I’ve been sick with a nasty cold for six days now. It started as a scratchy throat last Sunday night, segued into a stuffed nose by Wednesday, and by Thursday morning my head felt like a New York parade balloon; I had to call in sick. Friday I went to work, even though my nose was still totally blocked and the cold was working its way into my chest. All day Friday I sat at my desk under florescent lights with my headphones on, typing, answering the phone, and trying not to fall down whenever I had to get up. By 3:00 p.m. my asthma had kicked in and I was having trouble breathing, which made me very weak and light-headed. I should have been home in bed. But I wasn’t, because I was afraid to call in sick two days in a row.
The last three weeks have not been great ones for work attendance either by me or the law clerk that works with me. Both of her kids got sick, then she got sick; my youngest had a fever for six days and missed an entire week of school (my husband and I split that time); my middle daughter had to go to the hospital with a sprained elbow and was home for a day; my oldest was off for a day with a sprained ankle. And then I got sick. Between the two of us I think we’ve missed a total of six, maybe seven, days in the last three weeks. Yes that’s a lot, but also very unusual; I have never had such a cluster of absences in 20 years. Some may say our employers had every right to be annoyed, and I agree. But it doesn’t follow that your commitment to your job should be up for question when difficulties with your personal life arise.
Corporate mentality treats sick days like vacation days, which makes no sense to me. A vacation is a choice. Your vacation day amount is a benefit of your job, you know the number up front and you plan accordingly. But no-one plans to get sick, so how can you put a limit on the number of sick days an employee is allowed to take? Now yes, I get the point, they will pay for so many days, with the understanding that any more than that needed and they will be without pay. But I have never known anyone to go over those days and just get a friendly reminder that they have run out of sick day benefit, with a head’s up that now they are on their own time. No, there is always a memo, or worse, a meeting, firmly pointing out that your sick days are used up and expressing the assumption that you will not be taking any more time in the near future. The insinuation seems to be that you are malingering, which most of the time is totally unfair. The other insinuation is that the security of your job may be in jeopardy due to your unacceptably extended absence, which is a flagrant attempt at manipulation through fear and, I have always felt, an abuse of power.
There have always been employees who seem to have an unusual number of illness, ailing relatives and cars that won’t start, who miss way more than their share of company-allotted sick days, but they are usually easy to spot and don’t last long. But for an honest employee to hear, “You’ve missed a lot of time lately, and we’re a little concerned” - there is in such a comment the barely-veiled threat that you are in danger of losing your job. Why would any employer want to put such stress on someone already dealing with difficulties they have no control over? Unless it's to scare their employees into showing up for work even when sick, so they aren't paying them without getting some work out of them for the money.
Personally, I have never understood the North American work ethic. The idea that your job should come before all else in your life is ridiculous. I don’t know about other professions, but in law firms this ideology is rampant and the stress of trying to live up to this idea is likely what’s causing everyone’s illnesses in the first place. A friend of mine has so many illnesses and medical conditions I am amazed she can still get out of bed every day – that is one lady who could probably legitimately qualify for long-term stress leave and never return to work again. But up she gets every day, driven by debt and fear of losing her job, even though the stress just might literally be killing her. At my last firm, a new junior litigation lawyer who was being mentored by my lawyer started suffering migraines three months after being hired, and missed so many days the secretaries couldn’t believe she hadn’t been fired yet. Her doctor told her the migraines were being caused by work stress, so she requested that she be transferred to a less demanding department. Perfectly reasonable request, and she should be applauded for making the decision and taking care of herself – it was a very courageous step, being both a new hire and a female lawyer, to tell the higher-ups that she couldn’t handle her position. But no, my lawyer was angry that she was leaving, and made that poor woman’s life a living hell until the transfer date. No-one was foolhardy enough to suggest that perhaps my lawyer had driven her to the migraines and the decision to quit in the first place, but trust me, we were all thinking it. By the way, I don’t work there anymore either, and she treated me the same way when I handed in my notice. I heard the secretary that replaced me has a real “attitude” and argues with her constantly – that’s a shame.
I had a run-in with this sick day nonsense about 12 years ago. When I was pregnant with my second child, the pregnancy was very difficult and I went over my sick days. I got called in for “the talk” – they said if I missed any more days my position would have to be reviewed. That’s lawyer-speak for “miss one more day and your ass is grass.” No-one cared about my physical condition, or offered to discuss any solutions - just a threat to shape up, or else. Fortunately I was near my due date so managed to get through the rest of it without further absences, but it put a huge amount of pressure on me. And then a week after I returned, they announced they were letting me go because in their opinion, my attitude was not reflective of the teamwork environment – whatever the hell that meant. I was furious, and for once stood up to them on it. I said if that was how they felt, they should have told me before I left. That way I would have been able to go on my paid leave and had nine months to look for a different job. Instead, they waited until I got back because it suited THEM – they were afraid of being sued for wrongful dismissal if they let me go while pregnant. So they waited until I returned, which meant I only had two weeks to find new employment. Did I mention I also hate the selfishness of corporations?
I think senior lawyers forget what it’s like to be a wage slave. Their total yearly hours are all that matters and they have some latitude as to when they actually do it – and the more senior you are, the more latitude you have. If lawyers get sick, they can go home - without asking anyone’s permission, which I’ve always felt is a demeaning thing for any adult to have to do. They don’t remember what it’s like to be 43 years old and have to beg to leave early because you feel like you’re going to either pass out or hurl. If a close relative is taken ill, or dies, they can take time off without anyone questioning them too quickly about the date of their return. They have the peace of mind of knowing that if their family needs them, they can be there. Now me - let's say my dad died tomorrow; I'd get 3 days. No matter where I had to travel, no matter what kind of help my mom needed - 3 days, that's it.
One day last week, the law clerk asked if she could work through her lunch and leave an hour early as her son had an out-of-town hockey game. She was told no, and got the “we’re a little concerned” speech. Now she’s freaking out because her probation period is not yet up and she’s wondering if they will let her go. And all because her kids, and then she, got the flu. In the middle of flu season - how inconsiderate.
As I was lying around all weekend, I wondered if this simply comes down to money. Maybe if I wasn’t still being paid when I’m out sick, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. I would rather forgo my sick days altogether and be responsible for myself. I’d rather deal with losing a day’s pay than deal with my boss’s criticism. I can’t decide if that’s a sadder commentary on my personality or the corporate environment in general. But as a motivational episode, the tension of the last two weeks will go a long way in keeping me focused on my goal to write myself a new career. Two years, 10 months and counting…
No comments:
Post a Comment