[__chrismc]

Same here - in fact, I've had to say this to members of my own team recently. It's strictly forbidden by HR - if you're sick, you take days off until you're better, so you are not putting yourself at risk of getting worse/prolonging the issue by not getting the rest you need. WFH is not there as a handy tool to avoid recording sick leave.

[mhurron]

What a shitty place. If you feel under the weather, you're starting to get some sniffles or a little bit of a sore throat, just work from home. Sick time is for when you are actually sick, work from home is a tool for when you might be getting sick so you don't spread it.

Personally, I don't need excuses, I work from home whenever. It does seem that it is a rare place that treat's its emplpoyees as adults though.

[geofft]

I think it matters a lot whether sick days are tracked. If they aren't, taking a sick day when you're under the weather, so you're on your feet tomorrow, is entirely reasonable. If they are, then you're wasting an allocated sick day, yes.

Does your employer not treat its employees as adults? Shouldn't adults be able to be honest about how many sick days they need, without tracking?

[mhurron]

Sick and I don't feel the best are different things. Sick I need to stop and rest, I don't feel the best could be I didn't sleep much the night before or I could be coming down with something. Neither of the latter requires me to stop working, causing work to pile up for myself and others on the team. I do however, have the option of playing it safe and trying not to infect others while also not causing a back log of work.

Forcing a sick day because I woke up with a headache and a sore throat that could be nothing is not going to endear the company to an employee, on the otherhand that same situation that turns out to be something but I have to come in because I'm not sick yet is prettyshitty to everyone else you come in contact with. In both cases, working from home is the safe course of action.

Now, where I work, that option is fully supported. I, and basically every full time employee, has a vpn and a ip phone. There is nothing about my job that requires physical presence in the office on a normal day, and with the team spread out accross the US anyway, my being in the office or remote really are the same thing as far as everyone else is concerned. I can work from home (doing it right now) simply because I felt like it that day.

> Shouldn't adults be able to be honest about how many sick days they need

Yep, but I'm talking about when you're not sick, but you feel like you might be coming down with something, or you're feeling like you're over it but we all know you're probably still infectious. A fully supported working from home environment allows you to be far more conciderate to those you work with. Hell you can also get more rest, since that appears to be what many are hung up on, because you no longer have a commute those days, but still get stuff done because you don't feel like you're dying.

[vonmoltke]

> Does your employer not treat its employees as adults? Shouldn't adults be able to be honest about how many sick days they need, without tracking?

Should they? Yes.

However, by your definition the vast, vast majority of employers do not treat their employees like adults. Even those in this industry, which seems to be the only one to adopt "take as you need" sick and vacation time in any significant way.

This is mostly a reaction to the incredulity I (perhaps mis-)read in your statement.

[geofft]

It mostly seemed odd to say/imply "My employer treats me like an adult" about permissive WFH, but then turn around and assume that sick days must be carefully tracked. And it seemed like a number of people were talking past each other based on having opposite assumptions about both of these.