Do you take your birthday off work?

[Charles_22]

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.

You might want to watch out for that. You get the kids sick and no telling what will happen. I had some guy at work claim he was going to sue me if I got him sick, because he was under the impression I wasn’t completely well.

 

[Just_wondering]

You might want to watch out for that. You get the kids sick and no telling what will happen. I had some guy at work claim he was going to sue me if I got him sick, because he was under the impression I wasn’t completely well.

People would do that? What is this world coming to?

Thankfully, Korea is not as sue-happy as America. The idea that someone could sue you for being sick before them and “causing” their illness sounds like absolute insanity to me. Can’t sue for that here, and I’m glad for it.

 

[yessisan]

I take it off no matter what in any company I worked for or any college I went to. My bday falls during the summer, so the only times I had to go to school were when I got into college. Where I work, when you become a benefited worker, you get your birthday as a paid holiday. So if you work you get time and a half, and if you don’t work, you get paid 8 hrs.

 

[survive]

Some folks here have sweet jobs. I’m struggling with envy. I’ll just focus on what I have. A lot. The best views in urban America, that applies to the whole region actually; no real disabilities; good eyesight and a sense of humor; some wonderful people in my life; a computer. I have my own place. I feel better now.
I kind of dream sometimes I’ll have a job with vacations and cash to go somewhere during them. And health coverage. And free sick days. Even paid sick days (pipe dream there). On that day I might take my birthday off but I don’t really want to. I’d rather take a day off when there’s a festival or major feast going on, so I can do something exciting. I love cake, don’t get me wrong, but if I can afford trips out of town I can afford all the cake I want.
As for how easy it is to be taken to court in the US, it can happen for no reason at all. Americans sue each other for hurting their feelings.

 

[Charles_22]

People would do that? What is this world coming to?

Thankfully, Korea is not as sue-happy as America. The idea that someone could sue you for being sick before them and “causing” their illness sounds like absolute insanity to me. Can’t sue for that here, and I’m glad for it.

He can “try” to do that, but that was a total surrpise to me as well. I suppose if he had evidence besides my own word, should he had had it, that I was indeed not totally healed, or that I went out of my way to cough on him, then he might had succeeded in the lawsuit. OTOH, had he lost I think he would had to pay total court costs. We weren’t the best of friends, but then we never yelled at each other or anything like that either. He was something of a shadey character though, and just that he would have the nerve to say something so outrageous was enough for me to believe he would at least attempt it. He didn’t get sick though.

 

[Charles_22]

Some folks here have sweet jobs. I’m struggling with envy. I’ll just focus on what I have. A lot. The best views in urban America, that applies to the whole region actually; no real disabilities; good eyesight and a sense of humor; some wonderful people in my life; a computer. I have my own place. I feel better now.
I kind of dream sometimes I’ll have a job with vacations and cash to go somewhere during them. And health coverage. And free sick days. Even paid sick days (pipe dream there). On that day I might take my birthday off but I don’t really want to. I’d rather take a day off when there’s a festival or major feast going on, so I can do something exciting. I love cake, don’t get me wrong, but if I can afford trips out of town I can afford all the cake I want.
As for how easy it is to be taken to court in the US, it can happen for no reason at all. Americans sue each other for hurting their feelings.

Oh, I had my the no health plan, almost no vacation sort of job before. Then I had at least two jobs in a row which carried benefits similar, if not in fact, Fortune 500 type, but now I’m facing the real possibility that I may end up right back where I started again, and out goes most of the benefits.

 

[aspawloski4th]

I cannot imagine an adult taking off work for their birthday.

First I take very little time off for anything from my 2 jobs that I really don’t like working but need to to survive. I work at least 6 days a week every week and 7 some weeks. Im rarely ever taking a vacation because I can’t afford it. I figure I’m doing the stuff others want out of me through out the year to a high level without complaint, I deserve a day to myself. I reflect, I relax. I go to littlee places that I otherwise don’t hasve time for the rest of the year. If it’s open. My birthday is the day after Christmas. Yes I take it as a personal day. If one upsets the apple cart, that business is in trouble anyway. It’s my oneday where I take care of me, so i can take care of the rest of the world petty concearns the rest of the year.

 

[lizaanne]

My birthday is the day after Christmas.

Mine is too!!

I’ve always had this day off as part of the Christmas holiday, so I’ve never really thought about it. Usually the day is spent recovering from a hectic Christmas day, relaxing with my husband, and opening my birthday gifts I’ve received in the mail from family who is out of town.

If my birthday were in June or something I would never just take the day off though.

~Liza

 

[RGA123]

I just had a birthday last week and this came up at my birthday dinner. A joke was made about me never working on my birthday by one of my brothers. I usually always take that day to play golf as it is my favorite thing to do but NEVER when it would mean someone else at work having to do extra or if it might make someone’s day more hectic. I don’t call in sick last minute. I let my boss know ahead of time that I will be taking that day off and if he has a problem with it he will tell me. My birthday was actually last Monday but since the forecast called for rain I just went to work. Might be the first time I worked on my birthday in 4 or 5 years.

 

[mantilla410]

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.

Wow! Our parish office closes on Wednesday of Holy Week. You can however, leave messages with the answering service in case of emergency.

 

[Phemie]

Wow! Our parish office closes on Wednesday of Holy Week. You can however, leave messages with the answering service in case of emergency.

Officially we close Good Friday (it’s a statutory holiday in Canada, except in Quebec) but it’s the rare year that I’m not in the office working on something that day (probably speaks more of my lack of organization than anything).

OTOH, the provincial drama festival is the week after Easter and I’m usually involved in that so it’s not rare that the office is closed that week with the pastor available for emergencies or previously scheduled meetings.

 

[Joannm]

Wow! Our parish office closes on Wednesday of Holy Week. You can however, leave messages with the answering service in case of emergency.

Our parish office is closed as well, and I am the only one there. Even the priests, after morning prayer and confessions, disappear until the 3:00 service. Sometimes the pastor invites me for lunch since I am there in the office all alone. I don’t answer the phones but I have so much to do to prepare for the 3:00 service and the Easter Vigil. I work at least 70 hours during Holy Week.

 

[jmcrae]

Our parish office is closed as well, and I am the only one there. Even the priests, after morning prayer and confessions, disappear until the 3:00 service. Sometimes the pastor invites me for lunch since I am there in the office all alone. I don’t answer the phones but I have so much to do to prepare for the 3:00 service and the Easter Vigil. I work at least 70 hours during Holy Week.

Lunch? Isn’t it a day of fasting?

 

[Phemie]

Lunch? Isn’t it a day of fasting?

You don’t have to go completely without food. You just have to eat less than you normally do and not eat meat.

 

[Katie1723]

I worked at a place where you could accumuate 480 “sick hours” aside from regular vacation. For years I “threw away” sick time. I had reached the max. My hospital was bought out by another. I took my sick time with me. After a while, the system changed and I lost all my 480 hours. I got smart then. When I wanted a day off, I just called in sick. I didn’t say anything the day ahead, nor did I tell anyone. I didn’t abuse anything. Mostly I only asked for vacation.But it taught me a lesson. Being conscientious only lost me 60 days time. From then on, I looked out for me.
Kathy

 

[GUPPIE]

Where I work we are normally expected to bring in a birthday treat. We usually give the birthday person a card. It is not a requirement but we will get some polite “ribbing” if we don’t bring a treat in.

 

[Charles_22]

I worked at a place where you could accumuate 480 “sick hours” aside from regular vacation. For years I “threw away” sick time. I had reached the max. My hospital was bought out by another. I took my sick time with me. After a while, the system changed and I lost all my 480 hours. I got smart then. When I wanted a day off, I just called in sick. I didn’t say anything the day ahead, nor did I tell anyone. I didn’t abuse anything. Mostly I only asked for vacation.But it taught me a lesson. Being conscientious only lost me 60 days time. From then on, I looked out for me.
Kathy

No wonder so many of us are out of work and why so many don’t show up for the work they have. Over my 22yrs on the job, I may had accumulated like 150 days sick time, if not more. It didn’t matter, as it was something they gave you if you needed it, but it doesn’t mean you should use them if your weren’t sick. Towards the end of my time there, I had to take off like 5 weeks due to an achilles problem. It sure made me feel a lot more comfortable about it knowing I had a GREAT argument if they wanted to exert pressure on me. They didn’t take an inch of vacation time away from me either.

I will tell you something else having an outstanding attendance record will do for you, besides keeping you from being a liar or thief, and that is that you have one area of your career that NOBODY can argue with. How do I know?

I had one boss for a limited amount of time, that took me in a bad way. Everytime he was going to say something to me I knew it would be bad; whether it was accidental or not. So once they tried to make an issue out of his displeasure with me and I said how he did not regard me quite properly. They didn’t believe me till I pointed out my attendance category. He gave me the middle mark, when it should had been the highest one. That ended that discussion right there. I noticed some time after that, there no longer was an attendance category to our reviews, but instead attendance was lumped in with some more general category like ‘reliability’.

I knew all along I would most likely never be paid for the sick days I didn’t use, as it was their policy. Even after they let us all go, they still gave me nothing for it, My pay would had been the same regardless, but I did have a bittersweet victory at least once because of it. What’s more, since attendance, whatever form it takes, is part of a review, then you should be and usually are more highly regarded for not using them. Managers know the scam the employees pull off when they take their days all the time, and therefore know that’s that more reason to be less likely to trust them or promote them.

 

[First_of_9]

I am taking the day off right now. It’s my vacation and I’ll use it any way I want to.

 

[Phemie]

I worked at a place where you could accumuate 480 “sick hours” aside from regular vacation. For years I “threw away” sick time. I had reached the max. My hospital was bought out by another. I took my sick time with me. After a while, the system changed and I lost all my 480 hours. I got smart then. When I wanted a day off, I just called in sick. I didn’t say anything the day ahead, nor did I tell anyone. I didn’t abuse anything. Mostly I only asked for vacation.But it taught me a lesson. Being conscientious only lost me 60 days time. From then on, I looked out for me.
Kathy

Oh, boy, my pet peeve, people who don’t know what sick days are for.

I would rather “lose” 480 hours of sick leave because I never had to use it than not have it when needed because I defrauded by employer by calling in sick when I wasn’t.

 

[mantilla410]

Just checked the calendar: not only is my birthday on Good Friday (I love it when this happens!) it is my day off! I work a 9/80 schedule and the timing couldn’t have been better! :bounce: