Many Americans are primed to view calling out from work as a potential battle that needs to be fought.
Far too many employers expect justification or proof that there’s something going on that they deem a legitimate reason for an employee to miss work, and will frequently do their best to guilt or scare a worker to try to get them to come in anyway.
It’s nothing new, but it continues to be the reason for despair each time it happens — and a Redditor on r/antiwork has yet another example of a boss making a mountain out of a molehill after he called out sick.
u/DayleLucy101 shared screenshots from a text exchange with Nicole, who seems to be a manager at CEFCO, a convenience store chain.
“I messed my knee up pretty bad last night, and I won’t be able to stand for long periods of time and can barely walk at the moment,” the Redditor wrote, noting that it would probably be a few days before he’d be able to return to work. “If I’m still feeling this way [by Friday] or I’ve gotten better I will let you know.”
Rather than express any sympathy whatsoever, Nicole immediately jumps to requesting a doctor’s note — the last thing most workers want to hear, as going to the doctor every time you’re sick or injured is an expense that easily racks up.
When he says he’ll do his best to get one, she informs him that without a doctor’s note, she’ll have to take him “off the schedule indefinitely [sic],” adding that she’s “too short-handed for call outs.”
It’s a familiar line from managers in the retail and service industries. They never seem to schedule enough people to work, so a single call out immediately leaves them short-staffed and blaming the workers.
Well, Redditors weren’t interested in what Nicole had to say.
The employee also noted that the company doesn’t give him health insurance, which of course makes the demand to go see a doctor (and pay, out-of-pocket) even more frustrating.
Yet again, it’s no surprise “no one wants to work” when this is the way employees are treated.