Jennster.com

Monday, March 19, 2007

uuuuugh.. the guuuuuilt

of calling in sick to work. so.annoying.

i feel like crap. i've been fighting i think whatever it was that blake had, for about 2 weeks now. i start to think i'm getting better, and then i get knocked on my ass again. i have literally been in bed since 2:30pm yesterday. there was no way i could go to work today. well, i couldn't go and function that is.

so why is it that whenever i call in sick, i feel SO guilty?? even though i know that i shouldn't be there, part of me feels like i should. and i hate that. i just want to be sick and relax and not mentally feel like i should be at work. i don't want to feel bad, that i feel bad. know what i mean?! so why is it that i can never have a guilt free sick day?

do you feel guilty or bad when you call in sick.. or am i the only one? and if you don't feel guilty, please tell me your secret.

Labels: ster

Written at 5:33 PM by jennster.

14 comments

14 Comments:

alison said...

I hear you! I hate calling in sick, especially since my students act like little jerks whenever I'm not there (you remember being in 8th grade, huh?). So it's not like I can stay home and care for myself or my children without wondering about the behavior of my classes and what they're up to. It's easy for me to tell YOU though----stay home and get better and who cares what's going on at work! :)

3/19/2007 6:30 PM

Izzy said...

I just read something about the "worker's guilt" that plagues Americans. We tend to feel guilty using our sick days, taking vacation time and even leaving right at quitting time.

When I worked out in the real world, I would agonize about leaving any earlier than 5:25 pm even though I was technically off work at 5pm.

So...I have no secrets to share. Just know you're not alone. It's apparently the American way!

Feel better soon :)

3/19/2007 7:15 PM

Theresa said...

You're not alone, I feel the same way. Sometimes I leave work when I'm sick, take a nap and return to work....meanwhile I'm feverish and probably infecting everyone else. I think we are extremely responsible, good single parents have to be.

Hope you get over this quickly, feel better.

3/19/2007 7:18 PM

Becky said...

i never feel guilty. unless we're already short handed that is. but no, if i'm sick or hannah's sick then i never worry about calling in cuz the girls here would call in too if they were me. we're all super understanding. i know the office will function w/o me.

3/20/2007 6:06 AM

Stephanie A. said...

Personally, I do not feel guilty. At one time I did, but I think living in Europe, where they value quality of life, made the difference for me. The world is not going to stop because I am not at work for a few days. I also think about spreading the sickness and would feel even more guilty about making a coworker sick unnecessarily.

3/20/2007 7:53 AM

texas math said...

Every time I think about calling in sick...I go through a process where first I think how much would I be missed if I do take a sick day...then I list my symptoms and see if it sounds reasonable that I stay home.

3/20/2007 8:03 AM

RWA said...

I used to feel guilty, but now I don't. I would feel guilty because they would call me 10-15 times to ask questions. Why? When they're out, I make the best decision I can and move on. People are sick, for goodness sake.

So, I don't worry about it now. I usually turn the phone off. They can deal with it - or I will when I get back.

3/20/2007 8:49 AM

norcalgirl28 said...

God yes. I got Bronchitis for the first time when I was six months pregnant from a co-worker and was out of work, off and on, for three weeks because of it. If my previous company had not had such a strict policy about taking sick days and weren't so hard on us, I probably would never have gotten sick. I was told at the time that once you get it, you will keep on getting it, and I have, twice. Still, knowing that my co-worker should have stayed home and not infected people, I go to work sick too because of the guilt. This society really needs to get back to family and physical and mental health so we don't self-destruct.

3/20/2007 12:39 PM

adelay said...

I was sad to discover you had hiatused from blogtalk...:) Hope all is well fellow blogtalker!

3/20/2007 1:23 PM

Angelika said...

I used to feel guilty when I called in sick.

But then I started hating my boss so I called in when she really needed me, LOL.

I'm passive aggressive like that...

3/20/2007 10:44 PM

Meg said...

I always felt guilty when I called in sick, even when I felt like I was on my death bed! But I hope you get over the guilt soon and feel better!

3/21/2007 7:15 AM

tinynurse said...

i seriously want to jump off a cliff when I call out of work.........I feel sooooooo bad. I KNOW that the ER needs me there, and when i'm not there all of the other nurses have to work that much harder. Yes, I pray everyday that I stay healthy.
Hope you feel better soon ster! :)

3/25/2007 10:22 PM

spidey said...

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. It all depends on what I have going on and how it is going to affect my co-workers (not my bosses-lol).

4/01/2007 7:12 PM

Virginia Belle said...

OMG how weird that i am reading this today. (uh, tonight? it's almost midnight!) i called in sick to work today. i felt like shit on a stick. i have a terrible cold and people can probably catch it from me.

YET i felt guilty. Why???? maybe it's a woman thing. i don't know. what's stupid is, i don't even do any work at work. seriously, i surf the web all day long. so what's to feel guilty about in the first place? it's not like they don't have little miss worker bee there or something.

God i hate my job....

but i digress.

oh, and i sleep a LOT when i'm sick, too. i didn't get up until 1pm today. which is probably why i'm wide awake at midnight....crap.

i like warm liquids when i'm sick -- hot cocoa, soup, etc. and movies. oh, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. don't ask why. it's what my mom always made for me.

4/16/2007 8:43 PM