A mid-level manager once confessed to me, "When people call in sick I can't help thinking they're lying." The supervisor of a department in another company asked me what she could do to stop employees from taking sick days. She fully believed that one in particular was "lying" when he said he had a backache and couldn't come in. She acknowledged that the man was in his late forties, and had a job history that had included a lot of strenuous physical labor in the past. In my own position as manager, I've gotten calls that ranged from a perky sounding claim of insomnia to losing first one family member then another in strange circumstances in rapid succession. You probably have examples of your own to add. So what can we do?
The answer is, almost nothing. Even if you're sure the person is "faking it," you're in a better position if you let it slide. If you're wrong, you undermine your own authority. Even if you're right, other employees (and some higher-level managers) will think less of you for making an issue of it. You'll create resentment in your department, even if only one employee is problematic.And resentment can lead to a range of passive-aggressive responses from even the most reliable employees.
You could trade resentment for complicity.The head of a graphics department in a large ad agency had several designers who'd occasionally call in sick as late as 11 am after a night of partying, which meant he had to scramble to find freelancers. He solved the problem this way: he told them that if they knew they might call in sick, to let him know in advance so he could plan ahead. But not everyone is comfortable making a compromise like that. For one thing, he put himself in a bad position to complain about absenteeism during reviews. For another, those who didn't take off for hangovers began taking sick days as informal personal days, rather than just the few heavy drinkers.
You could advocate for a company switch from discrete sick/vacation/personal days to paid time off (PTO) days. If you're not familiar, this allows employees to take a the same number of days, either planned (vacation/personal days) or unplanned (sick days). The trick is that if they don't use the sick days, they get to use them as vacation days. That means many employees call in less often, and try to "save" time off for their planned trips instead. You can ask employees to give you a couple of days notice for a single day off, unless they're actually sick. The disadvantages are that most employees will use all their PTO days (rather than having a few unused sick days by the end of the year), or sick employees will come to work to save their PTO days. (Keep in mind that some employees will do this anyway, either out of misguided work ethic or because they've used up their sick days for the year already.)
When you feel someone is taking advantage of the system, you're going to hold them at arm's length. But look at the whole person: is he or she a valuable member of your team? Is it likely you could replace them with someone more responsible? If you want to keep your employee, you're going to have to let go of your concern. That said, it's one thing if you're feeling suspicious about one person. If you feel this way about all of your employees, there's a possibility the problem is with your perception.
The answer is, almost nothing. Even if you're sure the person is "faking it," you're in a better position if you let it slide. If you're wrong, you undermine your own authority. Even if you're right, other employees (and some higher-level managers) will think less of you for making an issue of it. You'll create resentment in your department, even if only one employee is problematic.And resentment can lead to a range of passive-aggressive responses from even the most reliable employees.
You could trade resentment for complicity.The head of a graphics department in a large ad agency had several designers who'd occasionally call in sick as late as 11 am after a night of partying, which meant he had to scramble to find freelancers. He solved the problem this way: he told them that if they knew they might call in sick, to let him know in advance so he could plan ahead. But not everyone is comfortable making a compromise like that. For one thing, he put himself in a bad position to complain about absenteeism during reviews. For another, those who didn't take off for hangovers began taking sick days as informal personal days, rather than just the few heavy drinkers.
You could advocate for a company switch from discrete sick/vacation/personal days to paid time off (PTO) days. If you're not familiar, this allows employees to take a the same number of days, either planned (vacation/personal days) or unplanned (sick days). The trick is that if they don't use the sick days, they get to use them as vacation days. That means many employees call in less often, and try to "save" time off for their planned trips instead. You can ask employees to give you a couple of days notice for a single day off, unless they're actually sick. The disadvantages are that most employees will use all their PTO days (rather than having a few unused sick days by the end of the year), or sick employees will come to work to save their PTO days. (Keep in mind that some employees will do this anyway, either out of misguided work ethic or because they've used up their sick days for the year already.)
When you feel someone is taking advantage of the system, you're going to hold them at arm's length. But look at the whole person: is he or she a valuable member of your team? Is it likely you could replace them with someone more responsible? If you want to keep your employee, you're going to have to let go of your concern. That said, it's one thing if you're feeling suspicious about one person. If you feel this way about all of your employees, there's a possibility the problem is with your perception.
