Do you take your birthday off work?

[mantilla410]

No. Exception is if my birthday falls on Good Friday. I make is a rule not to work on Good Friday, or if I absolutely have to go in, only till 11:30 a.m.

 

[Morwenna]

I have always save 1 vacation day for my birthday. It’s mine to use when I want anyway.

My feelings exactly. I’m frankly mystified by some of the responses on this thread.

Unless people are thinking the OP meant “calling in ‘sick’” rather than taking a vacation day, what’s all the fuss about?

(OP, if you really DID mean “calling in ‘sick’” then my apologies for misinterpreting … but I read it as taking a normal/scheduled day off).

 

[Joannm]

No. Exception is if my birthday falls on Good Friday. I make is a rule not to work on Good Friday, or if I absolutely have to go in, only till 11:30 a.m.

My birthday fell on Good Friday once a few years ago, but since I work for a church, Good Friday is a workday for me and I cannot take it off without major problems between my pastor and I. In fact I can’t take anydays off during Holy Week and the Triduum.

 

[Seatuck]

It’s not that uncommon here for a worker to have a paid day off for a birthday. I work part time so I don’t get one but my coworkers always have a cake on whatever day I work that falls closest to my birthday and as many people as possible can be present. They do that for everyone in the office.

 

[chevalier]

I don’t. First, it’s nice to see the workmates on that day. Second, we generally moved birthday celebrations to Saturdays on Sundays in my family. Not like I would turn down an additional paid day off.

 

[Stella76]

I feel very weird about telling people it’s my birthday, let alone actually taking a whole day off to think about it! I have friends who throw themselves parties for their birthdays, but I just couldn’t make myself do that. I don’t know why I’m like this.

I do have a great husband who usually “spills the beans” by bringing me a little bouquet of flowers while I’m at work on my birthday. That’s sweet of him.

*Stella

 

[Phemie]

My birthday fell on Good Friday once a few years ago, but since I work for a church, Good Friday is a workday for me and I cannot take it off without major problems between my pastor and I. In fact I can’t take anydays off during Holy Week and the Triduum.

Here, Good Friday is a statutory holiday so if I work the parish has to pay me 1.5 times my regular wage.

Ghoti knows that I also get Nov. 11 off as it’s a statutory holiday in this province. I’m at the military cemetery for the memorial service at 9 a.m. that day since due to DH’s commitments to Scouts I can’t be at the cenotaph at 11 a.m. FWIW, I think the memorial service among the graves of our war dead is much more moving and significant that the one at the town cenotaph. But that’s just me.

 

[Biblioassistant]

My birthday is usually during Lent, so it’s always been low key for me. I work on my birthday, but I always take a vacation day for Good Friday.

 

[Joan_M]

Years and years ago, when I worked for Hallmark everyone could take a day off for their birthday (within a week before or after the actual birthday - so, if you birthday fell on Saturday or Sunday you didn’t miss out on the day off) - after all, if people didn’t celebrate birthdays there would be no Hallmark!

 

[Charles_22]

I’ve never taken it off…if it falls on a workday we just celebrate on the weekend…

My employer has a giant cake delivered once a month for all employees to enjoy…it’s not really a celebration, but it’s kind of a token “Happy Birthday”

They had something similar to that in the IT department at which I worked. The secretary for IT would get a big cake and put all the employees’ names which were born on that month on it. Kind of neat.

 

[jmcrae]

My feelings exactly. I’m frankly mystified by some of the responses on this thread.

Unless people are thinking the OP meant “calling in ‘sick’” rather than taking a vacation day, what’s all the fuss about?

(OP, if you really DID mean “calling in ‘sick’” then my apologies for misinterpreting … but I read it as taking a normal/scheduled day off).

It was because of something I saw in another thread, where someone was commenting on the side that she took a day off work for her birthday (the subject of the thread was something else; it was just a little side comment that she made) - I just wanted to see how common that kind of thinking is.

 

[Morwenna]

It was because of something I saw in another thread, where someone was commenting on the side that she took a day off work for her birthday (the subject of the thread was something else; it was just a little side comment that she made) - I just wanted to see how common that kind of thinking is.

Ok, glad that I didn’t misunderstand, then.

People take days off for all kinds of reasons, at least in the companies I’ve worked for … personally, I see nothing wrong with taking a day off on one’s birthday (or spouse’s/child’s/other family member’s birthday) to celebrate, no more than it would be wrong for someone to take a day off to go to Disneyland, or the beach, or anything else.

Vacation time is meant to be used for whatever purpose each employee sees fit … not everyone can afford to go on a fancy vacation, some folks just enjoy taking a day off to enjoy themselves browsing book stores or antique stores, or taking a small ‘day-trip’ somewhere, or visiting with friends & family.

 

[jmcrae]

Ok, glad that I didn’t misunderstand, then.

People take days off for all kinds of reasons, at least in the companies I’ve worked for … personally, I see nothing wrong with taking a day off on one’s birthday (or spouse’s/child’s/other family member’s birthday) to celebrate, no more than it would be wrong for someone to take a day off to go to Disneyland, or the beach, or anything else.

Vacation time is meant to be used for whatever purpose each employee sees fit … not everyone can afford to go on a fancy vacation, some folks just enjoy taking a day off to enjoy themselves browsing book stores or antique stores, or taking a small ‘day-trip’ somewhere, or visiting with friends & family.

That’s a totally different way of thinking than I am used to. I wouldn’t take just one day off in the middle of the week; it seems like a waste of a vacation day.

I usually take my whole vacation all at once, and go on a driving trip out to the mountains, or something like that.

It also seems very grandiose, to take a day off for my birthday, like I’m a dead president, or someone so very special like that, that I get my very own stat holiday.

 

[survive]

My feelings exactly. I’m frankly mystified by some of the responses on this thread.

Unless people are thinking the OP meant “calling in ‘sick’” rather than taking a vacation day, what’s all the fuss about?

(OP, if you really DID mean “calling in ‘sick’” then my apologies for misinterpreting … but I read it as taking a normal/scheduled day off).

We don’t all have vacation days. We don’t all have holidays off. Many fields of employment give each employee one or two holidays off per year, so half the people have Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July off and the other half have Christmas (just the day itself) and Easter off, with every remaining day a regular workday. Some of these give a choice, first-come-first-served, of the holidays off, while others assign them. Many more give time-and-a-half for holiday work but don’t allow holidays off at all or vacation days. Some, including a place I’ve worked, don’t allow mroe than five sick days a year despite a very high risk environment where illness is extremely common. people have ahd to work during severe illness. Regardless of actual sickness, you don’t get those five days easily: Workers who never take one get higher ratings than those who have called in, even though there is a serious public health risk when people work sick. Some observe every birthday in a particular week, month or season of the year with one miniparty and others don’t observe them at all. When I saw the title of this thread I was astonished that anyone who isn’t an independent entrepreneur has the opportunity to take a birthday off work.

 

[Morwenna]

We don’t all have vacation days. We don’t all have holidays off. Many fields of employment give each employee one or two holidays off per year, so half the people have Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July off and the other half have Christmas (just the day itself) and Easter off, with every remaining day a regular workday. Some of these give a choice, first-come-first-served, of the holidays off, while others assign them. Many more give time-and-a-half for holiday work but don’t allow holidays off at all or vacation days. Some, including a place I’ve worked, don’t allow mroe than five sick days a year despite a very high risk environment where illness is extremely common. people have ahd to work during severe illness. Regardless of actual sickness, you don’t get those five days easily: Workers who never take one get higher ratings than those who have called in, even though there is a serious public health risk when people work sick. Some observe every birthday in a particular week, month or season of the year with one miniparty and others don’t observe them at all. When I saw the title of this thread I was astonished that anyone who isn’t an independent entrepreneur has the opportunity to take a birthday off work.

That’s very interesting, survive. I’ve worked for a number of different companies during my life, and all offered either vacation + sick days, or a single bank of time which can be used for either sick or vacation time. It’s a shame that not all employers recognize that employees have a life outside the office.

 

[Morwenna]

That’s a totally different way of thinking than I am used to. I wouldn’t take just one day off in the middle of the week; it seems like a waste of a vacation day.

I usually take my whole vacation all at once, and go on a driving trip out to the mountains, or something like that.

It also seems very grandiose, to take a day off for my birthday, like I’m a dead president, or someone so very special like that, that I get my very own stat holiday.

That’s great that you can afford a special vacation trip to the mountains, JM. Some of us can’t, so we settle for taking a day off here or there (birthdays or just because).

This summer I may be able to take an actual vacation for the first time in 11 years, God willing! :extrahappy:

 

[jmcrae]

That’s great that you can afford a special vacation trip to the mountains, JM. Some of us can’t, so we settle for taking a day off here or there (birthdays or just because).

Well, it’s the same amount of driving (and gas, meals, etc.) as a one-day trip; it’s just that I stay out there for two weeks or so (spending about what I spend at home, anyway, since I usually stay with family and friends out there; I don’t have to pay for a hotel or anything) before coming back again.

 

[marleelynn]

My birthday is in early September so it can fall on Labor Day, as it did last year. I normally take off work (I work for the state, so I have enough leave built up so I can talke off)

 

[Just_wondering]

That’s very interesting, survive. I’ve worked for a number of different companies during my life, and all offered either vacation + sick days, or a single bank of time which can be used for either sick or vacation time. It’s a shame that not all employers recognize that employees have a life outside the office.

I’ve had the same experience as survive. I worked for one company that had a policy that you had to apply for sick leave three days in advance, or you couldn’t take it. (Gosh, I do believe I’ll be sick next Friday…) I haven’t taken a sick day in five years, because I work for a private school that has no access to substitute teachers. It’s not that I haven’t been sick in that time, it’s just that there’s no way the place can run without me, unless I give them time to find a temporary replacement.

 

[Sillara]

Since I am a stay-at-home homeschooling mother with five children, I think I have forgotten what a day off means. Isn’t that a day when you get to sleep in, and you don’t have anywhere you HAVE to be? I–I can’t remember those days! I–ACK! I don’t believe that those days exist!