November 8, 2024: do you really need sick notes for work?

Good Morning,

I'm a bit under the weather this week, the victim of doing too much in October. We've all gone to work when we're not sick enough to get a doctor's note, but also too sick to be at work and infecting other people.

I thought the North American cultural expectations about having to work while sick had meaningfully shifted during the Pandemic - never before did I have so many client meetings, site visits and Certified Pool Operator (CPO) training classes canceled out of an abundance of caution - but it seems we've gone right back to the way we were.

Scrap sick notes for minor illnesses like colds, says CMA
With 6 million Canadians lacking access to a primary care provider, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is suggesting doctor's notes for minor illness go the way of the mandatory in-person meetings, and I can't agree more!!

How much time of your time is spent policing the illnesses of casual staff? Yes, there will always be "bad apples" who abuse the privilege and call in sick for no good reason. But most of us DO want to honor our workplace commitments, and really do want to avoid letting down the team or calling in sick when not strictly necessary.

Do we really want (e.g.) one sick lifeguard - who can't get a doctor's note to be excused from work - to take out another 5-6 staff, by coming in to do poor quality or even negligent work while sick, weeks before it's going to be hard to adequately staff your aquatic facility around the Christmas holidays?

All of this to say: use the CMA proposal and recent legislation in Nova Scotia & Quebec barring doctor's notes to revisit your corporate health & wellness policies. Yes, some of these come from HR or the union, but you can be an actor in your fate by pushing for changes that benefit a more humane work place and the reality that some enforcement items are just not a productive use of your time.

It was a quiet news week...at least when it comes to swimming pools. I'm officially giving you permission to start the weekend early, I know I am.

‘The saddest thing I’ve seen in Italy’: Tiny Trevi Fountain stand-in pool draws scorn
At least they gave the tourists something to throw their coins into?!

Officials say Vancouver's Kitsilano pool is 'in a much better situation'
I want to believe this good news, but let's actually fill the basin up with water and operate it for Summer 2025 before we run a victory lap, maybe?

Family sneak hot dogs into Texas waterpark inside gift-wrapped shoebox to avoid pricey concessions
This video came up during a World Waterpark Association (WWA) operations meeting. The water park manager at Epic Waters (site of this video) talked about how unrealistic it is to try and police everyone sneaking food or alcohol into a facility. Another shared that a lifeguard recently caught a guest drinking alcohol out of a bottle of sunscreen this summer?! Another point of discussion: if you allow empty water bottles (to be refilled), why don't you allow Stanley's?

There were also some really great conversations about the pro's & con's of aquatic facilities going fully cashless; the importance of numbering access points (e.g. exterior doors) to increase response time during medical emergencies; the practicalities of adverse wildlife training (thankfully we don't have crocodiles in Canada...); and one waterpark operator insisted that they priced out it was better value to the organization to hire a fulltime marketing role (which would cover social media) than another operations team lead because that's where the bulk of their team (lifeguards, management and frontline staff) seem to be spending so much of their time managing customer expectations.

As you can see, I'm learning something every single time I interact with this crowd of poolies, and I can't wait to go to IAAPA Expo in Orlando in a few weeks.

It's been quiet on the YouTube front, but I'm happy to tease that I was able to record an interview with the ultimate swimfluencer, Alex Ojeda, earlier this week. Stay tuned for that chat on our YouTube channel coming out in December.

I also have lots of other projects in varying states of disarray (half-edited), so I am looking forward to some R&R in December/January to catch up on those videos.

I grew up in Ottawa, Canada's capital city. And so I've always been spoiled when it comes to the "best" Canada Day celebrations or the "best" national museums, so I'm always pleasantly surprised when I see anything low-budget, yet effective. The Field of Crosses on Calgary's Memorial Drive each November is one of those traditions that really brings Remembrance Day to life.

I had a Gen Z lifeguard ask me what the Berlin Wall was during a lifeguard inservice I conducted on-site for a client last weekend, so we have now more need than ever before to be intentional about remembering those who went before us.

Thanks for being here.

Katie Crysdale
Lakeview Aquatic Consultants Ltd.