Contrasts...

Amanda's recent (and sadly, ongoing) illness and my trouble sleeping last night (woke up at 3am, couldn't return to sleep until after 6) got me thinking.  There is a major gap between how the world works and how the world should work.


Let's look at sick days for example:


How the world works:
You call in sick, deal with a potentially unhappy supervisor, and lay at home feeling bad, and feeling worse when your next paycheque is short as a result.  The other option, frowned upon by most employers, is working through your illness so your paycheque isn't affected, though the health of your co-workers and customers is.


How the world *should* work:
When you call in sick, your supervisor encourages you to stay home and get better soon, and reminds you that you'll still be paid.  If you're sick on your days off, you receive normal working days off to compensate for it.

Or what about sleeping problems?  What if on a particular night you didn't get nearly enough sleep through no fault of your own?

How the world works:
You go to work exhausted and struggle to stay awake by consuming generous portions of caffeinated drinks.  Your work suffers, frustrating your co-workers, customers, and supervisor.


How the world *should* work:
You arrive at work and your employer notices the bags under your eyes and sends you to the back office couch for a two hour nap.  Instead of producing eight hours of poorly done work that may have to be redone, you produce six hours of your normal quality work with a much better attitude to boot!

I know these ideas would lend themselves to widespread abuse.  I also know that employers, particularly small ones, can't afford to pay their employees to be sick or sleep on the job.  But in my pie-in-the-sky world as it "should" be, they make a lot of sense!  :-)