SINGAPORE: A Singaporean worker shared on social media that her colleague oddly prides himself on never taking a medical leave (MC)—despite coming to work visibly ill.
“He would brag to me about not having ever taken a single sick day,” she shared on the r/askSingapore forum. “But he would come in to work clearly sick. Once, he told me he had a fever and chills, blowing his nose non-stop, and wearing a thick jacket on a warm day.”
She then asked others in the forum, “What do you all think of people coming in to work when clearly sick? Is it worth it? Just to boast about never taking an MC?”
In the comments, many slammed her colleague, saying that dragging himself to work while sick isn’t a sign of dedication, it’s just plain inconsiderate.
One commenter shared, “I hate them. I had these inconsiderate braggarts in several teams during my time in healthcare, and they cause more trouble than it makes sense to their egos. One gets sick, and the whole team suffers. And their work quality tanks, too. It’s like they never learned from COVID.”
Another agreed, writing, “Bloody inconsiderate, especially if they are contagious—they can bring the entire office down.”
A third comment was even more blunt, “Only narcissistic psychopaths will do this to other people. I tell them—either you go home, or I go home.”
Not everyone blamed these employees outright. Some argue that many workers push through sickness not out of pride but out of fear of reprimand or judgment.
One shared, “This was me minus the bragging. My judgmental colleagues and terrible boss always assumed we were faking it whenever we took a sick day. So I used to turn up at work coughing and sneezing with a high fever, and I could barely sit upright until one of them urged me to go home.”
Another said, “Some companies, especially private SMEs, mark you down for taking MC. You think life is that easy?”
A third remarked, “Some people are managed by narcissists, so they have no choice but to turn up to work. Not every peasant is empowered to take medical leave whenever they need it.”
Medical leave entitlement
Under the Employment Act, employees in Singapore are entitled to paid medical leave, provided they meet certain conditions. To qualify, an employee must have worked with their company for at least three months and must inform their employer of their illness or medical condition within 48 hours of being absent.
Moreover, the employee must obtain a valid medical certificate (MC) from a registered doctor. As for how many days of medical leave they can take, it all depends on how long they’ve been with the company, as per the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
Employees with at least six months of service can take up to 14 days of paid outpatient sick leave and up to 60 days if hospitalisation is required. Those with less than six months will have their entitlement prorated based on tenure
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