Okay, I’m entirely over my crush on Guinastasia.
The hint of something distasteful can sometimes cause the conversation to cease.
“I’ve been up all night with diarrhea.”
Just use it when you really need it.
Nope, you’re right. No employment contract, no recourse in most cases unless you’re talking about a public policy-based exception like ADA, whistleblowing activities, etc.
Unfortunately, those exceptions don’t apply to Guin’s facts, probably.
Zap!
So the “fever” thing was a lie. Duh. Allow me to give you some advice, even though you didn’t ask for it. You appear to have a weak work ethic, which wil NOT serve you well in the long run. Calling in sick on a regular basis, lying to the boss, etc., aren’t considered good things. I know you have a crappy job at Krapmart, but you’re habits aren’t good for when you get into the “real world.”
milroyj, I can’t believe what you posted. She has a poor work ethic because she “lied to her boss” and called in sick? I see you have never, ever haved cramps. As someone who not only gets cramps, but also diarrhea, when “on the rag”, I can tell you that very few “real illnesses” are more painful than that time of the month.
I also just re-read this entire thread, and no where did she say she was calling in sick on a regular basis. Can you give me the exact quote, in case I missed it? Otherwise, I think you owe her an apology.
Also, can you give me an exact quote that says she’s not living in the “real world”. True she works at Krapmart right now, but I believe, she is also a college graduate and extremely intelligent. I think she may have a better idea of “the real world” than you think she does.
Also, can you tell me what exactly when it’s ok to call in sick? If amazingly painful cramps is not reason enough, what is? I hate to say thing, because it does sound condensending, but if you are a man, you probably don’t understand.
Ditto what Pepperlandgirl said.
“Lying” is when you call in sick when you are not sick. You instead spend the day at the beach, or at the mall, or at a party.
“Translating your illness into something that your idiot boss can comprehend” is saying that you are “real sick with a fever”, when in fact you are “real sick with mind-numbingly uncomfortable cramps.” The bottom line was, she was SICK. No lie, SICK.
Some bosses are asshole jerks. You have to deal with their prejudices and preconcieved notions. If you don’t have the “right” excuse, (no matter how legitimate your excuse actually is) they won’t honor it. Does that make you automatically wrong, and them right? Hell no!
Case and point: The day of the 1994 Northridge Quake (S. California) I called said I couldn’t come in, because I didn’t want to leave my handicapped sister, and our handicapped/elderly/extremely ill friend alone at home. The phones were in and out, the roads were iffy, my sister can’t drive, the elderly friend was feeble and was in no shape to drive. This wasn’t a “good enough” reason to not come in for my boss. She said “If you had kids, I’d understand, but not for this.” (I didn’t come in. The store survived, in fact, they closed early for lack of business. Who wants to buy stuff on the day of a major quake anyway?)
My point is this: just because my BOSS was a clueless bitch, does it mean that I should have sucked it up and come into work? Was I justifed in not coming into work, or should my boss’s values supercede my own? In my case, I was willing to just not come in and take the consequences (I would have complained to the head office, if needs be) but in Guin’s case, she probably just didn’t need the hassle. She’ll be out of there soon enough. But why should she have to fight against an asshole boss’s CLUELESSNESS? She’s sick, dammit. Fever, cramps, what’s the damned difference?
Being on the rag never stopped Martha Stewart from showing up for work at Kmart.
milroyj, did you have to prove my point two (above) so quickly?
As a man, and a manager, I think she did the right thing.
For my peace of mind, lie to me. It is easier to justify being shorthanded due to the flu.
Besides, Nobody with any sense, wants a person at work who obviously feels that bad
However, most managers look at schedules more often then customer service.
Then after possible customer complaints, they " Have A Talk" with the employee. This doesn’t do Anyone any good.
HA!!! Too late, I’m afraid.
I got news for them: they sure failed at that. They do nothing but piss off customers with their idiot “policy”.
I see all the things I thought when I read you’re post (she didn’t say she called in sick regularly, she didn’t lie about being sick, a lousy job does not mean you are not living in the “real world”{what the fuck do you consider the “real world” I have to wonder?}) so I’ll just state the obvious- you’re a condecending jerk- and call it a day.
You know, I found milroyj’s post interesting, if somewhat misinformed.
I used to get extremely ill over my period - so ill, in fact, that I did run a fever. Usually around 102. I couldn’t stand up without either getting dizzy or having my head prepare to explode from a migraine. I had the runs. I often threw up. Even when I did manage to stand up I couldn’t stand up straight. All of this because my body produces an excess of estrogen during that time of the month.
(Goddess bless Lo-Ovral.)
Tell me, milroyj, do I have a “weak work ethic” because I wasn’t willing to work on those days? Does Guin have to meet that criterion for you? :wally
Guin - for heaven’s sake, check out Kelly and find yourself a better job. Sheesh.
I don’t shop at K-Mart any more because the last time I went in to buy a TV I couldn’t get anyone to carry it up front for me (27’) and I just walked out after 20 minutes and went to Wal-Mart. I think you did the right thing, I don’t know of many women who sometime in their life hasn’t called in sick for the same reason you did.
“Female workers may also request for a monthly leave if they experience difficulty in working during menstruation”
-taken from Commission on Filipinos Overseas | Responding to the Challenges of Migration and Development
I taught in Japan for five years, and in fact, did use the menstruation leave (one day per month). It is separate from “sick leave” and in my particular situation, it didn’t count towards your ten paid sick days. It was written into our contracts, which was always interesting for friends who came to visit.
We had a female administrator, so it wasn’t at all awkward to tell her we were taking a menstruation leave. Of course, when I was pregnant, I had to give them up.
Ohhh…Guin…sorry about the sucky period.
And yea milroyj, they can really, really suck. Before I got on birth control mine were not only unpredicatable (2 weeks between, 8 weeks between, its all the same right? This is called a cycle?) But several times a year very, very painful. I have passed out in a school hallway from “mere cramps”. And it was merciful, blissful unconsiousness in comparison to the writhing on the floor moaning that it was preceded by.
Though I probably woudn’t have lied about it (or translated it, however you spilt the hair) I would share more and more bloody, ugly details until I was released. If “I have bad cramps” isn’t enough, I will explain further.
My family has given me the following work ethic “If you can physically make it to the workplace, you are healthy enough to work.” If cramps, flu, or the bubonic plague are bad enough that I can’t make it to work, then I will not be there. If they are gentle enough that I can make it, I will be there. That’s the cut off. I’m sorry if that is a weak work ethic in your life.
And I repeat an question asked above, if being forced to work a totally shit job in order to have money isn’t the real world, what is?
milroyj, you’re close to the truth on this one when you describe Guin’s problem as being her work ethic, but it actually is much more serious. In truth, her refusal to work was clearly a thinly-veiled attempt to undermine the US GNP by witholding her services from the workforce. When K-Mart goes bankrupt, all good Americans suffer.
Since I know the clones in this forum expect to see proof (all that figting ignorance nonsense), I’ll give it. Her Doper name is actually a cleverly enciphered message to the underground regime, identifying her as a member.
Guinastasia = I Against USA.
Coincidence? I think not. All thinking people should search out the members of this conspiracy and force them to work every day, regardless of the lame excuses they provide you. And don’t be fooled by their limitless propaganda, either (you can find it in countless so-called “leadership manuals”). Contagious diseases, additional days lost due to untreated illness, and poor customer service from ill employees are all just tricks they “cite” to get you to buy into the conspiracy. Don’t be fooled. If you buy their hogwash, you’re probably also among the gullible who are unaware of the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide.
Thank you for allowing me to publicly expose Guin and her cabal.
Forgive me, but I can’t understand what’s so bad about being on the rag that makes it impossible to go to work.
If you have actually lost consciousness because of cramps, then you’ve got something there, but the run-of-the-mill cramps, headache, water retention - heh. Sometimes, you have to suck it up and go to work anyway.
I wish I could call in sick every time I had cramps or a migraine or I retained water, but that’s not how it works. I get cramps. I get migraines. I pop some advils and I go to work because it’s my responsibility to be there even when I’m feeling less than 100% healthy. My period is not a disease that means vacation days, and if I started insisting that it was, I’d probably be fired pretty quickly because my boss would figure my work ethic sucks.
I just find it real hard to understand how the boss is an asshole for this one, because I find it hard to believe that being on the rag necessitates calling in sick.
Oh, screw off, catsix.
Why does it make such a big difference whether a woman’s symptoms are caused by a virus hijacking the cells of her body to crank out more copies of its infernal self, or by hormones dicking up the normal functioning of her organs?
If she’s too sick to work, she’s too sick to fucking work.
“Sobbing and hunched over” doesn’t sound like “run-of-the-mill cramps” to me. Just 'cause you don’t get 'em that bad, sister, doesn’t mean that women who do are being wusses. And they don’t have to make you faint before they make it difficult or impossible for you to stand up or to sit up in a chair. If some women’s cramps are so bad they can’t make it to work, it’s not because their work ethic sucks compared to yours, oh high and mighty one (do let me know when your boss awards you the “perfect attendance” trophy, so that I can send you a note of congratulation), it’s quite possibly because they are in more pain than you.
Here’s hoping you never experience cramps that bad.
And if you are taking a couple of Advils and working with a “migraine”, I have a strong suspicion that you don’t really get migraines–you get bad headaches. Personally, I find it very difficult to work with an aura blocking two-thirds of my field of vision. I hope that my work ethic is not diminished in your eyes if I let something silly like my inability to read prevent me from contining to work at that point. Luckily the one severe migraine headache I have experienced was at night, but I guarantee you that, even after taking OTC pain medication, the pain was such that I would have been unable to fulfill my job functions if I was at work when it struck. Even if you do have honest-to-God migraines that you can effectively treat with Advil, you might want to consider the remote possibility that some people’s migraines might possibly be a smidge more debilitating than your own.
And, once again, I hope you never find out personally what it’s like to be reduced to a vomitting, quivering wreck while some vengeful demon goes about redecorating the interior of your skull with a wrecking ball.
But if you did get an episode of killer cramps, or a nasty full-blown migraine (and I’m not saying that I hope you do, because I wouldn’t wish either one on my worst enemy) then you might devote some of the time you spend away from work thinking about how low-class it is to look down your nose at someone for their lack of work ethic when you haven’t walked a mile in their shoes.
Guinastasia, it sucks that your boss requires anything more from you than, “I’m not feeling well, and I won’t be able to come to work tomorrow.” Your health is your personal business. If they pry, it’s up to you whether you wish to demurr, “Oh, I’d just as soon keep the gory details to myself. I’ll probably be feeling better by Wednesday.” or give them the straight dope: “Okay, imagine that somebody’s been using your gut and lower back as a punching back for about a day and a half and blood is streaming out of a hole between your legs. It kind of feels like that.”
Oh excuse fucking me because I don’t immediately think that menstrual cramps mimick appendicitis. And hey, go off on me all you want because I don’t take time off due to cramps, but after the horror stories of exaggeration I’ve seen from chicks around me, I do have a hard time believing it up front when somebody says that cramps leave them ‘bent over sobbing’.
Excuse me if I think an employer has the right to be a little dubious of an employee calling in sick knowing full well that the store is short-staffed, especially when that employee doesn’t sound the least bit sick on the telephone. God damn, of all the fucking NERVER for a boss to actually want the employees to show up to work at their scheduled times. What a fucking asshole for trying to get employees to actually show up on their scheduled days. Where the fuck are his manners? Wanting someone to actually show up and perform their duties on their scheduled shift, that’s so blatantly fucking wrong and evil, I don’t think I even have to get into it.
As for migraines, I’ve been there. I’ve had them for years. Started getting them so young that my doctor didn’t even want to believe it, but that’s exactly what I had. I’ve dealt with cluster headaches, ‘white outs’ (If you’ve never had one, that’s where you get a sudden intense burst of pain and your entire field of vision goes white), throwing up, being dizzy, even passing out. What I learned from all of this is that if the migraine is bad enough to cause any of those things, it’s also bad enough that I can’t see a computer screen or even tolerate the sound of the keys clicking while I type.
Maybe her boss pries about it because like some other bosses out there, he/she gets a lot of people calling in ‘sick’ when the reality is that the weather’s nice and they’d rather go do something else, or because they just want to sleep in, or some other reason than that they’re actually sick. Or maybe it’s because she misses a lot of days due to being ‘sick’ and bosses get a little suspicious of those who call in sick on a regular basis (and once or twice a month can be enough to trigger those ‘Wow, _____ sure is sick a lot… I wonder if they’re faking’ alarm bells).
But yeah, if I’m the one who gets the calls for ‘I’m sick, I’m not coming’, I tend to ask them if they’ll come in if feeling better tomorrow, or if they’re sure they absolutely can’t make it when I know there’s already a shortage. So bite me, because I just can’t call someone a ‘fucking asshole’ for wanting employees to show up when scheduled to work.
Oh, I agree with you. But in their minds, they weren’t pissing anyone off.
Occassionally, I’ve had to call off because of anxiety attacks, because I was literally having panic attacks at the thought of coming into work and dealing with people. (There was more to this, but I don’t feel like going into it.)
That time, however, I DID tell my supervisor, because she and I were very friendly and I knew I could tell her and she wouldn’t give me a hard time.
I’ve looked into Kelly, thanks, but I noticed you pay them to find you a job. Right now, this isn’t possible.
sigh
I can deal with it-I went in yesterday, and I STILL had cramps, but I only worked for five hours. That said, I wanted to scream from the pain. I can’t take Ibuprofen too much anymore-it’s beginning to bother my stomach. Midol isn’t much better-the only kind that really helps is the stuff that makes me sleepy.
Wisest Novel-dammit! I thought I was so careful! Damn you to hell, you foiled my evil plot! 
catsix-so because you are so wonderful and healthy and a perfect employee, the rest of us are dirt? How about you bite me twice?
Quite frankly-my work ethic is pretty good. However, sometimes the bottom line is-my work, or my health. My mental health is way more important to me than a place where it’s everyone for him or herself, and no one gives a damn about you. My ethic about Kmart is being destroyed by seeing the crap and abuse and rampant incompetance by the higher ups while we peons are forced to do the shit work and take the blame. Piss off.
milroyj, I’m guessing you’re single? If not, go to your wife/girlfriend/SO and tell them what you just told me. And then come back and tell me I wasn’t “sick.”
Just go to hell, all of you. I have a work ethic-but Kmart is slowly destroying it.