It's Called a SickBED for a Reason!

Sickness belongs at home! My current employer has the oddest sick policy I have NEVER come across. The first 8 hours of every sick occurrence are unpaid, followed by up to 2 days paid. If you are absent beyond the 3rd day, a doctor's note is required. That part is understandable, the part that is unexplainable (to me) is the initial unpaid 8hrs. The reasoning behind this...according to our H.R. department...is to decrease the sick occurrences. However, I think this comes back to bite them in their proverbial asses since it encourages people to stay out for the entire 3 days...they want to get their moneys' worth since they've missed out on 8hrs. It also begs them to work OT to make up for that lost sick time, that was earned in the first place! I know...ridiculous, right?

The bad part about this is that for some of the more honest employees, it actually discourages them from taking ANY time off when they are sick, or they wait until they have to go to the doctor's office because they are so bad off. Therefore, all of us get to work in the now germ-infested office and breathe the same germ-infested air. A co-worker of mine has been out all week long so far with the flu and I have been fighting something off for the better part of a week. This person was quite sick before deciding to stay home and now they think they are doing us all a world of good by continuing to stay there. Guess what...the damage is done and now I will be lucky to escape aforementioned lost time myself. Aye carumba people...keep the crap at home! Don't wait until you've infested the entire freaking office!