A couple of months ago I did a thing.
I used an old fashioned sick day. I didn’t have a fever, a runny nose, or anything physical. I was just tired. We need to legitimize taking a sick day if we just aren’t feeling it.
I don’t make a habit of using sick days. I honestly felt weird about it because with all of the ways we can still remain connected, you feel pressure to be present. Zoom has been a blessing and a curse in that way.
What I do with my sick days is my business, but I only use them when I have to. (What you do with your sick days is your business, too. No judgment from me on how you use them.) If I wanted, I could use an entire week or more, but that’s not me. Comedian Lavelle Crawford has a joke about folks using sick days to go to Jamaica. I guess you could say that was for self care but I’m not that bold. I don’t want to be in a situation where I need sick days but I don’t have any because I misused them.
When I went back to work I was refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of the week. I realize that there are those who don’t have the luxury of taking a sick day. Not reporting to work=no pay. If you’re a boss and your people decide to use a sick day and it’s not required that they tell you why, leave them alone.
I believe this pandemic has caused a lot of us to take stock in how we feel and how we want to be treated. I think more people should take a day if they need to. It might lead to less violence in the workplace if we could give each other some grace (and ourselves) from time to time.
#ksmithsays
ksmithsays 