When it comes to work, Bogle doesn’t call in sick

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

BOGLE

While most of us are tempted to call in sick to work at least a few times a year, the thought of doing so has never crossed Charles Bogle’s mind.

In his nearly 35-year career with the postal service, Bogle hasn’t used a single day of sick leave — a fact for which he was honored by his co-workers Friday morning.

“Oh, I’ve been sick a few times, but I’ve always used annual leave. But really the most number of days I’ve missed in a row at any one time has been two,” he said.

Bogle, a customer service supervisor at McMinnville Post Office, said he learned early on in his career the importance of accruing sick leave. Soon after he started in 1969, one of the post office’s rural route carriers was diagnosed with cancer and was unable to work for a year. But because the carrier had saved his sick time instead of using it every time he had a cold, he was able to receive a steady paycheck his entire time out of work.

“That really got my attention and reinforced just how great it is to have these kind of benefits,” Bogle said in a recent edition of a postal service newsletter. “If you’re a little sick it doesn’t hurt to come on into work. If you don’t feel better, you can always go home. But if you do feel better, you’ve saved a day for when you really might need it.”

By practicing what he preaches, Bogle has been able to create an “insurance policy” of 3,576 hours, or 89 weeks, of sick leave. That’s almost two years.

He added that he hopes he doesn’t have to use any of his accumulated time before he retires in a few years, in which case it can be added to his retirement benefits.