Managing sickness

Managing sickness and work is not as straightforward as it might seem. As part of the benefits of your position, you may ‘earn’ sick time as you work, which accumulates and carries from year to year. You may receive additional compensation for not taking sick leave. It is a good idea to learn what the policies are for sick leave, and also observe how others use their sick leave.

There are times when you are fighting off the beginning of sickness and you are working, or recovering but able to return to work. In those times, consider whether there is some link to sickness and work. Have you become sick in part because you have been pushing too hard or have lost some balance in life? Have you been getting enough sleep, eating to nourish your body with the frequency and intake that sustains your energy and health, getting enough exercise to keep up your energy, and able to leave work when you physically leave the workplace? It is possible that stress is internalized and can impact on your health and well-being, so recognizing your response to work-related stress is the first step in managing it. Recognize what you do to relieve stress, or what you turn to while you are sick to support a return to health, such as a balanced diet, adequate sleep, even fresh air and quality time with family and friends. Sickness can be a catalyst that causes people to reset their priorities and ‘default settings,’ serving as a chance to restore work-life balance if work has taken a higher priority over your personal life.

Being sick is a time when job satisfaction becomes clear. If while you are well, you make an effort to motivate yourself to commute to work, it will become even more evident when you are not well that you might prefer another workplace or line of work. Remember how this feels when you do return to health, as much can be tolerated when you are well, particularly as you return to a routine and become caught up in the pressures of work again. From the distance of being at home, sick, you can have a clearer picture of the reality of your working life.

When you’re sick and contagious, but feel able to go to work, rather than go to work, be considerate and use your sick leave to make a full recovery at home. Take the time to consider how you feel about missing work - is it a good opportunity for a pause? Do you resent the time you spend away, knowing that you will need to take a break from ongoing projects? Do you feel you are not able to take time off, due to meetings and deadlines? These thoughts give an indication of how hard you may be working, or how much pressure you put on yourself or feel externally. Again, with the remove you have from work, consider whether your output and investment is worthwhile, and paying dividends back to your career progression.

Observe about how your colleagues adapt to your time off. Do they pick up the work they can, so that you will not be overwhelmed on your return? Do they communicate to queries from clients and others that you are away and will return, with a positive spirit or with resentment? Are those you supervise able to work independently and take accountability for their work? Does your supervisor manage expectations of clients? When you return, do your colleagues welcome you back, and ask after your health, and give you some breathing room to catch up, or do they immediately seek to return you to the busy status quo?

On another note, while you are on your time off, does your workplace contact you to give updates on work? Are you expected to monitor your voice mail, email, or phone into meetings despite being at home? If this is the case, you aren’t able to take a sick day, but you are in fact working from home for part of the time. There are times that will be busier at work, and if you take a prolonged period of time away, it is understandable that there may be some attempts to keep you in the loop of what is happening, but there should be some respectful distance to allow you to recover.

In some workplaces, employees take days which may be called ‘mental health’ days, which frequently fall on a Monday, or perhaps leading up to or following a long weekend. These are sick days taken when an employee may be not physically sick but may be worn out or overworked, and require the day off to recover some sense of balance. They may also indicate some discontent or disengagement with the workplace. If you find that you or your colleagues are taking these days, it may be a sign that the workplace environment itself is toxic, or unhealthy. This is a sign that something needs to change, and if it is the workplace that is provoking employee absences, observe whether there is anything being done to rectify the situation, or even if management monitors or is aware of the situation. If you or colleagues are obtaining medical notes for stress leave, or colleagues are taking prolonged periods from work on stress-related leave which is related to the workplace, it is important to note your own reactions and whether you are excluded from the same kinds of pressures, or whether you have become accustomed to an environment that is not healthy. Check with others who work in similar environments, or across different work units in your organization to obtain a sense of the reasonable standard for this work environment.

If you find you are negatively impacted by your workplace, consider ways in which you can mitigate the effect. Consider changing the time you spend at work, such as changing your start and end times during the day, which may result in more time spent working independently. There may be the option for a compressed work week, in which you will have some week days off in exchange for longer working days. You may be able to telework on occasion, or to work from other office locations or off-site. You could even consider cutting down to part-time hours. While you have made these changes, again see if the immediate workplace environment improves. If not, it may be time to consider moving on.

On return to work, be aware of the human resources policies for how to account for your time away. Is a doctor’s note required? Is paid medical appointment or paid sick leave available for medical appointments? If you have a continuing condition, your workplace is obliged to accommodate you. Let your supervisor know of any functional limitations you have, and whether they are temporary or permanent. You do not need to provide details of your medical condition or provide medical substantiation, but a doctor could provide information on what you might need to fully or optimally fulfill your job duties.

For a longer period of time from work, you may be on short-term or long-term disability, with a return to work program, and possible requirements for a fitness to work assessment. If this is the case, become well-informed on the policies and reporting requirements, and impact on pay, with support from your human resources department.