To be fair, drastic weather change like this typically gives me a terrible headache, which I do currently have. So, calling in “sick” wasn't a total lie. In most cases in the past though, I typically just power through whatever ailment/illness I have because it's not worth playing 20 questions with my jerk boss. We're a small business and chronically understaffed, so no one is ever “sick” enough for him. Most people come to work sick to avoid getting flack from our boss.
To make matters more complicated, our area is supposed to get uncharacteristically bad weather (hurricane level winds, flooding, and high risk for tornadoes) in the coming hours. Bad weather like this makes me incredibly anxious. I'm not afraid of storms, but I don't f*ck around with tornadoes and high winds.
Short of an emergency, I prefer to be close to home in rare instances like this, so that I can get myself and pets to the basement should a tornado warning occur. My workplace is also one of those open concept type of buildings (with no ideal place to shelter for a tornado). It is not an ideal place to shelter in place. I'm not interested in risking my life to do work I can easily do from home.
To be honest, I'm surprised that my boss even decided to open today. Most places in our area (both schools and businesses) have decided to close in advance due to uncharacteristically bad weather about to blow through. My workplace is the complete opposite of an essential workplace, there is no reason for us to be putting our lives at risk today.
So, is it a bad look to call in sick today? Do I even care? To be honest, no.
Will I get fired? Probably not, because we're short-staffed, and two valuable employees recently quit due to toxicity and micromanagement. I'm actively looking for a new job right now, and it can't come soon enough. I guess I'm just dreading the blowback I will get on Monday.