KEY POINTS:
I always find it difficult, even if I feel really crook, to phone my manager and tell her I'll be away sick," says 'Christina', who works for a large financial firm in Auckland.
"It's funny, I suppose. I'll pick up the phone without dialling a few times ... I'll question myself over and over again - asking 'am I sick enough to take the day off. Won't I feel better later and then feel like I'm skiving?"'
She ascribes these feelings to her work ethic, but also thinks the attitude of her manager affects her.
"When I phone in sick she always sounds so suspicious and put out. It's as if she thinks I'm pulling a fast one. I know that shouldn't affect me, but it does. I also know when I do come in sick my job performance is not what it should be, but the fact that I am sick is never taken into account.
"So it's a case of damned if you do take a sick day and damned if you don't - it causes a lot of stress, I can tell you that."
Christina (not her real name) is not alone in feeling bad when she takes sick leave - but should she?
Occupational health nurse Lynda van Dam says: "Sick leave is a benefit rather than a right. And it should be used strategically."
She says it's fine to take a day off even if what's needed is a mental health day and explains that by "strategically" she means that it's not always wise to use up one's whole sick leave allowance each year.
Companies usually allow for five to 10 days, but some give unlimited sick leave, Van Dam says. Most companies require a doctor's certificate after an absence of three days or more.
"The problem is if you've used up all your sick leave you can land up in a lot of trouble if you get a serious illness or injury and have nothing to fall back on."
It's also not a good look if you start getting a reputation for taking too many sick-leave days.
Van Dam says: "A lot of companies have a sick-leave committee - and they will intervene if the amount of sick leave that is being taken gets out of control.
"They could ask for more details of the illness. If it's genuine, then there is no issue. If the sick leave policy is being taken advantage of then the committee will investigate it further. Often a third party, a mediator, will be used."
What about coming in to work when you've got flu or some other viral infection?
"Companies shouldn't want people to come to work sick - particularly if they have flu or nasty coughs," Van Dam says.
"Nobody who is sick will work productively and it prolongs their recovery time. Also, it's likely that they will infect others in the office."
Van Dam agrees that unhappy workplaces tend to experience more people taking sick leave.
"Sometimes it can be a result of workplace bullying, it could be due to stress. And those are things the company needs to address," she says.
OSH adviser for Amcor Kiwi Packaging, Jude Derksen, says she has seen many companies work against the "spirit of the health and safety act" in discouraging people from taking sick leave.
"It's there for a reason. You must provide a safe and healthy workplace."
Derksen, who is Canadian, says: "I've come across a New Zealand mentality that says just get on with it, be staunch, be a man and come to work.
"This is particularly dangerous when people are working with heavy machinery - if you're sick you don't have the required concentration and you are putting yourself and fellow employees in danger.
"This could compound things as the loss of time with injuries is huge."
The Employment Relations Act says that sick leave can be used when an employee is sick or injured, or when the employee's spouse or a dependent person is sick and needs care.
But what if you're not physically ill, and just need some time off to de-stress?
Auckland psychologist Ted Mason says as a short-term response, taking a sick day for stress could be appropriate - but if you're needing to do that there are underlying reasons that you need to explore.
"When we are feeling miserable, there's something telling us that we need to attend to something," he says.
Stress is when we have a physiological response to threat but can do nothing about it. It's a flight or fight crises which cannot be resolved - in an office it's not always appropriate to run or confront.
"People need to learn about themselves as individuals - to be effective in the world in a lawful way and learn to deal with moments of frustration," Mason says.
As a short-term urgent measure, take a day off - but in the long term you need to do something else as otherwise depression can set in.
He stresses that he is not promoting malingering. "If you're having to take days off for stress you've got a problem and need to go to someone for help."
Surprisingly, when you are on sick leave, you are not obliged to stay at home in bed.
According to the New Zealand Payroll website, in 1990, the Labour Court held that: "If going fishing alleviates the employee's sickness, or assists in his or her recovery, then the employee may go fishing."
The case in point concerned the NZ Refining Company who employed a Mr Browne as a refinery operator in Whangarei. Browne suffered from chronic hayfever and to alleviate the symptoms, he called in sick and went on a fishing trip.
Attempts to fire him for doing that were overturned after Browne's union brought a personal grievance against the company, claiming unjustified dismissal. According to Payroll, the Labour Court upheld the union's claim and ordered Browne to be reinstated and be paid lost wages.
