The idea of a sick day as a day of rest, recovery and no email has become increasingly alien.

We reported last week that the phrase “sick day” is fast disappearing from the office vocabulary, as many workers fear making themselves unavailable, even to rest.

Steven Kurutz, a reporter for the Style section, wrote that for remote workers and those in the gig economy, the shifting definition of the office “is also making the sick day somewhat passé.”

Moreover, 45 percent of Americans have no paid sick leave at all, according to a 2016 study published in the journal Health Services Research.In the more than 100 comments on Mr. Kurutz’s article, readers talked about what it’s like to work while passing a kidney stone, undergoing cancer treatment and coping with other illnesses. Some managers described their insistence that sick employees stay home and rest.

Here is a selection of readers’ responses. They have been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Please use the comments to tell us what the sick policy is like at your job and how it affects your choices when you’re sick.