Calling in sick

[passerby]

Hello,

Coming up at work we are having a training day. It's not the type of thing that I really like/need but I have done many of these in the past because it's required. However, I am planning on leaving my job later this year (which they don't know yet) and this specific training is more about long-term things, specific to the organization, so there is no real benefit to me taking it and it would be a waste of time (and I'm just not interested). Would it be wrong of me to call in sick that day?

Thanks for your help

[fides' Jack]

I don't think so.  "I'm not feeling well" can mean a lot of different things, and be true.  It could mean, "I'm not feeling well about having to take the mandatory training."

Just don't say specifically that you're sick if you're not sick.

[Anomaly]

Lies by purposeful omission is still a lie. 
Your employer is still paying you.   They expect you to do what they ask and pay for.   You are being paid to be part of a team.   It’s purposeful disobedience and undermining the supervision.   It’s not all about you.  Be an example of a solid, cooperative employee.   Why sow discord and insubordination?    You don’t know someone else may ask why you’re gone, and you’re trapped into further lies.   Your other plans may fall through.  
 

if you’re being paid, do what you’re paid for.   

[Nihil Obstat]

I think that depends on the circumstances in which your company expects or encourages or at least permits you to take a sick day. If they include mental health or personal days, then perhaps you can justify it in good conscience. But I think, especially based on how you frame it here, it is more likely to constitute dishonesty and theft.

[MIKolbe]

8 hours ago, passerby said:

Would it be wrong of me to call in sick that day?

yes

[Luigi]

I'm not even going to address the good-or-bad arguments. I'm approaching the question from the much simpler perspective of work. We all have to do things we don't want to do, and things we're not interested in. They pay us to do those things. That's why it's call "work" and not "fun." 

Go to work that day. Sit through the mandatory training. Because those are the conditions of your employment. And whether you find this training productive for your soon-to-be-over situation, you might learn something that will prove useful in the future. 

Man up and do your job. 

[Ash Wednesday]

Go to work and offer up your discomfort for souls.  This helps me a great deal when I REALLY don't want to get up and go to work on a particular day. 

 

[fides' Jack]

Others made good points here.  My conclusion was drawn with my own situation in mind.  I have what's called "Comp Time".  I don't have separate sick days.  I have to use my comp time for personal leave as well as sick days.  It's expected there will be some occasions when I have to use the time on short notice, and no reason is really expected, though it is often given, anyway.  I have no moral qualms, in this situation, with saying, "I need to take today off", without any specific reason given.  The agreement I made with my employer allows for that.

I'm guessing most people don't have the same agreement.  

On 4/21/2021 at 11:00 AM, fides' Jack said:

I don't think so.  "I'm not feeling well" can mean a lot of different things, and be true.  It could mean, "I'm not feeling well about having to take the mandatory training."

Just don't say specifically that you're sick if you're not sick.

After reading the other responses here, it's clear that my answer would not apply in most situations.