Do you “call in sick” or “call out sick”?
- Thread starter Dalek
- Start date
i didn't vote, but feel like i use both.
when i literally pick up the phone i "call in sick". if someone asks why i wasnt at work its because i "called out sick".
when i literally pick up the phone i "call in sick". if someone asks why i wasnt at work its because i "called out sick".
It's phone in sick, but whatever.
Why on earth would it be call out? You are phoning IN to your workplace.
Why on earth would it be call out? You are phoning IN to your workplace.
OP
OP
Where else do you phone "in" to? Out of curiosity. I'm wondering how far down this rabbit hole goes.
There's also the fact that "call in" is redundant. It's one piece of information. Someone called. Saying "Bob called" contains the exact same amount of information as "Bob called in." "Call out" is two pieces of information. They called and informed someone they will be out of the office. "Bob called out" informs you of the exact situation. You now know that Bob called and that he will be out of the office.
You call in sick, because you're making a phone call into your workplace.
To the people at your workplace, once you've called in sick, you're off sick.
To the people at your workplace, once you've called in sick, you're off sick.
But you "call in" anytime you contact work over the phone for any reason whatsoever. There's no call your workplace receives that isn't a call in.
That's why the other phrase exists. In is redundant. You can simply say you're calling and then out becomes the reason for the call. It doesn't really matter anyways. Both phrases work and are popular or else they wouldn't exist which is how language works anyways regardless of accuracy or not lmao.
People not going to work are calling out from their personal phones.
But in regards to your workplace, the people who need to know, you're calling in.
But you wouldn't say "Bob called in" unless he was calling in sick. Otherwise you would just say "Bob called". It's not the same amount of information because one means he called in to say he was sick, and the other just means generically that he called. And the phrase isn't "called in" it's "called in sick". Someone can use "called in" by itself when the "sick" part of the sentence is obvious from context.
Maybe you would have a point if we were ignoring cultural context, and etymological history. But why would we do that? To attempt to win an internet argument? Surely not.
No, you can also just be "calling" them. You don't have to add the in is what we're aaying.
And when you call to let your workplace know that you will be covering someone else's shift you are "calling in".
Yes, you don't have to add the "in", but people do. Just like people frequently say "I'm not going in to work today" when they could simply say "I'm not going to work today."
I've literally never heard that before.
You're right. The "called in" is only used in the phrase "called in sick".
If you just called work to talk about something, you would say "I called my boss" or "I called Janet".
And I'd say there is a difference.
We don't all speak the same. To me, it makes no sense to say "call out sick" because the phrase is that you call things in; it's kind of like people who say "I could care less." It just sounds totally wrong to me. If it's fine for you then that's fine, there's no issue! But you're never going to be "correct" when it comes to language because we all have our own phrases and sayings. Here in the UK if you drive 100 miles you'll find totally different words and phrases for the exact same thing you call something else.
the point people are making is that it is not necessary to include the in when notifying your employer you won't be showing up to work because of illness. This is literally a semantics argument. Both sentences mean the same thing ultimately, however the phrases do not. in the abbreviated phrases "in" modifies the actual action of calling and "out" here refers to the content or reason for the call. The phrases mean different things however the sentences they're synthesized from are nearly one and the same.
I called (in)to work to tell them I'd be out/off sick.
I called in sick
I called out sick
I called off sick
It's not that difficult to synthesize many phrases from that and we're telling you that different regions do that exactly and it's fine either way.
There's a ton of quirky shit in English that works this way.
i also use "calling out/in sick" universally for taking time off work, whether i'm actually sick or not. has almost got me in trouble on a few occasions.
Nope, it's the only phrase I've ever heard IRL. Call in/out sound really weird to me.
.... That's why there's a third word in the phrase, 'call in sick' call out makes no sense. You carry out food, but you have to "call in" the order. You don't call out the order, it sounds stupid and makes zero sense.
OP found the same article I linked to in the TSA thread.
Jesus what a fucking trivial thing that nobody is willing to see the other side on. No wonder the American government is so beyond repair. Everyone just shouts their own opinion with no consideration for the other person's perspective.
You disagree with me so you're wrong. So now I'm going to yell the loudest. Ugh
You disagree with me so you're wrong. So now I'm going to yell the loudest. Ugh
That's not true. A lot of workplaces here in the UK have a mandatory contact police where you have to phone in every day. It's basically a form of subtle bullying to try to coerce people to get back into work. Like, yea, it's my third day sick and I still have flu and feel like shit.
Also: Call in sick, UK. Don't think anyone in this country says call out; it's a super weird formulation that makes no sense. You are calling into work to tell them you are sick.
Call in is more specific to the conditional element of what's actually happening when you are reporting sickness. It reports the direction you're using in sending the message of illness, it denotes point a to b - it describes a message moving from one place to the other. When someone says they called out sick, it can drift into other meanings, even if mostly unused - like I called out 'sick' as if raising my voice and shouting the word sick. Called off is too closely aligned with the common usage of it meaning a cessation of activity, if you're calling off sick, it just sounds like a grammatically messy way of saying you're going to stop being sick, which ultimately doesn't make sense because to call off something usually refers to something you have control over. To Call in sick is the most specific to the situational use because its meaning doesn't drift outside of its context very much outside of more incoherent interpretations.
The In part of this isn't necessary to include when actually speaking with an employer because you're generally not actually vocalizing 'I'm calling in sick' when you speak with them, it's more of a descriptor when used in communicating the information regarding what you did, when speaking with someone else. Like if a co-worker asked you later, you could then say 'I called in sick the other day'.
When I taught EAL, I used Call in, because it was easier for newcomers to understand the action the phrase is referring to, in terms of it describing the situation directionally. Out or Off would have just muddled things.
The In part of this isn't necessary to include when actually speaking with an employer because you're generally not actually vocalizing 'I'm calling in sick' when you speak with them, it's more of a descriptor when used in communicating the information regarding what you did, when speaking with someone else. Like if a co-worker asked you later, you could then say 'I called in sick the other day'.
When I taught EAL, I used Call in, because it was easier for newcomers to understand the action the phrase is referring to, in terms of it describing the situation directionally. Out or Off would have just muddled things.
