I've taken almost three weeks of sick time. I have NEVER taken so much time off sick in my entire life. But I have this case of laryngitis which won't quit and my job is mostly on the phone. My manager deliberately understaffs us to a criminal degree because she gets a bonus for coming in under budget, and nobody else can do more than a sixteenth of my job, so she's really screwed and she has to pay me for sick time which comes out of her precious budget. We had a zoom meeting with employee health and my union rep, both of whom told me I sound terrible and to stay off until I feel better, which isn't looking to be anytime soon, and not to worry about my work load as it was my manager's job to get the coverage sorted, and instructed my manager on the call to arrange coverage, she began squawking about how she has nobody, and the union rep said "Why not?". So she looked really stupid and it was funny, and she gave me eye daggers for it. You can literally see dollar signs clicking behind her eyes as you talk to her. All she has to do is apply for a bigger budget, which she can totally justify and totally will get, but she won't.

I have always had a trauma thing around being sick, comes partly from growing up with a mother with BPD who has zero patience for anyone being sick because then someone other than her might have a need, and living with a spouse who is pretty much the same way. I have worked being sick more times than I can count. But here I am, with a doctor's note and employee health saying to stay off, and so nobody can say anything to me, and I'm heartily enjoying fucking around all day watching TV and teaching myself PowerPoint as I'm starting my own business on the side. I still have no voice so I'll go back to my doctor, get another note for more time off and enjoy myself some more. Why not? I get forced to do other people's work all the time in my job, to the detriment of my own work, so why shouldn't I let it all go to hell and look after me for once? It's not my fault I'm sick and not my fault she staffs so poorly.

Sorry for the trauma rant but this is a big deal for me.