what's the deal with people not coming to work every single snowy day?

edvedder913

Brain of J.Lo wrote:

Ideally, yes. But, it's not like you can just send your kids to a daycare center for a day or two on the spur of the moment. Same with finding reliable in-home childcare. It's not like there are people just waiting around to provide childcare to an entire school district full of kids just because of a snow day.

exactly! I HATE when people say "you should have a back up plan"

clueless

um yeah....there is someone I know who just sits around and is readily avaiable when my kid is sick or there is a snow day. this person doesn't work, and just waits around for me to need them. ok, go find me one of those, I'd love to have one!

Derrick

Instead of sick days, or in addition to sick days...companies should offer sunshine days. Where you can take the day off on a really nice day X numbers of times per year.

Drop The Leash 10

Derrick wrote:

Instead of sick days, or in addition to sick days...companies should offer sunshine days. Where you can take the day off on a really nice day X numbers of times per year.

isnt that called a personal day??

rearviewmiror

I get what people are saying, but there are just those people who you know are using it as an excuse.

dunkman

Ms. Haiku wrote:

Speaking of helpful communities. I think adverse weather bonds communities, and why I think this has to do with Green Bay Wisconsin. When I lived there it snowed, and snowed, and snowed. In no time trucks with plows were cleaning up the roads. What's interesting is that some non-government people just had a plow on their trucks. They dug themselves out, they dug their neighbors out, it's just what they do. People would routinely help each other out.

yeah i remember neighbours doing that for each other back about 6 or 7 years ago when we had 7ft of snow here.. it was brilliant as there were no cars on the road and people just helped out each other.. almost like going back to a village community kinda thing... there were old guys out with coffee flasks and i went and got milk/bread for the oldies down the street.. great memories actually

GreenTeaDisease

TrixieCat wrote:

There is nothing weird about this.
Did your mom and dad leave you sitting home when you didn't have school by yourself? Or were you fortunate enough to be surrounded by family like I was.
I was watched by my great uncle that lived next door. Alot of people don't have that, nor do they have an on call sitter.
Get over it already. Doesn't seem like you are doing much work anyway...lol

I don't remember what we did really. most of my parents' friends were teachers so I think we went to their houses...or my grandparents.

Derrick

Oh..and congratulations to any idiot that talks about backup plans for sick kids. They don't exist. There is no service for it. You can't send your kid to daycare/school because they will infect the whole place.

My wife and I split time off when our son is sick 50/50. At her last job, her manager asked that she set up a backup plan so that she didn't miss _any_ work when the boy got ill. She handed in her resignation the next week and found a new job that paid 30pct more than she was making.

Derrick

Drop The Leash 10 wrote:

isnt that called a personal day??

Where I work, any non-scheduled day off is called a personal day, so there is no distinction for illness.

edvedder913

Derrick wrote:

Oh..and congratulations to any idiot that talks about backup plans for sick kids. They don't exist. There is no service for it. You can't send your kid to daycare/school because they will infect the whole place.

My wife and I split time off when our son is sick 50/50. At her last job, her manager asked that she set up a backup plan so that she didn't miss _any_ work when the boy got ill. She handed in her resignation the next week and found a new job that paid 30pct more than she was making.

some people just don't get it.....

Heineken Helen

rearviewmiror wrote:

I get what people are saying, but there are just those people who you know are using it as an excuse.

hey what's the big deal? I haven't had a sick/personal day in a long time, might be about a year... but I'm quite jealous of those who can/have the balls to take them frequently .

BinFrog

I have a 30 mile commute and I'll be damned if I was even thinking about going in today. I can work from home and I do when I need to. My girlfriend however uses the T to get to work in Boston from Malden and she went in today.

GreenTeaDisease

BinFrog wrote:

I have a 30 mile commute and I'll be damned if I was even thinking about going in today. I can work from home and I do when I need to. My girlfriend however uses the T to get to work in Boston from Malden and she went in today.

sooo....basically....people who live efficiently and live close to the city and public transportation should make an effort to go into work, but the sprawled habitat-fragmenting drivers get to stay home...

Heineken Helen

GreenTeaDisease wrote:

sooo....basically....people who live efficiently and live close to the city and public transportation should make an effort to go into work, but the sprawled habitat-fragmenting drivers get to stay home...

eh well... yeh!

If going to work is going to be hazardous or a childminding nightmare, sometimes you just can't do it. But if you live nearby, don't have kids and it's no problem getting there, well how can you use the same excuse?

comebackwoman

Heineken Helen wrote:

maybe these people who don't make it in actually listen to their own advice they may have had one too many close calls. There's also the not having anywhere to send the kids thing... and then there's the chance of getting snowed in and having no way to get home at work. I got sent home from work once cos of snow it was starting kinda heavily so they sent us all home, it was fantastic

Yeah...i understand about people with children, etc. I'm talking about the people who literally can and do walk to work. I've had enough scares and gladly go home when I've been sent home by my supervisor cause of the weather or if they've closed the agency...I just feel guilty if I choose to stay home on my own when the agency is open...only to arrive and find no one else is there. That's it!!! No more!

Ms. Haiku

GreenTeaDisease wrote:

sooo....basically....people who live efficiently and live close to the city and public transportation should make an effort to go into work, but the sprawled habitat-fragmenting drivers get to stay home...

You assumed a lot based on what BinFrog wrote. Let's just verify that he is working from home because he is able to do that. Maybe his girlfriend doesn't have the option to telecommute.

Do you have a problem with flexible working arrangements? Considering the price of gas, the price of meals outside the home, and all other costs associated with working outside the home for employers and employees, telecommuting is a great option. A person can live a block away from work, and if he/she wants to telecommute, and the company offers that option, then that person should do it.

Heineken Helen

comebackgirl wrote:

Yeah...i understand about people with children, etc. I'm talking about the people who literally can and do walk to work. I've had enough scares and gladly go home when I've been sent home by my supervisor cause of the weather or if they've closed the agency...I just feel guilty if I choose to stay home on my own when the agency is open...only to arrive and find no one else is there. That's it!!! No more!

Atta girl... you don't get paid anymore or get any extra thanks for putting your life at risk

It was around this time last year when the car I was in with my sisters boyfriend skidded all over the road before going into a ditch . Pretty terrifying and no job is worth taking that risk over... although I suppose any cold morning has a chance of ice

JSBE

Ms. Haiku wrote:

Do you have a problem with flexible working arrangements? Considering the price of gas, the price of meals outside the home, and all other costs associated with working outside the home for employers and employees, telecommuting is a great option. A person can live a block away from work, and if he/she wants to telecommute, and the company offers that option, then that person should do it.

i will agree that it is a great option, but my use of it so far has sucked. i would love to work for a company that allows the use of telecommuting whenever.

i have access to work from home but have been specifically told that it is only for use when pre-approved...despite the fact after speaking with a lot of people including HR that there is no written procedure regarding working from home.

i had pneumonia a couple months ago and the first day i really felt like crap i called in and said i would work from home. half way through the day my director called me, told me to stop working and to get better. upon my return to the office after a week out i was essentially 'tore a new one' for working from home without preapproval...ever since then i have been looking for a new job. honestly, fuck them.

as for today. one guy called in "sick" and at least a half dozen other people are working from home. the worst part is that i work with a guy in a wheelchair and he's here today.

comebackwoman

Derrick wrote:

Instead of sick days, or in addition to sick days...companies should offer sunshine days. Where you can take the day off on a really nice day X numbers of times per year.

Now that's a good idea!
Actually my friend's company gave them "free fridays" during the summer. I think they had something like 6 free fridays that they could take anytime they wanted. I want me some sunshine days!

meme

GreenTeaDisease wrote:

the other weird thing is when there are snow days from school so people have to stay home to watch their kids. I don't get that.

They do because they can. Should they come to work just to make you happy? It sounds reasonable to me that workplaces would be accomodating of this very legitimate need. The only time my son's daycare was closed down and the university where I taught wasn't, I took him to class with me. He was fine for a half hour, after which I just dismissed my class. I did not feel in the least guilty. If anything, I felt stupid for not having cancelled class, like almost every other teacher.

Having said that, I honestly think schools' standards for closing are ridiculously low, a legacy of the past when mommy was staying home.

Ms. Haiku

JSBE wrote:

i will agree that it is a great option, but my use of it so far has sucked. i would love to work for a company that allows the use of telecommuting whenever.

i have access to work from home but have been specifically told that it is only for use when pre-approved...despite the fact after speaking with a lot of people including HR that there is no written procedure regarding working from home.

i had pneumonia a couple months ago and the first day i really felt like crap i called in and said i would work from home. half way through the day my director called me, told me to stop working and to get better. upon my return to the office after a week out i was essentially 'tore a new one' for working from home without preapproval...ever since then i have been looking for a new job. honestly, fuck them.

as for today. one guy called in "sick" and at least three other people are working from. the worst part is that i work with a guy in a wheelchair and he's here today.

Luckily, I'm working in a place that wants to be a model for a 21st century workplace. Telecommuting of course has to be an option. I'd like to work from home more days, and hopefully it will be more open. Currently, I can work from home 2 days/week. It's too bad your company sends such mixed messages. Telecommuting is a boon! Employers need to know that.

When I worked at amazon.com I telecommuted 5days/week. They didn't have the space plain and simple. I wouldn't work from home 5 days/week again, unless I'm out of state, but I was one of the top 2 employees out of 200 as far as productivity. That is before we were all laid off At my current job I'm still earning great bonuses based on productivity and creativity.