Staying well on the job is not possible if we can’t take a sick day or a mental health day to rest recuperate and recover from illness.

In a future blog entry I will talk about my experience as a professional librarian.

Here I want to lead up to my testimonial with what I think about the fallacy of putting a devotion to your work above or instead of your wellness.

In an issue of Mademoiselle magazine a feature article on working life insinuated: “Do as your boss does” and show up to your job even when ill.

In the 1990s when that gem of advice (cue the sarcasm) appeared I talked on the telephone with the owner of an insurance firm.

He told me: “It’s okay to take one sick day. You take two or worse three sick day in a year that’s an issue.”

Right then I wouldn’t work for him. Going to our jobs when we’re ill is not healthy–for us or our coworkers.

On a union job like the one I have you can often accrue sick time to the tune of 30 days or more if you rarely use sick leave.

The trend is for workers with 100s of hours of sick time to donate their sick leave hours to a coworker who needs more.

Again the FMLA–Family Medical Leave Act–is not paid time off. Senators and congresspersons in Washington have refused to enact paid national sick leave for all American workers.

That’s why I recommend getting a union job that might offer a pension and generous paid time off.

I’m no fan of working in a cubicle in a traditional office job after the first ill-fated nine years I had jobs in corporate and law firm offices.

There’s a better way and I’ll write about the alternative coming up.

It involves having the courage to not only think outside of the employment box but to flatten those boxes. To not let ourselves be constrained in a box to begin with.

Finding the career that is the right fit for yourself is an act of healing and an act of love.

In the new year I will talk in greater detail about burnout and pressure on the job and how to cope.