How to take a sick day when working from home because everyone gets sick
Working from home has brought our work life into our personal space, so now you might be worried about having a day off sick when you’re already home, but you need to know that you don’t need to be worried about anything. If you’re unwell, physically or mentally, then you need rest from work – just like you would in person, so call in sick when you need it.
Still feeling a bit unsure about taking that sick day when working from home? Well, here are 5 important tips to remember when calling in sick while working from home.
Do It Right Away and Correctly
We’ve all been there, you go to bed feeling normal and wake up feeling like you’ve been hit by a bus. It’s the worst feeling in the world, but you know what you have to do – call in sick. If you have a raging migraine, sitting in front of a screen while working from home won’t help you at all.
You will have to follow your companies sick leave policy. This might mean that you send an email to your line manager or call a telephone number to HR or call a sick hotline number. You can find out what you need to do in your contract. Just make sure that you complete the necessary steps right away! This means that you send that email or make that phone call because then your manager will know if they need someone else to cover any deadlines for you. This will help keep the cogs in the team turning.
Be Clear on Important Information
While sending your email or making your phone call, tell your manager if there are any important deadlines or presentations that need completing that you will be unable to do while you’re sick. If you happen to be sick on the day of an important meeting your manager now has time to either rearrange it for when you’re feeling well or to have someone else step in for you.
This is a helpful step for your manager because it shows that you care about your work and that you are not leaving them and your team in an uncomfortable position. Also, this takes your responsibilities off of your plate while you’re sick, so you can recover properly.
Mental Health Days
Since working from home has become more of a norm for many individuals, companies are starting to re-evaluate what a sick day is. This now includes having a mental health day. I encourage individuals to have a mental health day when they really need to have a day to check-in with themselves mentally. Experts are now also saying that mental health days are needed when working from home.
BMC Public Health put out a research article that found that with working from home becoming the norm an individual’s mental health is now at stake. Being kept inside the same space for days is negative for our mental health and it can cause a lot of stress and anxiety. This is because people are forgetting that when they finish work – they finish work! Working in your home blurs the line between work and home life, so it’s important that we make that line and stick to it.
Maybe this mental health day is a way for you to figure out where your line is and how you can stop yourself from crossing it in the future.
Let Go of Guilt
It is common for individuals to feel guilty when they call in sick, but it’s important not to. Also, if you’re working from home then you might feel even more guilty because you’re telling yourself that you’re already in your space, so you can keep working just a little bit…right? No.
You won’t be able to properly recover from any illness if you don’t stop and let yourself rest. Let go of the guilt that you’re feeling because you have nothing to feel guilty about. You are unwell and need some time to feel better, that is fine because that is what you need in order to get back to your healthy self.
Working While Sick Is Negative for Employees
Presenteeism is the latest term that has been coined to discuss when people continue to work despite feeling ill and how productivity is lost. Before, many individuals would just ‘power through’ a sickness and continue working, but these past couple of years have taught all of us then you need to take care of yourself when you’re sick. Working while you’re sick, whether it be from home or in the office, is not healthy for anyone. You need to take sick leave and rest, especially if you’re working from home.
This is very important if you’re working from home because many people are crossing the boundary that separates work and home life, so this results in people working while being sick because they think they should. However, you don’t. Putting added pressures and stress will not help with your recovery and can make your illness stay longer or impact your mental health in a negative way.
So, make that soup, drink that water, put on a show and close your work laptop. Look after you.
In Conclusion
Many people have blurred the line between work and life balance while working from home, but you don’t have to. Remember that you are working from home, so just like you would in an office – call in sick and take a day off when you need it. No one will thank you for working while you’re sick and possibly making yourself worse, so take the time that you need in order to feel like you again.
