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Poll: About how many sick days do you usually take per year?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
May 13, 2020

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "About how many sick days do you usually take per year?".

View the poll results »



 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 19:08
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Sick days? None May 13, 2020

I don’t take sick days: I’m a freelancer, not an employee. The last time I didn’t work for health reasons was in 2018: I had a pelvic fracture in January as a consequence of a fall at home, it wasn’t serious and though it was extremely painful and it took a long time to heal I could go on working, except for 2 or 3 days (as a coincidence I had no work). Otherwise, I can’t remember being so sick that I couldn’t work (at least since I started freelancing again in 2006)...

Josephine Cassar
Tom in London
Mario Freitas
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Bora Taşdemir
Dan Lucas
Philip Lees
 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
As many as I need May 13, 2020

I don’t buy into that whole “you can’t take time off if you’re self-employed” thing.

Yes, you can.

That said, I don’t think I’ve ever pushed back a deadline due to illness. The trick is not to overcommit.


Villő Ujvári
Anna Herbst
Liena Vijupe
Maria Simmen
Christine Andersen
Elena Feriani
Mervyn Henderson (X)
 
Alexander Kondorsky
Alexander Kondorsky  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 22:08
English to Russian
+ ...
Strange question May 13, 2020

Such things as sick leave, vacation, holiday, etc. are inapplicable to freelancers

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Laura Bissio CT
Veronika Malíková
Tom in London
Gibril Koroma
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Angie Garbarino
 
Edwige Thomas
Edwige Thomas
France
Local time: 20:08
Member (2014)
English to French
+ ...
freelancer life May 13, 2020

I remember working hard in my bed while I had a fever. I would never had gone to work in such circumstances as an employee.

Tom in London
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
neilmac
Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:08
Member (2008)
Italian to English
None May 13, 2020

ProZ.com Staff wrote:

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "About how many sick days do you usually take per year?".

View the poll results »



None. I am self-employed. Sick days do not exist.


Marina Steinbach
Paul van Zijll
Philip Lees
Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Thomas Pfann
Thomas Pfann  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:08
Member (2006)
English to German
+ ...
None May 13, 2020

Probably closer to 0 than to one, so I selected none.

And being self-employed has nothing to do with it. When I was an employee it was the same – I probably lost one day every two or three years due to sickness.

I don't buy into the whole 'freelancers can't afford to be sick or take holidays'. When you are sick you are sick – sometimes you can continue to work, at other times you will want to stay in bed or will even spend a few days in hospital. Losing one or more
... See more
Probably closer to 0 than to one, so I selected none.

And being self-employed has nothing to do with it. When I was an employee it was the same – I probably lost one day every two or three years due to sickness.

I don't buy into the whole 'freelancers can't afford to be sick or take holidays'. When you are sick you are sick – sometimes you can continue to work, at other times you will want to stay in bed or will even spend a few days in hospital. Losing one or more working days is equally inconvenient for employees and the self-employed but it is not a problem.
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Francesco Toscano
Francesco Toscano  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 20:08
English to Italian
+ ...
silly question May 13, 2020

Freelancers do not take sick days, the question should be rephrased.

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Susanna Martoni
Tom in London
Philip Lees
 
Maria da Glória Teixeira
Maria da Glória Teixeira  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 16:08
Member (2020)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
None May 13, 2020

Freelancers, you can even take a vacation, but you need to be aware that the days when you don't work don't get paid.

neilmac
Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 20:08
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
I rearrange my schedule May 13, 2020

I probably take more time off than I am aware of, but I never note it as time off sick. I am a freelancer after all!

Even with medication, I cannot work when I have a migraine attack, but I can usually deliver on time anyway.
I have once or twice contacted a client and asked for a little extra time, or delivered a job that needed proofreading with a note that it should be carefully checked before delivery to the end client. Good clients usually understand that we are only hum
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I probably take more time off than I am aware of, but I never note it as time off sick. I am a freelancer after all!

Even with medication, I cannot work when I have a migraine attack, but I can usually deliver on time anyway.
I have once or twice contacted a client and asked for a little extra time, or delivered a job that needed proofreading with a note that it should be carefully checked before delivery to the end client. Good clients usually understand that we are only human!

[Edited at 2020-05-13 13:35 GMT]
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Edith van der Have
Edith van der Have
Netherlands
Local time: 20:08
Member (2016)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Freelancers don't take sick days in the strict sense May 13, 2020

Teresa Borges wrote:
I don’t take sick days: I’m a freelancer, not an employee.

Exactly what I thought when I read the poll question. Sometimes I'm a bit sick and can deal with ongoing work, if needed with help of paracetamol. Actually I probably dealt with COVID-19 this way in March; I was extremely tired and had a headache for 24 hours while my husband was very ill with typical symptoms for almost two weeks. Anyway, if I'm ill, I stay in bed and don't try to do my work - it would only be mediocre anyway. Fortunately I have not had this situation since I've been a freelancer, but I have several trustworthy colleagues who could take over assignments that really can't wait.


Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 16:08
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Question for in-house workers? May 13, 2020

Sometimes the questions posted in this forum are clearly meant for other publics.

neilmac
 
Lincoln Hui
Lincoln Hui  Identity Verified
Hong Kong
Local time: 03:08
Member
Chinese to English
+ ...
None May 13, 2020

The only legitimate illness I've suffered these few years is recurring stomach inflammation, which is mostly kept in check now by prudent eating habits, but which flares up every now and then. It has occasionally resulted in me being completely out of action for hours, but if I'm not actively vomiting my guts out I'm usually working rather than doing something else, since lying down makes it worse, and if I'm just sitting down I might as well have something to do to distract myself.

 
Bora Taşdemir
Bora Taşdemir  Identity Verified
Local time: 22:08
Member (2012)
English to Turkish
+ ...
I Don't Know May 13, 2020

Well, I don't really remember when was the last time I took a sick day-off, but I certainly take a day off if I feel too overwhelmed and the urge to take a break. I do this to keep the high quality of my service and avoid a burn-out. I also take weekends most of the time off (I don't really believe that you should work over the weekends just because you're freelancer and/or work from home), so I don't really need to take a sick day-off in general.

[Bearbeitet am 2020-05-13 14:33 GMT]


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 20:08
Spanish to English
+ ...
None May 13, 2020

Unless of course, I am actually sick. By which I mean too sick to work. Which isn't often. And I no longer suffer from the customary hangovers of a misspent youth.

Maria da Glória Teixeira
Michael Harris
 
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Poll: About how many sick days do you usually take per year?






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