I Didn’t Take A Single Sick Day For A Year And My Boss Still Didn’t Care

I used to believe that hard work and loyalty would always be rewarded. I thought that if I showed up every day, never took sick leave, and got everything done, my boss would notice me. For a whole year, I pushed myself harder than I ever thought I could.

Head pounding? I still worked.

Running a fever? I typed away under a blanket.

Even when I caught a pretty bad flu, I didn’t dare call in sick. I kept telling myself, “If I can power through this, why should I rest?” Every time I even considered taking a break, guilt kicked in. I didn’t want anyone thinking I couldn’t be relied on. So I kept going, like I was somehow immune to getting ill.

Not because I was tough, but because I was scared. Scared of being seen as lazy. Scared of letting the team down. Scared of being labelled unprofessional.

But it turns out, none of that made me more appreciated. No thank-yous, no recognition, no quiet word of appreciation, nothing.

If anything, my workload grew because people assumed I could just handle more. Ironically, the colleagues who took sick days often got checked on, told to rest, sometimes even sent care packages. Me? It felt like I was invisible. Eventually, the disappointment wasn’t just aimed at my boss, it turned inwards, at myself.

It felt like everything I’d done was treated as the bare minimum, not something extra. Everything I thought would make me stand out just made me miserable. Slowly, I realised that workplaces aren’t always fair. Your boss won’t necessarily notice who sacrifices the most, they’ll only see the output, not the story behind it.

So I started asking myself, what’s the point of pushing this hard? If I’m unwell, why not just rest? Why am I chasing validation from someone who might never even think about how I feel? The answer hurt: I’d put my hopes in the wrong place. I assumed loyalty and effort would automatically be rewarded. They aren’t, not always.

Now, I speak up when I’m not feeling well. I say that I need to take the day to rest, and guess what? Nothing falls apart. The team keeps moving. The work gets done. The world doesn’t stop just because I take what I’m entitled to.

Good performance matters, absolutely. But your health matters more. A good boss won’t want you pushing yourself until you break. So don’t be afraid to take sick leave. It’s not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign that you’re a professional who knows when to step back, recover, and return ready to do your best.



This article is part of TSS Confessions, a weekly column where we delve into personal finance topics that are unscripted and genuine real accounts from people.