http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/10/25/16430/716 According to those who keep track of these things, the <a href="http://www.cch.com/press/news/2007/20071010h.asp">absentee rate from work</a> hovers in the 2.3 to 2.5 percent range.  It also seems that being ill is not the leading reason for bagging a day at the office - only 34 percent of those calling in sick actually have some sort of illness.  Two thirds of those taking sick leave are actually doing it for "family issues, personal needs, stress and an <a href="http://www.joplinindependent.com/ en-us Fri, 26 Oct 2007 10:57:42 EST Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:25:18 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/10/25/16430/716#5 If I've come to realize anything in the past year, it's to see straight through such strident protestations. Randy Cohen's obviously just covering for the fact that he abuses his sick days like a rag doll. Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:25:18 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/10/25/16430/716#4 <i>Randy Cohen, who writes "The Ethicist" column for the New York Times says it's bad enough to call in sick when you're actually fine,</i><p> Fine?  Define, fine.  Oh sure...you might not have a cold or sore throat or cancer or something...but w Fri, 26 Oct 2007 13:13:43 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/10/25/16430/716#3 So obviously this was double-posted, my apologies.  I hit submit before I noticed the typo in the title, but I thought I had hit stop before it actually posted the comment, so I went ahead and reposted it with a corrected title.  Bad call.   Fri, 26 Oct 2007 11:38:41 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/10/25/16430/716#2 Maybe, just maybe, if businesses were willing to let us take a reasonable amount of time off each year, this wouldn't be a problem.  Working class Americans are in a Catch22 a lot of the time.  They have to work 9 to 5 (or 8 to 4:30, or whatever) Fri, 26 Oct 2007 11:31:20 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/10/25/16430/716#1 Maybe, just maybe, if businesses were willing to let us take a reasonable amount of time off each year, this wouldn't be a problem.  Working class Americans are in a Catch22 a lot of the time.  They have to work 9 to 5 (or 8 to 4:30, or whatever) Fri, 26 Oct 2007 11:30:43 EST string http://www.treesandthings.com/search/