Your say: do you take dodgy sickies?

It is very sad that those who are fortunate enough to always enjoy good health are so judgemental and uncompassionate to those who do not. It is not weak to be ill and i very much hope those that are critical do not have to someday find this out for themselves. You are lucky that is all. As for those who say they never have a sick day even when sick and are angry at others who do - nobody likes a martyr. Most people i know are so scared of being disbelieved at taking a sickday that they drag themselves to work when they shouldn't. This actually lowers productivity as recovery is longer and infectious illnesses are spread. Employers should always believe and respect their workers if they want loyalty and good productivity.To many Australian employers are still in the dark ages of business management where they use criticism, negativity and nitpicking as a motivation technique. Remember you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

People - they are called sick days bc they are meant to be for when you are ill - with what i would call a diagnosable illness, not a "mental health day" because YOU feel overworked or undervalued. Judging by the comments the posters have left they have no idea what it costs their employers or business for these sick days. I really hope none of you "oh i need a dooner day" employees receive bonuses or salary increases this year as you dont deserve them. The same goes for the "i have never had a sick day" group as well. This is called presenteeism and leads to increased "real" sick days by other employees whom you infect. The whole scenario is pretty simple - if you are genuinely ill take as many days off as is reccommended by your Doctor, if you are not ill then better get you backside to work.

I have worked for a state government department for over two years and my boss regularly calls in sick on Mondays or Fridays, infact over the four day Easter Break they got sick the Wednesday before the long weekend! Would you believe it? As has previously been stated, the "sickie" so to speak is an entitlement of an employee for reasons other than just being bed ridden with the 'flu and while I do not condone the excessive use of them, if management with are suspicious, they should practice what they preach. A few years ago, in another govt department, I had a young son who got recurrent bouts of tonsilitis, and being a single mum I had to care for him, I also got the flu and used up all my leave and so had to use holidays...... my contract was not renewed because they said I was not there enough to meet operational guidelines. Just choose your "sickies" carefully

i work for a government company for 26 years and when i was made redundant,i had a balance of sick leave of 62 weeks..i did have sick leave days [i was definately sick]..BUT other times when i needed time off,i had understanging employers that would help to arrange to swap days with fellow employees..BUT i do think staff that don't abuse sickies,should be justly rewarded when they retire or made redundant..Kind regards...

If we are sick ,we take a sick day. If we stayed up late watching cricket or drank too much on the weekend- take a day of leave. A sick day is not a right-it is an entitlement. Most bosses sacrifice more than we ever will and most are fair . Has anyone added up the hours they would spend in a year on personal phone calls,emails etc. Surely that is a t least a week for most people. Ask yourself if lying is okay. Deceit. Stealing from your boss. If your boss is unfair or unjust do something about it - but maintain your own integrity

Lets face it -we have less than 10 sick days per year, if you are a parent that gets eaten away quickly with kids needing someone to look after then, after that I take annual leave days or leave without pay -thats my right. My job requires a Dr certificate if I take a fri or monday off, a day after an ADO or a day before or after a long weekend. So if I am sick over the weekend and take a monday off to recover I am costing the gov my medicare fee and taking up the Docs time for nothing but if I don't I don't get paid. If you are constantly sick your employer should be aware of the reason -if you only take your allocated days then you shouldn't need a certificate regardless of the reason, if you are a bludger you should lose your job!!

bosses were once employees too is that what they use to do?

I am concerned about a lot of the negative attitudes many of my fellow Australians are posting. It seems that we have forgotten that sick days are an entitlement that employees are given. Employers acknowledge the fact that humans get exhausted, tired, stressed and have other personal issues other than being sick. That's why when you take one day off for being sick, a medical certificate is not required. When did we become such a wound up nation? I myself have taken sickies in the past and I will continue to take them in the future. Does that make me a bad employee? No, because I get re-energised and my attitude to work greatly improves when I return to work. Those who claim to have never done this in their career should try it. I bet you'd regret not trying it earlier.

G'day i'm 19 and own my own surfboard shop. I used to chuck sickie's for a surf, not anymore cause i dont need to answer to anyone. But we work too much these days, if my employee wants a sickie he gets one. Who am i to ask what he does with that day? He gets 10 a year and no more which has what has been agreed. Dont you think companies have factored in what each employee requires? And yes sometimes we need to chuck a sickie to regather ourselves so we can come back to work that much better. It's 2009 everyone not 1959, chill out.

As has already been stated here, research shows that Australians work the most unpaid overtime of any nation. Bosses have no problem putting their greedy hands out for some of your time, so i say if work -life balance all gets too skewed in favour of work, why not do the same?? At the end of the day i have no doubt that, sickies or not, most bosses get MORE than their value out of their employees. The times i have taken 'sickies' have been only because i have been worked to the point of mental exhaustion by a boss with a 'work em til they drop' attitude, or that i have not been allowed to have one measly day off on annual leave time to do something important to me by another Boss who seemd to believe he was running a saltmine,not a business.Now before all you do-gooders and pathetic work-addicts (get a life) get on the 'bludger!' band wagon, id like to point out ive NEVER been unemployed in my whole life and have worked since i was 15-im now 42.Occasional 'Mental Health Days' people..