I’ve got PTO and my job is forcing me back to the office so basically if a strong wind blows I’m calling in sick. I’m tired of sacrificing my happiness for others
If I have enough PTO saved up, I'll take "mental health days". It's none of the employers business why you take it if they offer PTO accrual as a benefit. I just email my lead either the night before or in the morning saying "I'll be out today". Period. No more and no less. No excuses. No rational. I earned it; it's mine; I'm using it, that's it.
So I don't have to be so sick that I can't get out of bed. Or a fever. If I'm feeling under the weather and I have the time, I'll take it. I do that instead of taking a solid 2 week vacation at one time during the year.
I have to weigh the amount of sick days I got left vs how shit I feel. My old job gave out a crap ton of sick days so I'd use them for hangovers, or days when I've run out of fucks to give.
Now, not so much. Got to be on deaths door.
I think this is super dependant on the systems in place where you live. Here in Germany, the reasoning should be "if I stay home now and recover, will this be more beneficial to me and the employer because my condition will worsen or not get better if I go?" If the answer is yes, you should stay home
If I think about whether I should call in sick or not, I call in sick. No benefit in going to work sick or even just a bit under the weather. But I’m not in the US and I get (almost) unlimited PTO for sick leave.
If you're not a student you should call sick as many times as you can without getting fired, your boss can wait a few more days per year before buying a new car.
If it's very mild you can still infect someone with a worse version. When I had rubella I just had a slight rash and didn't feel sick but my brother was really sick for a week.
I am one of the few fortunate Americans who has sick leave separate from vacation leave. I have been wfh since early Covid so not calling in sick much at all.
I am also trying to get to 400 sick leave hours banked to supplement short term disability just in case.
Harder to justify calling in sick when wfh, honestly. And I've not been very sick. I have really no qualms about calling in if I really need a mental health day. Seems like wfh also lessens my need for mental health days...a benefit I did not really realize until just now.
I consider a lot of factors: is anything major happening today? Do I think I'm potentially contagious or just feeling bad? Is anyone else going to be out already?
I rarely call out. But trust yourself. If you need to and want to be there, go. If you've got the time and the justification, and you don't need any want to be there call out.
My current job gives me plenty of sick time, so my #1 concern is whether I'm contagious. I like my job, and I like my coworkers, so I don't want to harm them or the workplace.
If it's something like a hangover, then I'll decide based on how I feel and how badly I'm needed that day.
I call my family doctor, she decides if she wants me to come for a checkup or give it a day and see if symptoms persist. Employer get notified automatically if I'm on sick leave and i call my direct superior to tell them i won't be there.