How To Plan for Sick Days As a Small Business Owner

Entrepreneurialism

Sep 26

I was sick earlier this week.

My husband, Shelby, caught it first so I fortified myself with zinc, elderberry, fire cider, etc. thinking I could dodge it. Nope. (But I did have a much milder case than he did.)

Shelby took two sick days from work, though he almost went in that second day before discovering he had more sick days than he thought he did.

I never had to take sick time into consideration.

Yes, I had to move things around, but I never felt the pressure of being mindful of the time an employer allowed me to have off of work.

Furthermore, I can control how I ease back into work. When you have limited sick time, you likely go back as soon as you feel “able,” despite having lingering symptoms and low energy.

Not only can this elongate your symptoms, you likely won’t be very productive.

I can’t fathom having to sacrifice my wellbeing for corporate policies. It’s one of the top reasons I opted for self-employment.

Experiencing the contrast of Shelby’s sick time versus mine reminded me of how grateful I am to be in my situation.

But I understand that my business model allows me more freedom than most. I don’t have to man a shop or be present for 1:1 appointments, and my work is online-based so I can complete it whenever, and when I most feel up to it.

But you can still put policies in place to alleviate sick time if you own a more involved business. Here are some suggestions:

• If you own a retail store or restaurant, have an on-call employee available if you or another employee is sick, and/or have a list of people willing to fill in. (I cover the occasional weekday shift for my friend, Paige of Eastern Styles. It’s a relief for her and I enjoy greeting her customers. Being surrounded by pretty things is also a bonus!)

• If your business is appointment based, have margin in your schedule. Instead of booking every available time slot, leave time or certain days of the week open that you can use to make up appointments from being sick. This also allows you to fit in admin time and last minute requests (if you choose to do so).

• If your business is project-based, allow yourself reasonable timelines so you to make up for illness or anything else that comes up.

If your business has full-time employees, consider offering paid time off for illness.

When faced with being paid or staying home sick, many people will opt to be paid.

Not only will these employees be less productive (and miserable), they’re likely to get others sick as well.

Offering paid time off for illness is an incredible benefit that can lead to higher productivity, higher quality employees, and less employee turnover. Need more convincing?

Sick time doesn’t disappear when you become self-employed. Sure, you likely have more flexibility, but planning for the inevitable illness is still a necessity.

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Psst! If you’re dreaming of the freedom to take as many sick days as you need, check out my online course, Self-Employed School. It covers other benefits you can get through your business as well as how to build your business to the point of supporting itself *and* you.