I’d say no to taking a day off for a hamster. A guinea pig, O.K.
You’ve got to draw the line somewhere.
I’ve never taken a day off when I’m not sick. But I like my work.
ETA: Just pulled up my own HR page online. I took 2 days in January 2001 when I had the actual, real, not-a-bad-cold flu, and half a day since then.
My firm’s policy is that you’re not supposed to take sick leave off unless you’re sick.
But how would they know? Are there Excuse Enforcers that roam the neighborhoods checking up on people that call in sick?
And how would that work? There have been times I’ve felt horrible at 9 AM, but by 1 PM I was ready to face the day. A day that didn’t include work at that point.
At my last corporate job (Fortune 500 co.) the policy was “you don’t have to tell us why you’re taking a personal day. Its personal.”
They can have whatever policy they want. I don’t think such a policy reflects reality, generally. I’d say a fair number of us have missed a day of work for less than earth-shattering reasons.
Actually, I used to know a guy who worked for a private detective. MOST of the work they did was following people around who were on some sort of disability, then nailing them for fraud. And I’ve known people who have gotten fired when they see someone out and about when they called in sick - like the bosses wife.
Also, a LOT of companies run absentee pattern software - female calls in sick once every 28 days - know what that is. Person who calls in sick ten times a year - eight of them on Fridays - hummmm… They probably won’t ever accuse you of anything - you’ll just get put in the position of not liking your job, never getting raises or promotions, and being near the top of the layoff list in hard times.
If you work any sort of scheduled job, calling in sick too often (even if you ARE sick) simply means you get not enough hours and the crappy ones - until you quit.
If you feel lousy at nine and great by one, do one of two things - either go into work or be sensible enough NOT to go off to the mall for the afternoon. Hang around the house, watch TV. And for God’s sake, don’t invite some friends over for the afternoon and then talk about it the next day.
Many people DO take sick time when they aren’t sick - but if you have sick days - its probably against policy to do so, and its probably a termination offense if you get caught. So IF one is going to act in such a manner (which is of questionable ethics), you should at very least exercise discretion.
We have tons of sick-ins in my office - people sniffling and sneezing their way through the day because they want to save their sick days for when they’re feeling well, so they can enjoy the day off. It’s stupid and probably gets other people sick, but when you get limited off days and sick days, they become precious and people game the system.
No. That is ridiculous.
This brought a tear to my eye. When my hamster dies, I want you to deliver the eulogy.
The only trouble is, I think he would want me to lie around in my urine-soaked cedar shavings. You know - get on with life as usual.
Regards,
Shodan
In a word: no.
Good lord no.
I dunno, maybe it’s because I’ve had to deal with death more than the average person and from a very young age (various reasons) but no. When I was 9, I went to school the day my aunt died and she lived right next door so we were close.
Look, I have no problem with a good student missing school. I used to miss a bunch because of vacations and such but if the reason to stay home is simply because of a dead hamster my parents would have never let me. FYI, my parents never let me stay home for no reason, I only missed school for vacations and cottage weekends and things.
I would know.
16? A hamster? You gotta be kidding. Maybe for a dog or cat. And of course a human. But not a hamster.
So mebbe depending on the kid and circumstances is my my answer sniping and stealing hers
I wanted to add, I’m not heartless, I love animals, hell, I work at a grooming shop. I just can’t see a hamster death being that traumatic at 16. If you had said a 6-year-old, that would be different.
I’m beginning to worry about kids today being so damn coddled…get offa my lawn! And I’m only 31!
I’d say asking for time off from school because of a dead hamster is the kind of thing a cynical high-school student would try out on a teacher.
I was always expected to go to school, no matter what. I remember in elementary school, a classmate told me that his mom let him skip school sometimes - it astounded me.
I think I would let my kids skip school if I knew they were dedicated to school and had made the rational decision that it was worth taking the day off (not too often!) I wonder if I wouldn’t have been better off for it - I’m completely incapable of staying home sick, even if I know staying in bed that first day would do me some good, because I feel so guilty for skipping my responsibilities. I wish I was better at realizing that sometimes, it’s okay to take time for my physical and mental health.
No. I’m sure Pellets would have wanted her to carry on.
Honestly, unless there is something emotionally wrong with the girl it’s a very small leason in life to learn to deal with.
The answer is still no. Good grief- and how many days? What sort of child are you trying to raise. Ine that takes days off their employment because a dig got bitten?
I am not heartless- I love pets. Young people are dying in Iraq every day and that means more to me than the death of a rodent.