tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28169009.post1160843304886273994..comments2023-09-16T09:00:31.715-04:00Comments on Telecommuter Talk: Today's OptionsEmily Bartonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13971084813206845680noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28169009.post-58703564387847788582008-02-06T09:27:00.000-05:002008-02-06T09:27:00.000-05:00Litlove, oh yes, it's those "tiny little things" t...Litlove, oh yes, it's those "tiny little things" that all add up to one gigantic thing that are the worst. And, yes, I'm feeling MUCH better, despite gorging on fat yesterday.<BR/><BR/>Mandarine, that hit home with me as I was listening to ROBINSON CRUSOE on my afternoon commute the other day. When he got sick, well, THOSE were real sick days, no? And thanks for the tip re: Outlook.<BR/><BR/>MFS, your stage one sounds scarily like a normal work day for me. <BR/><BR/>ZM, funny. I used to take mental health days as a matter of course, but now that I telecommute, I don't find I need them. And right: what's the point in taking one if Zoe's home? That's called a "play date," isn't it?<BR/><BR/>Dorr, yes, it's those horrible emails that suddenly ruin what was a perfectly good day that are so problematic. Ignorance really is bliss sometimes.<BR/><BR/>Cam, sounds like you absolutely, positively need a mental health day, so take it (and unplug all phones, computers, etc.). Hope you're feeling much, much better soon!Emily Bartonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13971084813206845680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28169009.post-63370412019372711852008-02-06T03:54:00.000-05:002008-02-06T03:54:00.000-05:00Oh this strikes home with me. I lost 8 days of PT...Oh this strikes home with me. I lost 8 days of PTO (combined vacation/sick days with my employer) last year and worked both Christmas Eve and New Years Day, not to mention Labor Day and a portion of the one 'free' day I tried to pack into my Dec NYC trip. I've been out sick -- truly sick -- for 5 days now. For two days my office phone was forwarded to my cell phone and I stupidly answered it and garbled things like <I>I'm sick, have X look at it</I>. Delegated emails almost everytime the blackberry buzzed. When I was at the MD's, the bb buzzed about 5 times. Finally he said: <I>You really aren't going into the office are you?</I>. I finally turned off the phone and didn't check email until after hours and responded to only a few. Yet today, I agreed to work on one problem which turned into a two hour phone call. I can't remember ever taking 5 sick days -- not even when I had mono and I think I kept my son -- then an infant -- home from daycare. What the heck was I thinking? Yeah, I'm sick all right. Will see what Wednesday brings. Thursday may have to be a mental health day just on principal. And I expect to get a hearty laugh from my Doc when I ask for a Return to Work note. I'm sr management and I need that? I so wish that was a joke.Anne Camillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12419931136194330529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28169009.post-43609937274792174762008-02-05T20:29:00.000-05:002008-02-05T20:29:00.000-05:00Oh, I'm glad you recovered quickly! And I'd have ...Oh, I'm glad you recovered quickly! And I'd have a hard resisting the laptop and the emails -- I make the mistake of checking my work email over the weekend (I do like to be able to answer student emails, and I work over the weekend anyway, grading papers and such) and then getting upset or tensed over something I read, and it can ruin the weekend, if I'm not careful.Rebecca H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10825532162727473112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28169009.post-8925607162991636182008-02-05T20:28:00.000-05:002008-02-05T20:28:00.000-05:00I can relate. I don't work from home regularly, b...I can relate. I don't work from home regularly, but I can work from home because I have a laptop and I often end up at least checking email on a sick day. I make up for it by taking "mental health" days. Mental health days are taken as sick days, but I plan some restorative activity like watching movies or sleeping or reading all day. It is important that these mental health days be taken on days when my daughter has school. <BR/><BR/>All that said, I agree with Becky -- you should reclaim your optional day.ZoesMomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13279493011192565601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28169009.post-14168899135747619542008-02-05T08:46:00.000-05:002008-02-05T08:46:00.000-05:00I'd forgotten about Optional Days. I see one of th...I'd forgotten about Optional Days. I see one of those coming up very soon. Thank you for the reminder!<BR/>I have two stages of sick days: stage one is that I work from home, where staying in my pyjamas all day with the heating turned up and copious amounts of tea will help; stage two is where I respond to email from home and then tell everyone that's it for the day because my head isn't working. <BR/>By my reckonings, you can reclaim your optional day because you worked.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28169009.post-76263925179659978242008-02-05T07:51:00.000-05:002008-02-05T07:51:00.000-05:00I just touched on the perfect meaninglessness of t...I just touched on the perfect meaninglessness of the barrier our work ethics has erected between life and work. How would an 'optional day' look like for a hunter-gatherer or a farmer? After all, humans have been hunter-gatherers for eons, farmers for millennia, and office workers for less than a century. No wonder our mind has difficulties justifying the concept of sick days when physical commuting no longer materializes the stupid psychological barrier.<BR/><BR/>PS: you can answer your email but then set a delay ("Do Not Deliver Before" option in outlook) so that nobody knows...mandarinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18413240094728405118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28169009.post-57722658673324352612008-02-05T03:12:00.000-05:002008-02-05T03:12:00.000-05:00I know all about the difficulty of taking a proper...I know all about the difficulty of taking a proper sick day when you work at home AND the immense difficulty of taking a day off from motherhood. The latter is possible but requires the kind of military organisation that might have been responsible for wearing you out in the first place. I am always caught out by incremental decision making - the 'oh I'll just do this tiny thing' principle, quickly followed by one more tiny thing, and so on. Isn't it tricky? If you find an answer, let me know!! And most important of all, I do hope you are now feeling MUCH better.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com