What do you consider being sick?

[2moretrees]

For your sick days, what do you consider being sick? Do you actually have to be sick or have a doctor's appointment to use a sick day? I use sick days every once in awhile as "mental health" days where I just recoup, but a friend saya that is cheating. What do you think?

[PrincessPerky]

My dh doesn't use the mental health thing, but he does use them for when I am sick, or one of the kids is bad enough to go to the dr. I think it would depend on if you abuse it or not. a couple mental health days won't break the company, but a lot might.

[akaivyleaf]

I guess it depends on how your employer defines it and how you define that interpretation. Our sick policy is quite broad, so its easy to claim a mental health day but by the same token, nobody really cares which leave you take, as long as we turn in the forn and claim the time we took off.

I think a mental health day is a perfect use of sick leave. If you're that in tune with your body then thats a wonderful thing.

Personally, I just call and say Im not coming and nobody questions me. When I get in the office I fill out the form generally for sick leave because sick leave I don't get paid for if I quit.

[miclason]

sick is when I physically can't function or be productive in a work environment...we were never allowed to stay home from school just because we wanted to, and, Dad had a "cure" for that behaviour that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy: he stayed home and personally took care that you stayed IN BED, with all the COVERS on...(and, remember, we have a tropical climate here!...by 10:30 it was like laying in your own private sauna!!)...he wouldn't let us get up, except for bathroom breaks and to have a snack and then lunch...he made us stay until school quitting time (no tv, no toys, no books....if you were "too sick" to go to school, you had to rest!)...and, that sort of thing sticks to you (let's talk about permanent psychological damage here!)...If I am home and feel well enough to read a book, I feel guilty that I'm not at the office doing my job!!...same thing with my sister!!...I once came back to the office and everyone commented that I looked "like death warmed over!"...and I had come back because I was "feeling better"!! LOL!

[kashi]

I take mental health days. I think that's perfectly acceptable, because there are occasionally days when I am stressed out to the max, usually because of work situations, and I know that if I come in, I will snap on someone. or break down because I can't take it anymore. or worse yet, quit on the spot. so I prefer to stay home, re-align my chakras, and sooth my spirit. it just makes sense to me. granted, I don't do it very often (twice in 3.5 years) because I normally can get myself to see things in perspective again over the weekend.

I work with a bunch of crazy lunatics, if you are wondering. screaming and fit-throwing is the name of the game around here, but I prefer not to play it, and it gets to me after a while.

[gypzye]

I take mental health days. IMO, your mental health is just as important as your physical health. Especially since I practically NEVER get actually, physically sick.

[txjman]

I'll stay home if I have a stomach virus, and I can't stand up without feeling nauseous. My company doesn't offer sick days. Any day that I am out is a vacation day. I don't want to spend a vacation day laying around the house.

[gypzye]

My company provides neither sick days nor vacation days, so when I take a day off it's on my own dime.

Thus proof that I value my mental health days enough to pay for them myself.

[amomof4]

When I worked as an RN at a hospital, I used sick days as a mental health day too. I would also use vacation days as a mental health day. It's such a high stress career.