Just the title. I've been pulling some crazy all-nighters and I'm absolutely exhausted, and I'm remembering a time when I could comfortably say "fuck off" without any mixed feelings. Now I feel some perverse responsibility to kill myself for our project and I kind of hate myself for it.
When I was younger I worked for a small business (I mean, it was a McDonald's franchise, but it's not like I talked to corporate ever) and calling in was like pulling teeth.
One time I called in and my manager asked about sending another employee to pick me up. It was unreal.
Now I work for a company that has frequently got 1000 people all doing the same job simultaneously and while they're not cool with people calling in literally every other day, they know the average amount of days a person calls in and if you're under that they don't give a shit because with 1000 people you are forced to recognize that as a cost of doing business. You just hire 8% more employees than you expect to need or whatever.
Nobody at this company has ever asked if I was really sure I couldn't come in, nobody wants to know how exactly I'm sick, etc etc.
Not that there aren't downsides, but I never want the person who owns the entity I work for to say a word to me. I don't want that motherfucker to know I exist. They belong 7 rungs higher than me on an org chart minimum, and hopefully in a different state.