Sick employee feels guilty taking MC after boss says she falls ill too often

SINGAPORE: When you’re genuinely ill, the last thing you want to feel is guilt, but for one employee in Singapore, the choice between taking medical leave and proving her commitment at work has become a recurring emotional struggle.

This year alone, she has suffered from a series of illnesses. These included a fever, a stomach flu, a urinary tract infection (UTI), and now yet another fever with a temperature hitting 38°C. Despite the severity of her symptoms, she chose not to take medical leave and instead worked from home while feeling physically miserable.

“Feeling like crap,” she shared in Reddit post on Thursday (Apr 22), “But reluctant to take MC (medical certificate) because my manager was commenting that I fall sick easily. Once a month so far, even though I was really ill every time.”

She also asked other locals in the forum what “they would do if they were in her shoes.”

“Your health is the most important thing in the world.”

Her experience has struck a chord with many online, drawing attention to the persistent stigma around taking sick leave.

Under her post, one individual said, “Working whilst unwell should never be normalised. A genuinely good boss will never make comments like how yours did; instead, they would tell you to rest well so you can recover.

“Your health is the most important thing in the world. If you don’t have good health, you cannot even work. I get that retaining your job is important, but seriously, your health really comes first. If you pass away, you’ll be replaced at work ASAP. We don’t live just to work.”

Another shared her experience, writing, “Omg, I feel the same way. I’ve been at my job (for) almost four months, took MC every month because I was sick all the time, and I just came back from MC on Tuesday because of food poisoning.

“So I’ve asked multiple people about this, and they all said stay home because it’s ‘inconsiderate’ to come to work sick and make others around you sick too, then the whole office on MC. Now with the ongoing spike of covid cases, the office said, ‘Now definitely if unwell, stay home.’”

Meanwhile, a third individual who was concerned about her health advised her, “Improve your diet. Take supplements. At the very least, take the ones that improve your immune system. Wash your hands more often, etc.”

Under Singapore’s Employment Act, workers are entitled to paid sick leave if they’ve worked for their employer for at least three months and have been certified unfit by a doctor.

Read also: Woman claims company pressured staff into faking feedback for anonymous survey

Featured image by freepik (for illustration purposes only)