We have all had those moments at work when we feel a bad cold or flu coming on. Or perhaps we have been trying to valiantly fight off an illness and have realized that we need a good rest before we can finally beat it.
Normally in the past I would have balked at taking a sick day. It was ingrained in me since I was a front line child welfare worker that you come in no matter what - since your clients and your supervisor's world would often fall apart if you were not there.
In my new position it is far more easy for me to take sick days when I am not feeling well. I actually took a sick day recently. I should have taken one earlier than I did because I just felt exhausted when I got up in the morning but I decided to go to work anyway. Then by the afternoon I was getting a migraine and was still very tired. I was able to finish up a couple small projects before I left and I gave my supervisor a heads up that I might not be in the next day. My supervisor was understanding and I called her the next morning letting her know I would not be in. And during my sick day I spent most of my time sleeping trying to get over this bad cold I had had for over a week.
I believe that there is a give and take with everything we do. I was very busy at work a couple of weeks ago and I believe the following week I paid for it with my health. I did not get enough rest before returning to work last week and my body finally reached the point and said enough. Since I started this new position I have taken very few sick days so I do not feel guilty. Especially when there are some people in my office who seem to take a sick day every week or two. I do not abuse the system. And I am starting to realize my previous mantra of never taking a sick day is just unrealistic. We all have days when we feel bad either physically or mentally and just need some time off to to recoup. It also ensures we are fresher when we return to work.
As social workers we have to monitor our sick days however. If you begin to notice a trend that you are taking more and more sick days to have a "mental health break" or because you just do not have the energy or motivation to go into work this should be taken as a warning sign. It is a clear indication that you are beginning to burn out and are losing your coping skills to deal with work. If you find yourself in this situation you may need to take a serious look at the reasons why you are missing so much work and a break, job change, or a total career change might be in order.
Finally, I want to end this post by saying that if you do take a sick day, do not allow co-workers, or management make you feel guilty about missing meetings, paperwork etc. You are a human being and you deserve a day off when you do not feel well. Do not think that the only justifiable time for you to miss work due to illness is when you are in the hospital! And when you are away from work, you might just find that management and clients are more appreciative of the hard work you do - since people often do not value what they have until it is gone.
As always,
Patti
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