Vote: A sick day for March Madness?

March 14, 2012

Setup: Ah, the NCAA Tournament. The brackets. The office pools. And you really wishing you had the day off. You COULD call in sick and revel in March Madness, but should you?

YES

I'll give you one. One day to call in sports-sick to your boss. And I don't want to hear you wasted it nursing a hangover the day after the Super Bowl, a mere four hours of entertainment at best on a day you already had off work. Or during the World Series—unless it's Game 7 at Wrigley Field. Use it on one of the first two days of the NCAA Tournament, an all-day, all-night affair that puts every other sporting postseason to shame. If your boss calls your bluff, just explain that you'd get a doctor's note—but the doctor's out too.

--Mike Hines (mhines@tribune.com | @givemetexture)

NO

Don't give in to the temptation to call in "sick" to watch March Madness. Not when there's a better way. You're not fooling anyone with that lame cough, so use this as a bonding opportunity instead. Treat your supervisor to a long lunch that day—when his or her alma mater just happens to be playing. And if you are the boss, what better way to score points with employees than a midday "meeting" at a sports bar? That way no one gets a guilty conscience, and finishing the work later feels like less of a bummer. Everybody wins!

--Chris Sosa (chsosa@tribune.com | @sayitissosa)