Recently a good friend of mine injured her back from a simple fall due to a new pair of heels that she was wearing. She was in so much pain from the fall that she had to go to the emergency room for palliative management.
A few days after the accident, I called her to see how she was doing. She informed me that she was still in tremendous pain, but that she had to let me go because she needed to get back to work.
You see, my friend works from home, full-time, as a consultant. It was a Tuesday morning when I called, but I assumed since she had injured her back and was having difficulty getting around, that she would have called in sick; after all, she is a full-time employee with benefits.
I don’t know why her response surprised me. Because I, too, continue to work when I’m sick or when I have to take care of my daughter when she’s ill. The only difference is I am self-employed, and I don’t have sick day benefits to fall back on.
So, I decided to throw out the question, “Is It Okay to Call in Sick When You Work-at-Home” to CEOs, managers, and other leaders, and here is what they had to say.
1. Are You Really Sick?!
Jillian Zavitz, Programs Manager for TalktoCanada.com, said:
I am responsible for interviewing and hiring new teachers. In response to your question, “Is it OK to call in sick when you work from home”? As an HR manager for teachers who do work from home — this is one of the biggest problems that we face. There is no way of telling if the teacher is ACTUALLY sick — it is really easy to just not turn on your computer and not come to work.
Since it is all done remotely — we don’t request a doctor’s note or any other kind of proof. Sometimes when someone calls in sick more often than not, we do give them a warning and eventually fire them. Having worked online for three years now — almost seven days a week — being pregnant and giving birth in between — I have only had two days off — and those two days were when I was in the hospital after having my baby.
People really need to suck it up sometimes — and decide if they really want to work or not, as there is no middle ground in this type of job!
2. How Sick Are You?
Rjon Robins, Author of The Top Ten Benefits Of Being A Home Office Lawyer, said:
Yes, it is OK to call in sick when you work at home. No different than when you work in an office outside of the home. Each of us, of course, has a different definition of what it means to be too sick to be our best at work. For some, a minor sniffle is enough for them to be so distracted that they cannot give the work the care and attention it deserves. For others of us, we practically have to be bedridden before we call in sick to an office or even to ourselves.
The danger of working from home is that we tend to call in sick too infrequently. So the question, I think, is less whether it’s OK to call in sick when you work from home, but rather perhaps HOW to call in sick and stick to it when you work from home.
3. At Least, Check Your Email.
Georgette Pascale, President and CEO of Pascale Communications, said:
I get this all of the time as I manage 11 employees virtually that work out of home offices. My feeling is that, yes, everyone deserves a sick day, of course! But just like the people who DO NOT work from home and call out sick, I believe my team can at the very least check their email in case something of importance comes up during the day (most folks who do not work-from-home can check email on a sick day so why should virtual employees differ?).
I am always more than willing to handle any issues that come up for the said employee as I’m not a Hitler boss, and we work as a team, but I find it outdated that folks can completely distance themselves from work, even when they are not feeling well. And obviously, an emergency appendectomy differs from a nauseous stomach. Every case is different. Every occupation is different, but in PR, deadlines are a must, and one missed email can be disastrous.
The other ironic thing for me is that when employees call out “sick,” and then I see them active on Facebook all day long, or they can forward “joke” emails around the office, but yet they “feel too weak to answer emails,” it does burn me up a bit. The reason I provide hand-held devices for all of my employees and independent contractors is that in our industry, we need to keep up on the latest news for our clients.
Bottom line: If you can post pictures from the weekend’s latest party on FB while sick, then you can certainly check client emails.
4. The Same Rules Should Apply For In-House Staff and Telecommuters.
Rich Enos, CEO and Co-Founder of StudyPoint, said:
A large percentage of our staff work from home, so we encounter these questions about telecommuting frequently. The only acceptable answer to this question is, of course! When you’re sick, you’re sick, and it would be unfair to have a different standard for employees just because they work from home. Given the nature of working from home, it can be hard enough for those staff to draw lines between work and personal boundaries, and blurring the expectations around sick time would only make matters worse.
If you want to have a happy, productive stay-at-home workforce, you have to be consistent, and you also need to be understanding of the unique dynamics of working from home. The more you can help telecommuters create clear boundaries, the better off your organization will be.
Conclusion
What great advice and insight. I think the key here is communication and understanding expectations, policies, and procedures before you call in sick. Obviously, taking care of your health is of the utmost importance, and if you need time to heal and recover, you should allow yourself that time. Just remember to keep the lines of communication open and call your boss or client as early as possible so that they can make arrangements to cover your responsibilities.
What are your thoughts? Is it okay to call in sick when you work from home? Are the rules different for salaried employees and contract and freelance workers? Drop us a note; we’d love to hear from you!
Leah
Hi. I’ve been in both sides worked in an office and from home. I’ve found the productivity increases in my case working from home because I am able to work in situations that have to call in sick if in an office. I. e. when a kid is sick or when in bedrest at least I can keep working.
Holly - The Work at Home Woman
Thanks for commenting, Leah!
Like you, I find that I still work even though I’m sick, just not quite as much.
Stephen
As a person that has to go into work each day with staff that can stay at home and work I have a different opinion on this. If I am sick and do not go into work I have to use up my vacation time. However, the few employees that have the ability to work from home can call in sick and work from home without using any vacation time. Do you think it is easier for them to call in sick since they can work from home? I hate to get sick for the very reason that I have to use my precious vacation time. I wish I had the ability to work from home when I get sick.
Tammy
That is exactly happening in my workplace and I am feeling negatively. Certain people just used that reason again and again to work from home and I have to come into the office to do hard copies job and multi tasking. From home, they can do only 1 relaxing job. Although I really like to work from home but it looks like I can never have that “benefit” because in 4 years working with this company I only called in sick 1 time, 1 day and really sick, unable to do anything. I hate boss let them use that reason again and again to work from home. Why not having a schedule for people to work from home and if someone called in sick, they can work from home and not be scheduled to work from home next turn? oh well, people are treated differently.
Donna L. Johnson
Holly,
In response to what you threw out there – I say yes due in part to greater job satisfaction and also because we have more flexibility to do our jobs. Great point!
Holly - The Work at Home Woman
Ladies – thank you for the very thoughtful comments! I’m just going to throw this out there, do you think home-based employees show greater job satisfaction so they are less likely to call in sick? I know when I worked in an office that people often took “mental health” days due to stress and often time job dissatisfaction.
Angie – Yes, this seems to be a touchy subject. I think what happens is a few bad apples spoil it for the bunch, so managers are always questioning if their employees are really sick or if they are just playing sick. Thanks for your feedback.
Lise – Wow you are a power house! Sounds like you really love your job :-)
Donna – I agree, people need to take care of themselves when they’re feeling sick. Individuals perform better when they are healthy, well-rested and feel like they are balanced. And, yes the world will continue to go on with out them.
Donna L. Johnson
Having been a hiring manager and now a business owner, I’ve experienced both sides of the spectrum. As a manager, I never felt the need to have my employees “prove” to me they were sick. Nothing was more disappointing than having a team member come into work with contagious symptoms, risking infecting others just so they could have a peace of mind by “showing” you they were indeed ill. My opinion is that corporate America conditions you to work and push yourself while on your death bed and if you don’t, you’re looked at as a mild to moderate slacker. You then in turn take that mentality and transfer it over when you work independently from home. One of the best decisions you can make is to recognize that sick or not, the world will go on without you. May as well take some time to care for yourself when you really need it if you plan to be in business for the long haul.
Lise
I work from home about 75% of the time or I am at a client site. I am a full-time employee with benefits. I fall into the category of “how to call in sick”. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I was in the hospital and on bed rest for the last 4 weeks of the pregnancy. I did not go on maternity or disability leave until the day the inducement happened! The hospital had high-speed internet and I work from my cell phone 90% of the time anyway. At home I laid on the couch with my laptop on the side table!
I have taken sick days, bereavement leave and still manage to at least check email during those times. I take those times very irregularly.
Angie - The Work at Home Wife
That’s a very hard question, and that is clear from the feedback. Should we be able to call in sick? I think so. Have I ever? Not really. I fall into the “HOW to call in sick” comment above. I just don’t do it. I for some reason feel guilty. I feel I have to at least open my laptop in bed and do something.
We are certainly held to different (and obviously HIGHER standards) than those that work outside the home. I broke my foot last year which would have warranted at least 4 weeks off of work if I had an outside job. However, I didn’t miss a day being here at home. I took a few hours weekly to go to doctor, but I was right back at my desk when I got home…despite the pain and exhaustion.