Somebody is off - meaning?

Question

The department si working harder than normal because two people are off this week.Does that mean that 2 people are absent, ill?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

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The department is working harder than normal because two people are off this week.
Does that mean that 2 people are absent, ill?

'off' usually means that they are taking vacation days. It doesn't usually mean they are ill. Where I live we say they are "out sick" when they are too ill to come to work.

In short, two people are absent because they have previously arranged to take the week as vacation days, not because they are ill.

(By the way, the people who are "off" may also be absent from work because their employer has assigned them to do something in another place, for example, to attend a conference in another city.)

CJ

Somebody is off - meaning?

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