As a freelancer, any time I take off for whatever reason is unpaid. But plenty of pet owners I know with proper jobs tend to assume that they have to take annual or unpaid leave to care for pets, even in a life-or-death emergency.Well.....yes. *baffled face*
According to the Blue Cross survey, pet owners feel stigmatised when asking for time off work. Over half (56%) chose not to give their employer the real reason for taking the day off if their animal was sick or had died...Or maybe, being British, they simply felt that their reason for taking leave was none of their employer's business..?
H/T: wiggia via email
Or maybe, being British, they simply felt that their reason for taking leave was none of their employer's business..?
ReplyDeleteThis. Although I did once get time out to rush a ginger cat (it's always a ginger cat) to the vet after he had injured himself rummaging in dustbins. My supervisor at the time was relaxed about it.
I used to simply say Doctor if it was the Doctor, dentist if it was the dentist, and clinic if it was personal and none of their business. The deal I made with my cats was; I shall take you to the vet once to be neutered and de-flead and that's yer lot. Can you imagine people paying thousands for operations on pets? Not for me and not for my animals. Once they've got meds in 'em you can't eat 'em anyway. Only joking LR, I know you're a cat person.
ReplyDeleteNever had a problem before I retired: work knew my cats were part of my family and if they (the cats) needed me, that's where I would be. Work were OK with it, but I suspect they realised that even if they weren't, I'd still be with the cats if necessary.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, despite having many cats over the years, rarely do we visit the vet. Usually, it's at the beginning of life for neutering and vaccine and sometimes at the end of life for the final trip. In between times, very occasionally.
ReplyDelete"My supervisor at the time was relaxed about it."
ReplyDeleteWhen I've felt a need to mention it, my boss and colleagues always have been, too.
"Can you imagine people paying thousands for operations on pets?"
When our dog swallowed a stone (actually, five!), long before pet insurance, we paid a fortune for an op. Never regretted it.
"...rarely do we visit the vet. "
Not even for yearly booster?