On Sick and Vacation Leave

K. M. Chance
Sep 9, 2018 · 3 min read

A friend recently told me about their boss who explicitly instituted a practice for calling in sick that was intended to decrease the number of sick days. To clarify, this was not a procedure to help employees be healthier and therefore call in sick less, it was a procedure to encourage employees to come into work even if they were not feeling well but not sick enough to meet this person’s bar for calling in sick. It reminded me of a recent article I read on Millennials, in particular Millennial women, not using their vacation leave. Most reported concerns that their bosses would see them as less dedicated and the huge amount of work they would return to because no one would cover for them. Even unlimited vacation leave doesn’t necessarily make it easier for women to take vacation.

Corporations and employers should not be allowed to prevent people from taking sick leave or vacation time, whether by direct means or these indirect pressures (policies/procedures to shame people into coming to work sick, not providing coverage or implying someone who takes vacation is less dedicated). I say this for the same reason that employers should not be able to fire someone for most average things posted on social media: employers don’t own their employees. Employers should not be able to dictate what their employees’ lives are like outside the workplace (sick kids, mental health days, etc.) with few exceptions (committing heinous crimes, etc.).

One could argue that employers shouldn’t even have to offer sick leave (I’m hoping no one actually thinks this). The problem is that if you employ human beings, they (or their loved ones) will get sick or injured and need care and rest. Even computers and machines need maintenance and rest. So an expectation of tireless, constant production and availability is delusional.

I also want to add that treating some reasons for calling in sick, taking planned sick leave or taking vacation as valid but not others is also related to viewing some sort of ownership over employees. Treating some illnesses or reasons as legitimate (i.e. usable for leave) but not others puts the employer in a judgment position over the employee’s life outside of work. I have worked for places that decided which family members for whom you could use sick or bereavement leave. Immediate family (mother, father, children) illness was an acceptable reason but extended family illness (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews) was not. This puts the employer in a paternalistic position over the employee.

Another side effect of treating some reasons as valid for taking leave and not others is that it encourages people to exaggerate their illness, which is not good for the employee or the employer. It puts the employee into what scientists call the ‘sick role’, playing the role of someone who is sick, and creates a level of mistrust with the employer. The problem with the sick role is that it is self-reinforcing. People only get to use their earned benefits when they are ‘sick enough’ means they are reinforced for being sick and encouraged to be that level of ill again. This dynamic also implies that employers do not trust their employees.

Truth is, it is just good business practice to build some redundancy or coverage into a system and to trust employees to know when they need to use leave or not. The problem isn’t employees taking sick leave or too much vacation; it’s a system so fragile it can’t bear one part removed, even for a day. You never know who is going to quit suddenly or get seriously ill or some other catastrophe. There should always be some level of coverage, even imperfect coverage for when an employee is on leave. Some people may have very unique skills that can’t be replaced or covered but an organization still needs to be able to function without them for at least a day. No one is replaceable but we can make do in the meantime.

K. M. Chance

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Writing about health, mental health and the human condition. Data and self-care enthusiast.