3 Ways to Claim Being Sick to Your Boss

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3 Ways to Claim Being Sick to Your Boss
3 Ways to Claim Being Sick to Your Boss

Video: 3 Ways to Claim Being Sick to Your Boss

Video: 3 Ways to Claim Being Sick to Your Boss
Video: Numbness, Tingling, Burning in your Feet? 2024, March
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In the high pressure exerted by today's job market, many workers feel the need to go to work even when they are sick – a phenomenon known as "presenteism". At the same time, however, the number of workers who admit to claiming to be sick so as not to work, even when this is not the case, has been growing in Brazil. If you're really sick or just need a day to "replenish your energy," following company procedures for deciding how and when to claim to be sick will help keep your boss and co-workers happier and healthier.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Deciding whether to stay home

Call in Sick Step 1
Call in Sick Step 1

Step 1. Think about your coworkers

Even if you're not best friends with the people you work with, there's hardly anyone you want to get sick. At the very least, think about the inconvenience you will cause if half the employees get sick and miss or experience a drop in productivity because of you.

  • If the disease is contagious, stay at home. If you're coughing, sneezing, runny nose, or have an open sore, don't go to work. Think about how you feel when you're healthy and the person who works next to you spends the day coughing and sneezing into the copy machine.
  • But don't confuse symptoms of a cold with seasonal allergies, which aren't contagious and (under normal circumstances) aren't worthy of missing work. Both the cold and the allergy can make your nose runny or stuffy, but the allergy doesn't cause fever or pain in the body, and other differences between them. If you seem to have a lasting cold at the same time each year, see a doctor; it could be an allergy.
  • Especially consider any co-workers who may be at increased risk of illness or infection. Employees who have low resistance, undergoing cancer treatment or pregnant women, for example, are more likely to become ill and face more serious complications.
  • Don't feel guilty thinking that other people will have to do their work in your absence. You're doing them a favor by keeping them away from germs.
Call in Sick Step 2
Call in Sick Step 2

Step 2. Measure your possible efficiency

If you can't stand up, see straight, stay awake or spend 10 minutes without having to run to the bathroom, what will be your use in your work environment?

  • Your boss may not like you missing work, however, he won't be happy if you can't work all day either. If it's worth anything to you (or your job), it's better to be there when you can be productive and absent when you're unproductive.
  • Therefore, if you claim to be sick whenever you are not 100%, you will hardly go to work. Find out whether or not you can really dedicate yourself during a working day.
Call in Sick Step 3
Call in Sick Step 3

Step 3. Consider your options

Today, many people already do a lot of their work from home when necessary. Think about whether you need a day to work from home or a day off.

  • If you have a contagious disease but are not disabled, offer to work from home if your job allows it.
  • However, if you are too sick to work, don't offer to do your homework. In that case, rest is essential to help you recover.
  • If you are concerned about claiming to be sick to your boss or doing so without offering to work from home under pressure from your supervisors, contact the company personnel department and find out about the absence from work for health reasons policy.
Call in Sick Step 4
Call in Sick Step 4

Step 4. Prepare before leaving work

If you are a supervisor or work in a "team," you may be even more afraid of missing work for health reasons, even when you should, for fear of compromising other people's work.

  • If you start to feel bad during one day at work and believe you will be unwell for work the next day, create a “to-do list” for your colleagues/subordinates to follow during your absence. Write it out legibly and place the list where it can be found the next day during your absence, such as your desk.
  • As a precaution, it might be a good idea to keep a list like this always ready, up-to-date, and accessible. Even absent, you can provide direction and leadership to your peers.

Method 2 of 3: Following the rules for taking time off from work

Call in Sick Step 5
Call in Sick Step 5

Step 1. Observe how your boss reacts to the absence of employees for health reasons

Does he get angry when an employee misses work unless that person is infected with the Ebola virus? Does he complain when he receives this kind of warning via SMS or email instead of a phone call? Use this information to know when and how to call him and claim to be sick.

  • Even though it is a worker's right, many of them are afraid to call their boss and claim to be sick for fear of making him nervous.
  • At best, your fears will be alleviated when your boss reacts sensibly when you're really too sick to work.
  • At worst, you may need to be more insistent and persistent to get away, even when you really need to.
Call in Sick Step 6
Call in Sick Step 6

Step 2. Give preference to one call

If you're lucky, your boss might not think it's bad that you send an SMS or email to let him know you're sick and won't work. However, to be more realistic, it may take a more direct conversation with him to break the news.

  • In most cases, a connection guarantees greater seriousness, legitimacy and respect for the request.
  • It is also very important to decide when to call. Don't call too early – you could wake up your boss or give him the impression that you haven't even tried to go to work. On the other hand, calling too late can seem a little disrespectful because you have to make your colleagues work during lunch hours to cover your absence.
  • The best time to make the call is after the time you normally wake up and before the time you normally leave for work. In this way, you will demonstrate that "you tried, but today you won't be able to go to work".
Call in Sick Step 7
Call in Sick Step 7

Step 3. Don't talk too much

Sure, your boss might want to make sure you're really sick, but he doesn't need to know every detail, like how much time you spent throwing up in the bathroom. Be clear, direct and brief when explaining your need to stay home.

  • By getting to know your boss and getting an idea of how he reacts to being absent from work for health reasons, you will have a better idea of how much details you will need to give him about your illness, symptoms, etc.
  • Unless you're sure of your phone talking skills, faking or exaggerating your symptoms is probably not a good idea. This is more likely to arouse more suspicion than empathy if you speak in a "rough voice" or "cough a lot." This may seem far-fetched, even if you do have these symptoms.
  • Apologize for the inconvenience, but don't feel guilty if you are really sick and unable to go to work. Remember, you will be doing all your coworkers a favor.
Call in Sick Step 8
Call in Sick Step 8

Step 4. Be considerate when returning to work

You don't have to give explicit details about your illness to everyone or simulate the symptoms to prove that you really needed to stay home the day before. On the other hand, you also shouldn't act like you're 100% healed. Instead, show your coworkers a little consideration.

  • Appreciate the efforts made by those who covered your absence and apologize for any inconvenience caused.
  • Likewise, demonstrate that their health is important to you by practicing good hygiene habits when you return to work. Wash your hands like you're a doctor about to have surgery, and leave a bottle of hand sanitizer gel on your desk. Fight any remaining symptoms you may have.

Method 3 of 3: Claiming to be sick when you are not sick

Call in Sick Step 9
Call in Sick Step 9

Step 1. Choose the right day to pretend to be sick

If you plan to claim sick so you don't go to work, check your calendar ahead of time to make sure your desired day isn't an obvious day for it. Here are some ways to choose the right day:

  • Recognize that when choosing a Monday or Friday, you'll have to be convincing enough not to look like you're simply trying to get a long weekend.
  • Make sure you haven't been away from work too often recently, whether due to a real illness or not. Try not to be the person who is always absent from work. Make sure you work every day for at least two months before planning to go away.
  • Don't pick a particularly important or unpleasant day, such as the day of a meeting everyone is dreading or a day when a client you don't get along with plans to come to your company. It's going to seem pretty obvious that you're avoiding work on that particular day.
  • Don't choose a day when you have a famous sporting event on television. If everyone knows you're fanatical about a certain team and you're dying to go to the game, your excuse won't work.
  • Do not choose a Monday after a championship final. A championship final is a big day when people decide to drink a lot. If you don't work the next day, it's pretty obvious you're hung over, not sick.
Call in Sick Step 10
Call in Sick Step 10

Step 2. Start acting like you were sick the day before

After choosing the day you dreamed of not working, you should show signs that you are about to get sick the day before. It might seem suspicious if you're working hard or having fun with your coworkers on your coffee break, and claim to be sick the next day. Therefore, overdoing it when claiming to be sick can be a rather obvious signal to your boss and co-workers, so give some slight indications that you are about to get sick.

  • From time to time, cough or sneeze.
  • During lunch hours, casually mention that you are not hungry.
  • Change your appearance to look more messy. If you're a man, mess up your hair and don't tuck your shirt all the way into your pants. If you're a woman, wear less makeup than usual and don't wash your hair for a “slightly tired” look. Don't overdo it – remember you need to look sick, not sloppy.
  • Don't be so obvious about the disease. After you cough or sneeze, people will ask how you are feeling. Try to change the conversation. Just say "Don't worry, I'm fine" or "I might just be a little tired today."
  • If you consume a lot of coffee, drink tea.
  • Put your hands on your head as if you had a headache.
  • Casually take some pain medication during office hours. Bring a bottle of pills to work so everyone can hear you rattling it as you take a pill. You can also pretend to take the pills, but you have to be convincing.
  • Stay more reserved during that day. Make no effort to be friendly to everyone.
  • If co-workers invite you to happy hour or out for lunch, say thanks and say you're not in the mood.
  • If it's a Friday and you plan to be away on Monday at the end of the day, mention that you're not feeling well, but that you should feel better over the weekend. So when you call on Monday, you can mention that you got a lot worse over the weekend and that you are now a little better, but not fully recovered.
Call in Sick Step 11
Call in Sick Step 11

Step 3. Prepare to make the call

Once you've started the “missing plan” plan, it's time to set up the call as soon as you get home. You need to prepare for anything that might happen during the call, so you don't get caught off guard.

  • Know the disease in depth. Do you have a migraine, a cold or something different? Migraine and cold are great excuses. Do not try to choose a very complicated disease, as it will be difficult to describe the symptoms; or something that takes many days to heal, such as a throat infection or food poisoning.
  • Know the disease, but don't go into too much detail. Keep the phone call short and smooth. If your boss asks questions about the disease, you can answer them.
  • Prepare yourself for any questions your boss might ask to make sure you're honest. Know when your illness started, how you believe you will feel the next day, and what you will do during the day to recover.
  • Rehearse the conversation. You can even call a friend to practice with him. Try to write down what you plan to talk about to help during the rehearsal, but don't just read the paper during the actual call.
Call in Sick Step 12
Call in Sick Step 12

Step 4. Make the connection and be convincing

This is the moment of truth. Make a convincing call and you'll be out of trouble. Do something wrong and you either get an angry boss (at best) or get fired (at worst). Call at the right time and in the right way to increase your chances of getting it right.

  • Make the call early. After preparing for the call, call your boss very early. But not too early to wake him up. Call around the time you normally wake up to go to work. That way, it will look like you actually woke up to go to work, but realized you weren't feeling well enough for it.
  • During the call, speak as if you were really sick. Whether you leave a message on the answering machine or speak directly to your boss, it's important to be convincing about being sick. There are a few things you can do to make it look like you're really sick or about to get sick:
  • Occasionally cough or sneeze during the call. Don't do this too often so it doesn't look fake, but coughing or sneezing at the right time can help a lot.
  • Make your voice a little hoarse. You can do this by screaming into a pillow to make your throat a little sore, or by not drinking water before the call.
  • You can also call while lying down with your head hanging out of bed (so you sound congested), taking care not to get disoriented and forget what you need to say.
Call in Sick Step 13
Call in Sick Step 13

Step 5. The next day, when you get to work, act like you're still a little sick

It can be a little suspicious coming to work looking well-rested and all excited. Instead, you should act like you're a little better after a cold, but still showing some signs of the illness. Remember to practice good hygiene so as not to irritate your co-workers.

  • Don't shave as well as usual. Again, you don't have to look sloppy, but your appearance – hair, face and clothes – should be a little messy.
  • Stay more reserved than you normally would.
  • From time to time, blow your nose or cough.
  • Apologize to your colleagues for missing a day of work.
  • Don't go to work with a tan or a new outfit. By doing this, it will seem pretty obvious that you've spent a day in the sun or at the mall.

Tips

  • Don't tell anyone at work that you lied about being sick. Even if you tell a close friend, your boss can find out and you can get in trouble.
  • If you claim to be sick frequently, it can make your boss more restrictive about it, hurting other employees of the company.
  • Remember: the personnel department and the bosses keeps a control of sick leave, how many days the employee was absent and the frequency and pattern with which they get sick.
  • Avoid going out in public when you are sick. You can go to the market to buy something, but you don't want to meet your boss at happy hour.

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