none of their business. If Nov 7 isn't for mental health, I don't know what is.

              Seriously though, I never felt bad about taking a sick day. Some days, even if I just felt a little "under the weather," I'd take one. I think I was 10x more productive after that day off and the company probably came out ahead in the long run.

              by nehark on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 08:29:09 PM PDT

•  if you need the mental health day

  take it. Lie and say you are sick. Many Americans do. I do it at least once a month (I almost never get sick).

  haven't seen you abouts HK. Hope all is well. :)

  by terrypinder on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:00:05 PM PDT

  •  Fortunately, I can

    call in and say I'm taking a mental health day.  No questions asked.  This is because I am not pleasant to be around when I'm having one of those days, and they would prefer I stay home.

    by vigilant meerkat on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:18:19 PM PDT

    •  i'm jealous

      though i've heard of guys in my office take sick days to go hunt deer......so my rolling over and going back to sleep doesn't feel so bad.

      by terrypinder on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:41:05 PM PDT

      •  Oh, I don't think you should feel bad

        It's your time.  It's part of your compensation package and belongs to you.  So long as you have enough to cover when you are really really physically ill.  My daughter only gets five sick days a year.  She learned the hard way -- sick and off without pay for a week.

        by vigilant meerkat on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:49:33 PM PDT

      •  Half the male population of Michigan is off

        on "sick days" on November 15th every year.

        And the big dawgs at the worksite don't get better 'til December 1.

        by NeedAFence on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 09:40:57 PM PDT

        •  HA!

          I used to schedule guys in three states (MI, WI, MN) for pipeline maintenance work and it seemed like I was Nostradamus or something.  I was able to schedule maintenance before anyone knew people were "sick."  If I remember right, the flu hit MI Nov. 15 every year.  I think it hit MN about the first full week in November and it hit Wisconsin the third week of November.  

          Someone call the CDC, I've figured out the flu vector in the midwest!

          by Slartibartfast on Wed Oct 25, 2006 at 12:33:42 AM PDT

    •  Ha! I admire your spikey honesty! :-)

      by Monique Radevu on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 08:28:16 PM PDT

•  Take the day off to work on a campaign

  Call your local Dem. HQ and see what they need done.

  And then you would not be fibbing--the whole damn country is sick, and your day off can make it better!

  And find a campaigning job you enjoy--as long as it's your day off, make it fun too.

  by daulton on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:00:45 PM PDT

•  I really have to ask, though...

  just exactly how much sick leave do you have to have to take a sick leave day?

  by aggieric on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:01:43 PM PDT

  •  where I work

    we accumulate a certain number of hours per pay period, like 2 or 3 hours. takes several pay periods to accumulate enough sick time to take an entire day.

    by terrypinder on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:02:40 PM PDT

    •  Oh. Ouch.

      That sounds pretty darn cheap.  Like they expect you to get the 24-hour flu rather than the 7-day flu or something.  My advice:  Take the day off and hunt for a new job with better bennies.

      by aggieric on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:06:01 PM PDT

      •  my job sucks

        but the benefits are pretty good actually

        i only have to work 37.5 hours/week for full time and has a pension. union covered too.

        by terrypinder on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:07:23 PM PDT

        •  mmmhmmm

          Not to brag or anything, but both my sickleave and my vacation are front-loaded.  Get a chunk of each at the start of the fiscal year and the only thing that changes is that it's pro-rated if you quit in the first six months.  If you quit in the last six months, you get it all. ;-)

          by aggieric on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:10:33 PM PDT

          •  cool deal

            i get paid for my accumulated leave when i leave for another job or retire. I'm saving almost all my vacation time (taking off only for Yearly Kos) for a nice pay out when I quit to go to grad school...but a mental health day is necessary from time to time.

            by terrypinder on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:12:13 PM PDT

            •  What are you gonna go to grad school for?

              by aggieric on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:13:51 PM PDT

              •  Climatology

                by terrypinder on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:19:17 PM PDT

    •  That is

      pretty much how mine works too.

      by HK on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:29:32 PM PDT

•  If I go there will be trouble...

  and if stay there will be double...

  Harrumph. Sorry. I say stay home.

  by Desroko on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:02:40 PM PDT

  •  recommended

    just for the use of the song title!

    by 42 on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:04:46 PM PDT

    •  Here's Tony Blair "singing" The Clash's song,

      in a satiric YouTube video.

      by sunbro on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:27:29 PM PDT

    •  Also rec'd.

      But I was promised a pie fight for my rec....where is it??

      by Danno11 on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:31:44 PM PDT

•  take the day off

  Taking an occasional mental health day is important. It helps keep the job from getting stale and in the end, makes for a better and more productive worker.

  by 42 on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:03:25 PM PDT

•  I'm almost compelled

  to write a diary:

  Should I throw the tampons away if I'm menopausal?

  Oh hell, just call in "myopic"

  by Miss Devore on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:04:54 PM PDT

  •  Hmm, reminds me of a recent phase of my life:

    Our posse would sometimes while away a rainy Friday afternoon around my (H*rv*rd) dorm-room hookah trying to come up with the most ludicrous insult to aim at (*spits) Yalies...
    I still think I won with,

    & pathetic 'safety school' Yalies desparately wish they were worthy to lick our soiled tampons, BUT THEY AREN'T!!!!

    by Monique Radevu on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 08:19:52 PM PDT

    •  I guess the foregoing makes it easy to guess

      which way I voted on blowing off a work day!

      But I recommend assuaging (edumacated talk for 'buying off') your battered conscience by doing some pro-Democratic fight for our country GOTV volunteering for part of that mental health day - just a thought, do as you think best.

      by Monique Radevu on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 08:25:18 PM PDT

•  Um, no.

  If you take a kelly day tomorrow, then inevitably on Thursday you'll be really, really sick. That's the way life goes. Then, if you do get really sick, you'll already have a strike against you that you didn't really need to get, and your employer will be less sympathetic.

  (We just had this discussion in a staff mtg at work. The logic is that on your last "occurrence," when they're getting ready to fire you, you'll probably have some good reason why you were out (horrible sickness, dead car, whatever), and they'll still have to fire you because you racked up occurrences for stupid stuff. I see their point.)

  by PerfectStormer on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:05:13 PM PDT

  •  "kelly day"

    etymology?

    by decafdyke on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:12:17 PM PDT

    •  Who knows?

      My mom used the expression all the time, meaning a "mental health day." I never asked her the etymology.

      by PerfectStormer on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:13:49 PM PDT

      •  See below

        http://en.wikipedia.org/...

        Apparently it has something to do with firefighters, as all the Google references I found had to do with firefighters and their schedules.

        by PerfectStormer on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:16:37 PM PDT

        •  So much for my theory

          but it sounded good, anyway. ;-)

          Although I would point out that the Wikipedia entry did say that "members are allowed to get another member to cover their tours" - in a way, still a sort of "temp".  Maybe I'm still correct in the long run.

          by aggieric on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:19:55 PM PDT

    •  Seems likely to be

      as in "Kelly Girl"  As if, perhaps, when someone is out sick and there's still routinized work to be done, they call out for a Kelly Girl (for the younger people in the crowd, Kelly Temp Services)

      by aggieric on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:15:57 PM PDT

      •  Ahem

        I worked for Kelly until about 7 months ago. I am most certainly not a Kelly "girl."

        by PerfectStormer on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:17:40 PM PDT

        •  Yea but....

          back in the parlance of the 50's and 60's they were "girls".  Just sayin'.  Since we're talking etymology and all.

          by aggieric on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:21:46 PM PDT

    •  asdf

      Perhaps because the employer would have to call Kelly Services for a temp worker to fill in?

      Just a wild guess.

      by IrishAlum on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:16:18 PM PDT

•  Jesus... we are so whipped.

  It's pathetic how whipped Americans are.

  Unless your boss is your frickin father in law... get some g.d. rest.

  My parents' generation just assumed you took all your sick days... if you got any to begin with.

  We are so whipped by our corporate masters these days... so terrified.

  Not only are the GOP terrorizing us... we let our bosses and our corporations terrorize us...

  there's no reason for things to be tight in America. If we spent only 3/4 of what we spend at the Pentagon, we'd have the best health care, education, and social services on the planet.

  It's a crime what we let our massas get away with anymore... all just to keep them rich. MFers.

  People need to get some backbone in this country.

  by Exquisite Corpse on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:05:42 PM PDT

  •  Corpse, you be dead on n/t

    by 4Freedom on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:12:02 PM PDT

  •  not necessarily true

    my father went years without taking a day off, even when he was sick...
    course now he is one of the faces of the oppressive Man, but just sayin', that generation wasn't all in agreement.

    by decafdyke on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:13:44 PM PDT

    •  my father walked uphill both ways to work ...

      ... in four feet of snow

      by cookiebear on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:25:19 PM PDT

    •  that was my gramps...

      boomers i think weren't quite so... principled.

      maybe we're just different ages? but there are always exceptions to the rule of course.

      by Exquisite Corpse on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:27:58 PM PDT

    •  The Man...

      If I were to try to identify The Man... I think honestly it would be George Bush Jr.

      Rich. Whiter than white bread in milk in a porcelain bowl held by a polar bear at the north pole.

      Dumb. Just inbred, genetically something slipped dumb.

      Self-conscious... morbidly so.

      FRATBOY

      The iconic fratboy. Lifelong drug-addled failure... bailed out continuously by a father that was 10x the man he'd ever be... and now he proved it for the final time in the most profound way for an American to do... by taking on the job of the Leader of the (so-called) Free World... when he isn't capable of swallowing pretzels or riding his bike.

      George Bush Jr. is The Man.

      He is the icon for all that is evil and wrong.

      But he did it to himself. He just did.

      by Exquisite Corpse on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:34:50 PM PDT

•  Copmpletely legit!

  Iwas in a job where i didn't have sick days.

  I BADLY needed a day off and didn't want to lie...so i went outside and picked up a little insect of the ground and then put it back down.

  Went inside and called my boss and told him....'Pat, i picked up a bug, i won't be coming in today!

  Best technically non-lie i ever told!

  As long as you are not letting anybody down, go for it!

  by buhdydharma on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:06:23 PM PDT

  •  And a lot easier than climbing up the chimney

    so you could say you got the flue.

    by cmnh on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:23:11 PM PDT

•  Question? If you take the sick day, then later

  get sick, will you go into work thereby spreading germs to your co-workers?

  by maggiemae on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:07:04 PM PDT

  •  my co-workers

    do this all the time themselves, so if i were to do it as well, I honestly wouldn't feel that bad.  Plus, i'm off in my own little section of the office so it would be fairly contained.  

    But i do also have some vacation which my boss is very lenient about me using at the last minute.

    by HK on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:15:59 PM PDT

    •  I hear ya, but I have a couple thoughts -

      1. Two wrongs don't make a right. Just because everybody else does it......

      2. Nothing sucks worse than to be sick on what is being coded as your vacation day.  

      Personally, I'd save the sick day, take a vacation day and work for your local candidate. Awin all around and no Republican like deception on your part!

      by maggiemae on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:24:34 PM PDT

      •  I didn't say it was right

        I said I just wouldn't feel that bad about it.  

        by HK on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:35:21 PM PDT

•  just try to make sure the day

  really contributes to your mental health.

  Change of scene.

  Go outdoors. Take a walk.

  Or sleep all day.

  Or read a book.

  Whatever you need.

  Have a good day!  That way you are helping yourself, your colleagues at work, and your employer.

  by jotter on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:08:05 PM PDT

  •  that is what i do when i take my mental health

    days. i call in, say i'm not coming in, and then roll over and go back to sleep.

    it makes for a much happier terry

    by terrypinder on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:09:32 PM PDT

    •  If your name

      really is Terry P*****r, it might not have been a good idea to write that here.  Or the diary, for that matter.  Google has a long memory, and Kos diaries are permanently archived.

      by Kingsmeg on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:14:02 PM PDT

      •  that is my name

        and i ceased caring about 6 months ago.

        by terrypinder on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:18:06 PM PDT

  •  Volunteering on GOTV or some campaign

    is a sure-fire way to contribute to one's mental health this year!

    by aggieric on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:12:16 PM PDT

•  an occasional mental health day...

  might just keep you healthy and working better!

  ... says someone who probably needs same said mental health day and is just too chicken to ever take one...

  by mommyof3 on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:08:48 PM PDT

•  i don't take sick days...

  ...but then, i'm in a nice position. i'm gonna retire in two years (at age 56), and i get paid for all unused sick time.

  :)

  of course, i've been in jobs before where it all tuened into a pumpkin when they ran you off. that's different.

  by campskunk on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:09:08 PM PDT

•  I tend to save those for real emergencies

  If I have something good, I usually save it until I really need it.  For some reason, the last cookie in the box always gets stale by the time I try to eat it...

  by b2witte on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:20:08 PM PDT

•  I say take it off

  But try to wait till Friday. Three Day Weekend!!

  by Warren Terrer on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:25:51 PM PDT

•  from a moral perspective here is my answer

  it depends.

  Do you get a certain number of sick days a year that you have to use or you lose them or can you carry them over?

  Are you paid for a sick day or is it simply a dont come to work free card?

  Seems to me it will depend on the answer to questions like that. If you can carry over sick days then seems to me that it is a moral faux pas slightly above jaywalking.

  by qazplm on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:29:32 PM PDT

  •  The company does

    have a use or lose policy for both sick and vacation leave.  I know I don't meet it, but considering they only give me 8 days a year, it would be hard to accumulate whatever amount it is.

    I get paid, but my boss doesn't really care what i use my sick or vacation days for.  And since they took away our PTO and implemented seperate sick and vacation which in turn took away several hours a year from each when they did that, I am finding it hard to feel totally immoral.

    by HK on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:33:12 PM PDT

    •  ouch use or lose

      we get to carry over our sick and annual (vacation) time, though it accumulates based on an formula per pay period.

      personal days, you get anywhere from 1-4 a year depending on longevity. those are use or lose.

      by terrypinder on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:38:17 PM PDT

    •  well

      if your boss doesnt care, then sounds to me like he is tacitly saying that they are more like personal days instead of sick days.

      by qazplm on Wed Oct 25, 2006 at 06:33:36 AM PDT

•   one of my favorite rationalizations

  is that if I'm going to be more-or-less useless thinking about what I wish I were doing elsewhere, it's better for the company that I burn the sick time. "Sick of work" counts.

  <Caution. Spin doctor at work>

  by Thestral on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:32:28 PM PDT

•  I have enough sick leave to take six weeks off

  Should I take six weeks off?

  by renaissance grrrl on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:36:57 PM PDT

  •  I hear Ohio is nice this time of year.

    by b2witte on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 09:18:06 PM PDT

    •  I've got about six weeks vacation as well

      should I take three months off?  :)

      by renaissance grrrl on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 09:32:51 PM PDT

•  As a teacher, I've never been out sick.

  For one, I don't entrust my students to someone else's care.

  Second, I always feel pretty well.

  When I worked on Wall St., I never called in sick. When I had my gall bladder removed, they asked what time I'd be in. I was back to work 5 days post-op, (including a weekend.)

  Probably a throwback to my ancestors' Protestant work ethic.

  by Trim Your Bush on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 07:38:48 PM PDT

•  Take the day

  for those of us who can't!

  by tryptamine on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 08:59:32 PM PDT

•  In support of sick days for mental health

  Mental illness is every bit as real as physical illness.  If you're depressed/anxious/etc to the point you need a day off, that's every bit as legitimate a reason as "traditional" sick days are.

  It's unfortunate that in today's times you still have to call in sick, rather than being able to simply tell the truth that it's for mental health.

  Eventually, I think we'll have mental health parity laws, in which mental illnesses must be treated the same as physical illnesses (by insurers, employers, etc..)

  Until then, though, calling in sick when it's your mind that is ill seems completely legitimate to me-- as you are ill.

  by CenterLeft on Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 09:12:50 PM PDT