Unless you can't talk, all of your fingers are broken or you're in a coma somewhere, you should be able to call in yourself. It really is annoying for most of us employers to have cousins, husbands or mothers call in when the employee could call in themselves. That's not how you do business.

187

People do get sick on these days, but when this behavior repeats, that's when it starts looking suspicious.

186

Telling everybody, 'Oh, my boyfriend and I went to …' is a no-no. It's ridiculous. You skipped work and now everybody, including your boss, knows it, because you actually told them.

163

Employers may not want to know the gory details of your illness. What we do want to know is if you'll be reporting for work tomorrow. You need to give an expectation of when you'll be back at work so your supervisor can arrange for someone to temporarily cover for you.

154

The old-school rule was, go to work and let them send you home. I disagree. If you have an infectious disease, don't come to work and make everyone else sick. Call in sick, but do it courteously. No matter what.

145