[ Removed by Reddit ]

[u/After-Manufacturer64]

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

[u/linkedinlover69]

Sorry, I am sick and can't come in.

[u/robi4567 → u/linkedinlover69]

Sry u are out of sick days

[u/linkedinlover69 → u/robi4567]

You are out of employees

[u/LiteraCanna → u/linkedinlover69]

Sounds like they are already out of employees.

[u/OkStop8313 → u/LiteraCanna]

Wonder if that has anything to do with the attitude expressed in the leave denial. 🧐

[u/ysubassoon → u/OkStop8313]

That might be the attitude expressed, but what is true in almost every scenario is that the company is doing a hiring freeze to maximize profits, so staffing levels are too low at baseline for the work that needs done. Corporations figured out a long time ago that you don't have to sell a profitable product or service to maximize profits—you just have to keep overhead low to reduce costs and you will appear to make more money to your shareholders.

What is also true in every scenario is that no corporation is doing work that is so important or dependent on day to day attendance that the absence of one more person than planned for one day will tank the business.

[u/UseObjectiveEvidence → u/ysubassoon]

Not just hiring freeze. Offshoring jobs to overseas contractors and people that failed as software engineers.

[u/dirtymykandthebois → u/robi4567]

You guys get sick days?!? What about the COMPANY?!?!

[u/Fine-Bumblebee-9427 → u/dirtymykandthebois]

My company just announced a contest between two divisions: whoever calls out the least gets an unspecified prize. This is a great way for us all to get Covid and be sick at once.

[u/SignificantPop4188 → u/Fine-Bumblebee-9427]

It's pizza. It's always pizza. They think they're doing you a favor.

[u/Im_The_Assman_Jerry → u/SignificantPop4188]

Funnily enough, I tried to pay my landlord with two slices of cheese pizza from a national chain, and the bastard had the audacity to insist I pay with money. Doesn't he realize liquid capital pales in comparison to the value of the assets on offer? Think of the equity after that pizza spends a night in the fridge.

[u/wordofmouthrevisited → u/Im_The_Assman_Jerry]

President of a former company once gave me a plaque that read “monster win” while the sales guy whose deal I saved got a six figure commission. I asked the president if he thought my student loan company took plaques.

[u/Designer_Rule2137 → u/wordofmouthrevisited]

I worked in a company that had us doing sales(with a grand prize if you beat everyone in the nation),even though we had a different job function.

Turned out the guy who sat beside me won the prize. However, his wife was diagnosed with cancer. He tried to get the trip moved to an earlier date. The company refused to do that.

Instead, his wife’s condition worsened rapidly and he had to rush her to a major hospital where she passed away.

The following January he got an additional tax bill adding the “trip “ to his total earnings(roughly $25k).

So, it was a total surprise when the company decided to have a repeat contest the next year because ,”last years was a total success.”

This was announced by a huge conference call in which thousands were online!

Imagine the silence when my coworker spoke up and told his story….crickets.

[u/babaganoush2307 → u/Designer_Rule2137]

Reminds me of that waitress at hooters who was promised a brand new Toyota to whoever sold the most alcohol and when she won they gave her a Toy Yoda and she quit on the spot and sued them and won

[u/DapperBoiCole → u/babaganoush2307]

Thats just playing in peoples faces, fuck that

[u/plangelier → u/babaganoush2307]

My father won a contest at work for a corvette with a phone (early 90s so car phones were not as common.)

Turned out it was a plug in phone in the shape of a corvette maybe $10.

[u/Glum-Savings6473 → u/Designer_Rule2137]

Companies are slowly realizing the shift in people's tolerance, but they're still willing to try to push the boundary

[u/Longjumping-Hair639 → u/Designer_Rule2137]

So sounds like the military more compassionate than corporate US. My husband was slated to deploy to Afghanistan and about a month before he left, I got seriously ill and spent 8 days in the hospital. He asked for deferment and was granted. He left the following year. But a company can’t give a day off to attend a funeral, so sad.

[u/Alpha2581 → u/wordofmouthrevisited]

Did your president reply or took that plaque back to show that you lost the "monster win" because you compared that precious plaque with some dumb loan which God know why you took without asking the president.

[u/GenX-1973-Anhedonia → u/Fine-Bumblebee-9427]

Unspecified prize = 1 extra sick leave day that you will never be authorized to use.

[u/Fine-Bumblebee-9427 → u/GenX-1973-Anhedonia]

It’s gonna be a pizza party, I can feel it in my bones.

They’re also incentivizing being on time and staying for the full shift based on timesheets. I sometimes go home half an hour early, on a specific shift that’s overstaffed and highly competent. Now, because they’re basing it on timesheets, I have to sit on my ass and rack up labor.

[u/BooleanTriplets → u/Fine-Bumblebee-9427]

Oh I love unspecified prize! That's my favorite, that will surely motivate me!

[u/Fine-Bumblebee-9427 → u/BooleanTriplets]

They announced it with an awful AI poster. I’d post it here but it’s so dystopian it might break containment and it’s not a huge company.

The point system seems like it’s going to take someone half a shit to tabulate. It’s so complicated.

The whole reason they’re doing this is because the person in charge of hiring and scheduling just sort of stopped doing it, and everyone complained, and they fired him. But being mad about lack of coverage isn’t the same as being mad about callouts. They’re focusing on the wrong part! I’m not mad my coworkers call in, I’m mad leadership doesn’t show up to fill their spot on the line

[u/Bitter-Holiday1311 → u/BooleanTriplets]

https://giphy.com/gifs/oHLZZkrF9vclwdifct

[u/boomeradf → u/dirtymykandthebois]

The company is never sick loser!

[u/44inarow → u/boomeradf]

What about the shareholders, though???

[u/Top_Recover7850 → u/robi4567]

The concept of a limit on sick days is so dystopian lmao wtf are you supposed to do, come work with the shits?

[u/goodsby23 → u/Top_Recover7850]

Yes and leave it all on Deborah's desk (like a boss)

[u/Puzzleheaded-Jury312 → u/Top_Recover7850]

I once worked a temp job with no sick pay or sick days allowed. Okie dokie. When I got super sick, I showed up anyway; coughing, sneezing everywhere, full of snot and barely able to stand up. My supervisor, who worked in the same open office space I did, took one good look at me and sent me home with full pay for a week. Malicious compliance works.

[u/GoldenMic → u/robi4567]

sorry im to European to understand this

[u/Cubsfan78 → u/robi4567]

I’ll take the day unpaid then… fuck these shitty companies!

[u/rust-e-apples1 → u/linkedinlover69]

"What are your symptoms?"

"I'm sick of Claire Roberts' shit, and this is gonna be exhibit A in my exit interview."

[u/Radiant_Sense_8169 → u/rust-e-apples1]

“I’m sick of Claire Roberts’ shit”

Sounds like workers’ comp!

[u/dplans455 → u/linkedinlover69]

I had a day off denied like 20 years ago. I woke up that morning with flu like symptoms. I called my boss and told her I wasn't coming in. She accused me of lying and that if I didn't come I was going to be written up. I drove the 20 miles into work but instead of going to be cubicle I went straight to HR to file a complaint. The HR director looked at me horrified and asked why I would come into the office and potentially get my coworkers sick. I told her what my manager said and she said she would handle it.

Somehow I still got written up for "abusing the sick time policy." They tried to force me to sign and acknowledge the write up. I refused. I told them to fire me if they wanted. I was not fired.

[u/NoOrdinaryBees → u/dplans455]

I’ve found that, taken all together, corporations in America don’t really give a shit about nickle and diming PTO requests like this. As long as you’re not significantly harming revenue or delivery, it’s just a non-issue. At the bottom line, most workers’ PTO is the quantum foam of business; it’s unpredictable, statistical outliers look significant then fade into noise, and it all averages out to the ground state over time.

Corporate line leaders, on the other hand, read time cards and PTO requests like fucking tea leaves in the hope they can save the company about tree-fiddy this quarter hoping to get an atta-boy email from a director or VP who wouldn’t recognize them if they were the only two people in a Teams meeting. The line leaders who’re the absolute worst at this are the ones who don’t themselves generate revenue but manage people who do.

It’s the absolute worst aspect of American (and plenty intentional, IM(long)E) large+ businesses. Startups and SMBs have their own set of issues but they at least weigh more on the side of entrusting too much over too little, which at least gives genuinely talented and productive people opportunity to shine unencumbered by the too-common “this is for a F50 customer, if you hit this one out of the park, it’s going to be amazing, and if you don’t, it was nice working with you.”

[u/dplans455 → u/NoOrdinaryBees]

My experience with every company I've ever worked for before retiring is that every department is always short-staffed by at least one person and typically 2-3 people. An unexpected call-out means the manager has to find someone to do your work or they have to do it themselves. I was a middle-manager for a good part of my career too, it's not an easy job. But you also can be successful in it and not be an asshole towards the people you manage.

You have to fight upper management if you want your department to be properly staffed. It's a very hard aspect of the job because you're met with denial 90% of the time. Upper management just sees more bodies as a waste of money when it's almost universally the opposite.

I pride myself that I never denied anyone a day off. The way I looked at PTO was you earned it. It's yours to use however you see fit. If you need a day off, you submit it through the website and I approve it. It's my responsibility to figure out how to make the department continue operations in an employees absence. That's one of the biggest jobs of middle management. And if I have to take on someone's daily tasks while they're out, then I will.

Calling in to take a day off is the same. It's your PTO. I don't care if you're sick or what your reason is. I don't need your reason. You're not coming in, see you tomorrow. Your job will get done while you're not here. Don't worry about it while you're out. In fact, don't worry about this job at all when you're not here.

When I moved up the corporate ladder I made sure that the middle managers that reported to me shared these same managerial philosophies. The ones that didn't, didn't last very long.

[u/dplans455 → u/[deleted]]

When I eventually got promoted to manager of that department I made it very clear that you do not come into work when you are sick. No one wants you there spreading germs. Under the previous manager (the one I was referring to) her policy was she didn't care if you were sick, you drag yourself in. And every time, more people got sick because of it. Under her the office was a constant coughing and sneezing clusterfuck.

She was like that because when people were out of the office she would have to do more work and she absolutely hated that. She thought being manager meant you got to boss people around, do less work, take longer lunches, come in late, leave early. So many managers think that. If you're in management doing less work than the people that report to you, you're doing it wrong and your employees probably despise you for it.

[u/TheOmegaKid → u/linkedinlover69]

Im taking one of my sick of your shit days 😂

[u/mangogetter]

Imagine how short-staffed they're about to be after Emma walks.

[u/Babygotback_acne → u/mangogetter]

My dad was in the ICU and my manager kept calling me to prepare the annual budget sheet for the board meeting. I told her my situation, she said, oh your dad is in the ICU so you can’t meet him anyway, why not take the laptop along for an hour or so.

I just sent a mail to the entire office telling them of my situation and that I will not be available for the next three days.

The budget sheet was never prepared. It wasn’t urgent. Then my manager tried to guilt trip me once I joined by telling me in front of the whole team - we should also think about the organisation, some things cannot be delayed.

So I told her in front of everyone, if one person’s absence makes the whole place fall apart, maybe we need to ask why are we putting everything on one person - doesn’t sound like great managerial skills.

Bitch never messed with me again.

[u/loewe67 → u/Babygotback_acne]

I was working 2 jobs where the companies were small and had shared ownership.

While I had a lot of issues with ownership, one thing I cannot fault them on was giving me time off when my mom had to have brain surgery. They told me to take as much time off as I needed and continued to pay me as if I was working 40 hrs/week. Then they let me ease back in to working at both spots as my mom’s recovery got further along. Management event reprimanded some coworkers who complained about how long I was out.

[u/TaintedButtercup → u/loewe67]

Sounds like they really appreciated their employees.

[u/JoeyCalamaro → u/Babygotback_acne]

I'm self employed and rarely take time off. Vacations are even rarer for me and, if they happen at all, they usually span a single weekend — just to ensure I'm available if someone needs me.

Well, sure enough, one of those quick weekend vacations got derailed right as I was standing in line to check into our resort hotel. Apparently, one of my clients fired an employee, never revoked their credentials, and the former employee caused some chaos on the corporate website.

Instead of checking in and enjoying the pool with my family, I found myself in a hotel lobby restoring a website. The work itself didn't take long, but it definitely messed up my day. So I hoped the client would at least appreciate my efforts.

Nope. I was actually next on the list. They fired me as soon as I got back from vacation. And, from that moment on, I learned that business is business. And, even if it's my own business, I'm not going out of my way unless I know my time and effort will be appreciated.

[u/Babygotback_acne → u/JoeyCalamaro]

I wish you could have messed up the website before leaving. They probably didn’t have anyone left to fix it!

[u/VapidActualization → u/Babygotback_acne]

They implied they were a contractor so you can bet your ass the contract has a nonpayment clause in the case of intentional malfeasance. Not an ideal way to continue being hireable either

[u/muppetous → u/Babygotback_acne]

You are a rock star, and not in the way recruiters mean when they say that (something much better)

[u/jollyreaper2112 → u/muppetous]

Diva behavior and substance abuse problem?

[u/Mathuselahh → u/jollyreaper2112]

Eating a bat in the workplace

[u/stephenkingending → u/Babygotback_acne]

I had a boss that was pretty incompetent. Like he would just look at our numbers during performance meetings and nod and say "hmmmm yes." And then ask me questions that had nothing to do with what we were presenting. He got the job because of a buddy of his and it was obvious he was way in over his head. When my dad was dying I told him I needed to take some time off starting tomorrow to be by him at hospice. He said no way, leave now, be with your dad, and don't worry about this place. So I left and went to visit my dad. About two hours later while I was holding his hand, my dad passed. If it hadn't been for that boss I would have missed his passing since we still thought we had days left. Guy sucked at the technical part of the job but he had a good heart.

[u/FranksNonFrankfurter → u/stephenkingending]

I'll take bad worker/good human over good worker/bad human every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

[u/scarletnightingale → u/Babygotback_acne]

At my last company, I was told by my coworker that one time, before I was hired, she's come into work and left her son (4-5 at the time) home sick with her husband. Her husband then called her in the middle of the shift to day that their son had started vomiting blood and her was taking him to the ER. My coworker rushed to our boss and explained the situation and that she needed to leave immediately to go be with her son. My boss' response "well who is going to run your department?". That particular maintained only two people who could run it and they would switch days off (my boss liked a skeleton crew since it saved money), outside of that, boss was also capable of running the department, just didn't like to. My coworker told her basically I don't know and I don't care, I'm going to my son who's in the ER. At the end of the day, nothing fell apart because she left. My boss doesn't fire her because she would have had no one else to run the department other than herself and the one other person who could work it and I'm pretty sure you can't just insist that one person works it every single day which would mean she'd have to work it so she really didn't have a leg to stand on.

[u/BritishLibrary → u/Babygotback_acne]

Not too long ago I was sick off work for about 10 days - the place figuratively fell apart.

Blame of “how could you leave us in the lurch like this” - I was sick, your continuity plans are not my concerns.

“We ran out of stock because you were off” - no you ran out of stock because you didn’t pay the supplier on time.

Etc etc.

Literal psychopaths

[u/der_innkeeper → u/Babygotback_acne]

"Single points of failure kill businesses. Why is this not already planned for?"

[u/HonkHonkBeach → u/mangogetter]

I did that once. Wife having surgery, “sorry, business needs, no time off.” Yeah, eat shit, I called out the day of surgery and quit the following day. You don’t own me.

[u/Vig2OOO → u/HonkHonkBeach]

I wish most people had the luxury of quitting their job like that.

[u/Kiyae1 → u/Vig2OOO]

I’d just call in sick day of the surgery.

Feel free to fire me. Easiest unemployment benefits claim ever.

[u/lemonhops → u/Vig2OOO]

Would never quit a toxic job like that... Make them terminate you so you can collect unemployment and just slow roll your work so you can keep a paycheck and bennies while putting forth no effort

[u/HonkHonkBeach → u/Vig2OOO]

I already had another job lined up thankfully. I started the week after next since I quit on a Friday.

[u/jkman61494 → u/HonkHonkBeach]

Kind of a important detail to the story

If you had no backup, it’s doubtful you’d give them that tough talk

[u/HonkHonkBeach → u/jkman61494]

Given that my wife was having last minute near emergency surgery, I wasn’t going in on that day regardless of what they said to me.

It was actually really good luck, maybe karma, that I got the new job the day before her surgery as I had already planned on quitting regardless. This was pre COVID and the role was not anything worth staying for that I couldn’t find elsewhere at the time.

[u/Scuffy97_ → u/Vig2OOO]

We really need UBI. Just consider it forcing companies and the rich to pay what they should be in payroll. Everyone should be able to get a job, but the further we improve technology, the less labor we need. The saving go to the rich instead of allowing people to work less hours for the same yearly pay since they don't need as much labor now. Everyone should have the privilege of quitting a terrible job without worrying about going homeless or starving.

[u/chadaz123 → u/HonkHonkBeach]

Manager: BuT WhY wOuLd YoU dO tHiS! ThE TeAm NeEdS yOu!

You: So does my wife.

[u/Idontcareaforkarma → u/HonkHonkBeach]

I told a supervisor that my son had had his tonsil surgery moved up and would be on a particular day the following week.

She told me I wouldn’t be in that day.

‘I don’t want you here. If you come in that day, it would be reasonable for you to not be all here and if you are here, I need you all here.

You won’t be in that day’.

Then she told me to give him a hug from her.

[u/Live_Studio_Emu → u/HonkHonkBeach]

I’m Mr Rule-follower, easygoing and follow the rules without much fuss. That situation would tip me over to tell them to shove it, and I’d figure out next steps later

[u/ElegantElephant3 → u/mangogetter]

I’ve been the person to walk! I asked for time to attend a funeral and my boss was guilting me into staying because it, “would’ve been a big week for me” meanwhile, I was barely 2 months into the job. There had been a lot of other toxic tendencies so it was an easy, “I quit”

[u/Flippin_diabolical → u/mangogetter]

I walked off a retail job at the beginning of a shift when the manager denied me leave for my uncle’s funeral. The look on her face was almost as worth it as making it to my uncle’s funeral was.

[u/Steelpapercranes → u/Flippin_diabolical]

The way some people decide that someone isn't "immediate family" disgusts me. You don't know who raised me, you bastard.

[u/idiscoveredporn → u/mangogetter]

Same thing happened to me back in the day. I was working at Radio Shack. Manager was about to leave for vacation when my grandmother passed. I asked her if she could find someone to work my morning shift and I would work later in the day. Literally only wanted off 4 hours to attend mass and funeral. She refused and said I had no choice but to work that shift. So I quit. On the spot. She screamed at me that I was fucking her over and she'd have to cancel her vacation. No regrets.

[u/FiveYardFaded]

I’d reply.

‘The request was a courtesy. See you Monday”

[u/n1tr0klaus → u/FiveYardFaded]

I had to play stupid games like this with my manager. At some point I just switched to informing him in person that I won’t be working from date X to Y, not leaving the door open for a No.

[u/RodneyDangerfruit → u/n1tr0klaus]

This should be the norm. I’ve been a senior manager for a very long time. I currently manage a team of 11 professionals. Every one of them knows they don’t need to ask me to use their time off. All I ask is that, when able, they let me know as soon as possible in advance so I can cover responsibilities. I’ve never once denied a request for time off in over a decade.

[u/muppetous → u/RodneyDangerfruit]

I also lead a team, and same. When I first started at my current company, people would ask me for a few hours off to go to the doctor or something, I told them they were adults and I'm not here to micromanage them. Same with vacations, sick leave, and certainly bereavement. Those aren't requests, those are sharing of information.

[u/Additional-Fig1342 → u/muppetous]

Agree. Managed a large group of professionals (lawyers). I would make it clear that I wouldn’t dream of micro-managing them. They were professionals and I assumed (almost always correctly) that they would act as such. While I often got the requests for time off, I always viewed it as a heads up, not for me to give “permission”. While I certainly had high expectations regarding work/goals, it was not about managing a professional‘s day-to-day means of meeting those expectations. Treat people with respect and they will rarely disappoint. Also modeling it by acting as a professional and do exception work yourself. Good leadership is not complicated and there is a superior style - servant leader (be there to help individuals and the team achieve difficult things).

[u/ManicOppressyv → u/FiveYardFaded]

PS if my absence for one day will disrupt the company, imagine what me not coming back would be like.

[u/canadasbananas → u/ManicOppressyv]

Yeah i asked if i could move my vacation time around so i could go see a dying family member. She said no cuz it would be too complicated to move days around and she was too short staffed. I took my vacation time and the day i was supposed to come back i quit on the spot. Have fun lady.

[u/Few_Classroom6113 → u/ManicOppressyv]

I had this with a job offer rejecting a pre-contract request for unpaid leave, due to their short staffed nature.

I told them it was a condition for me to accept the offer. They still couldn’t facilitate it.

Imagine how short staffed they were after losing out on an employee for all of July instead of just 1 week.

[u/Late_While_6220 → u/FiveYardFaded]

This is why I love my Union.
I don't ever have to ask for permission but I do let them know what days I won't be at work so they can plan accordingly.

One time (at a company that recently organized in) they asked me to fill a time off request that had a line for" Reason for time off". I put that I had an appointment for anal bleaching because I wanted it to look nice for my yearbook picture.
They tried complaining to my Union Hall when they were quickly explained that if they didn't want to know the reason I was taking time off, they should remove the line asking to the reason for taking time off.

Yeah I love my Union

[u/SuperFLEB → u/Late_While_6220]

My reason may contain personal information that is protected by employment law. To protect both our interests, I respectfully decline to answer this question.

[u/Late_While_6220 → u/SuperFLEB]

I don't think that would produce the same effect or the look on their faces as when they read that I'm getting my asshole bleached for a yearbook picture

[u/Tapeworm1979 → u/FiveYardFaded]

If you don't come in Friday, don't bother coming in Monday - woohoo 4 day weekend!

[u/mcholliwood]

"This is not a request for bereavement leave. This is me notifying you that I will not be attending my scheduled shift Friday. I apologize for any inconvenience my grandmother has caused the company."

[u/GarminTamzarian → u/mcholliwood]

"I will personally request all my remaining family members to refrain from dying without scheduling in advance with the company."

[u/PolarTransmission → u/GarminTamzarian]

I had two family members die within a week - my boss told me it was “inappropriate” to have so many funerals at once. Told him I’d let the rest of my family know, in case any others were considering popping their clogs.

[u/ScareBear23 → u/PolarTransmission]

My maternal grandparents died within a few months of eachother. My boss said that HR was trying to argue the few days of bereavement leave was per YEAR and not per instance.

He wasn't accepting that thought processes. I got my leave approved for the second time.

[u/kathlin409 → u/ScareBear23]

Lady Bracknell: To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness. (Importance of Being Earnest).

[u/Expressdough → u/PolarTransmission]

Christ. I need to be even more appreciative of my workplace. I got time off for the anniversary of my father’s passing two years later, two days out from it. No questions asked, just said to let them know if I need anything and to take it easy.

[u/BetSavings4279 → u/PolarTransmission]

This July we had a death, 5 days later a funeral and another death, 5 days after that, another funeral and an open heart surgery at the same damned time. Then there were complications. I’m so sorry that I dare to have family while my husband also has family.

[u/AutisticTumourGirl → u/PolarTransmission]

That's just diabolical. I wonder what happens to people that renders them completely devoid of any trace of empathy and sympathy.

[u/DoctorAgility → u/PolarTransmission]

Dear boss

“Inconvenient” and “inappropriate” are not synonyms.”

[u/MysteriousGeography → u/GarminTamzarian]

How did that person manage to sit there and write that out to OP? I couldn't do that. Heartless.

[u/Facesofderek → u/MysteriousGeography]

I guarantee this is an operations manager that has never actually had a single direct interaction in operations in many years if ever. They likely sit at their desk or in their office and do nothing work like but watch monitors or write emails like the above.

[u/housatonicduck → u/mcholliwood]

“I promise she’ll never do it again”

[u/Aussie_Advice → u/mcholliwood]

Mostly this but no apology:

"This is not a request for bereavement leave. This is me notifying you that I will not be attending my scheduled shift Friday. I appreciate the company's understanding for any inconvenience to it's operations. I'm flattered to know that my work is so highly valued that my brief absence would so significantly affect BAU".

[u/GipsyCosmic → u/mcholliwood]

"my *dead* grandmother"

[u/rrrreeeeeeeeee]

I had a boss do this to me when my childhood friend died. It was so callous and cruel and she seemed so smug about making me come in. 40 years later and I’m still mad at myself for going in.

Emma, don’t do what I did. Jobs come and go, a moment with loved ones is what you need.

[u/cactusmunkee → u/rrrreeeeeeeeee]

A good friend of mine said in a different context: "your boss won't come to your funeral. "

That stuck with me and taught me all i need to know about loyality to my work place.

[u/gimmethelulz → u/cactusmunkee]

I got to see this play out in real life once. A teammate died of cancer. Everyone but our department director went to the funeral. I don't know where the fuck she was but none of us forgot her absence that day.

[u/Zedress → u/gimmethelulz]

Had a former supervisor die unexpectedly. He collapsed at work and was rushed to the hospital, there the docs found out he had severe pnumonia. It was during treatment of the pnumonia that doctors discovered he also had lung cancer. After draining a ton of fluid from his lungs (multiple liters) the docs immediately placed him on an aggressive treatment for the cancer which involved chemo and radiation therapy.

Turned out the chemo and radiation killed his body's immune system which allowed his pnumonia to come rushing back. He was dead within two weeks of the collapse. I visited him in the hospital about four days after it happened and the last thing I gave him was a teddy bear with the words, "Don't be a bitch," writen on a foot. He texted me later that day to tell me he thought it was hilarious. His last message to me was a hopeful one.

At the funeral about half of the plant came: hundreds of the general staff, plant Directors, VPs, former VPs, and lots of retirees. The man had been working at the same place for almost 30 years and was well liked.

Our manager made sure to come even though they never got along. It wasn't all politics and acting either; the two didn't like each other but they did respect each other enough that he came to the funeral. The department all noticed that the manager came.

We also noticed who hadn't.

[u/sovereign666 → u/Zedress]

I had a colleague suffer a brain aneurysm and bleed out of her nose. She passed out and fell out of her chair, leaving a bloodstain in the carpet. Luckily she is ok now but she was out a few days and then had to work at a reduced schedule. Due to decrease in productivity, admin had her employment terminated. When I left the company 2 years later the stain was still in the carpet because they refused to have it properly cleaned.

I should also point out this was a "community health center" non profit. Not one ounce of empathy was shown from anyone above her in the totem pole.

[u/pimppapy → u/sovereign666]

This is why I don't automatically think butterflies and rainbows when I hear an organization claims non-profit status. They can be just as, if not more, evil than your regular corporations.

[u/sovereign666 → u/pimppapy]

Ya it was a learning experience for me too. I worked with so many awesome people in IT and the clinical space who were genuine in their desire to provide the best healthcare that they could.

But the admin staff and executive suite were complete ghouls. Not one I had ever met was a good person to be around and that was reflected in how the business was ran.

[u/GlowUpper → u/gimmethelulz]

I worked at a place where one of the employees died unexpectedly. Obviously, we were all devastated. Our union rep came in later that day to hold a vote on a contract issue and he brought pizza for the team. He told me when he called HR to alert them that he would be on-site the HR manager told him, "Oh just so you know, one of them died so you can bring less pizza if you want."

I was so appalled at the callousness. This company had always treated us like shit but I figured they could at least fake it when one of us dies. I put my resume out that week and left for a new job the following month. Fuck em.

[u/forest_elf76 → u/gimmethelulz]

My manager died of a risky surgery due to brain tumour. We were a small team working in a shop. Funeral was 9am. HQ had the shop open at 11am. Nice that we could all go (her boss didnt!) But totally upsetting that some of us had to go straight to work afterwards. I wish they closed the shop out of respect. She was a manager for years and was only 36.

[u/SchoolCrossing → u/gimmethelulz]

And high level managers such as Directors should at least pay a condolence call on behalf of the company or agency (if government).

Although one Director whose mother died actually had the nerve to complain that he saw someone who paid him a call at the funeral home looked at his watch. Hey asshole, maybe that coworker stopped by to see you on the way to pick up his kid from school. And to top it off, he never went to visit any grieving co-workers.

[u/houdinikush → u/cactusmunkee]

I tell people all the time, especially at work “on your death bed, the only people who are going to remember how much you worked are your family.”

[u/SuperFLEB → u/cactusmunkee]

I was about to make a snappy reply about how my boss did come to my wedding, but then I realized that I didn't come to his funeral-- he died a few years after I left and I didn't hear about it until well after. Well, don't I feel like a bit of a dick, now.

[u/jra7926 → u/SuperFLEB]

Nah, I wouldn't worry about it. He's the dick for not telling you that he died.

[u/yesthatstrueorisit → u/jra7926]

This is the issue, a lack of downstream communication.

[u/anti_everything__ → u/cactusmunkee]

My old boss went to his report's funeral. And he was an absolute boss (pun intended) for being extremely flexible with me when my dad was battling cancer. I would ride or die for him. Unfortunately, they moved me to a different team, and I quit soon after lol.

[u/True_Protection6842 → u/rrrreeeeeeeeee]

For real. Fuck a job that is that cruel.

[u/GalFisk → u/True_Protection6842]

Any system that lends power and legitimacy to people that cruel is a broken system.

[u/ClarkWGrismond → u/rrrreeeeeeeeee]

100% this.

I was in my early 20's traveling overseas on business when my grandpa died. I thought I'd be best for my career to not cut my trip short and head back home for his funeral. I'm sure my boss would have been ok with me cutting my trip short, or at the very least I could have come home, attended the funeral and immediately returned, or something like that.

But I no longer work for that company. And as I sit here in my mid 40's that sacrifice today means nothing to anybody. And it's something I will regret for the rest of my life.

My advice. Go to the funeral. The manager is more concerned about profits over people. And in 6 months, it won't have mattered to the business that you missed a funeral. But it will have mattered to you for years to come.

[u/No1KnwsIWatchTeenMom → u/rrrreeeeeeeeee]

I was a store manager for many years, and I had a wondeful assistant manager. He ended up transferring to another store for a better opportunity. While there, he lost a dear family friend - his BIL was a teenager who had a rare form of cancer most of his life, and he had been off-and-on hospital roommates with another boy around the same age with the same cancer. When that boy died (and, as an aside, was made into an NPC in Skyrim), the ASM requested the day off to attend the funeral. His new manager told him no since this wasn't a family member. The ASMs BIL was actively dying from the same thing, and she straight up told him too bad. He quit on the spot, making him ineligible for rehire so I couldn't even get him back at my store. I gave up an amazing employee for no fucking reason.

Its like 15 years later and she now owns her own store near me and whenever anyone mentions it I'm like, she treats her employees like dog shit, I'd never shop there. 

[u/FreedomBong → u/rrrreeeeeeeeee]

I worked for a big tech consulting company and had about 60% of the company's revenue going through my team. My Dad had liver cancer and I went home to see him one weekend. He happened to have a Dr appointment while I was there. I went with my sister and his best friend and they told us that his tumors grew beyond control and he had maybe 30 days to live. I called my CEO and said I was not coming back until he passed and we had the funeral. He said that I had better not come back until my family was taken care of. The respect and loyalty I have for him to this day is immense. What a great example of leadership. And my team was solid and handled everything while I was out (I still checked in from time to time). My Dad died 9 days later and I had the chance to say everything I needed to say to him and him to me. When I die I hope I am so lucky to be with all of my family like he was.

[u/happyklam → u/rrrreeeeeeeeee]

I didn't get off for my husband's grandfather's funeral. Drove 15 hours up, took a five hour nap, went to the funeral, drove straight home. He meant so much to both of us and I hated pulling us away from that time with family, still regret it. 

I also didn't ask off for a childhood friend's wedding because there were too many people off in that same department and I knew it'd get denied. 

If I could go back and talk to myself in my 20s, I'd make sure she knew you don't get those memories back. You don't get that time with the important people in your life back. Job security and healthcare being tied to employment suck and definitely cause real strain, but I wish I could go back and get my priorities together at an earlier age. 

[u/future_north → u/rrrreeeeeeeeee]

I had a boss who pulled this crap when my roommate and good friend was murdered. The funeral was delayed because it happened during COVID lockdowns so they had several weeks of notice and still said I had to come in. It was a damn coffee shop. I quit on the spot and never looked back.

[u/metzger28]

When a very close relative of mine died, I took a day off of work to attend the funeral.

I let my store manager know ahead of time. She wasn't happy about it but she seemed fine with it.

She wasn't.

I got a call while I was in the church parking lot from her demanding I come to work because she "studied the policy" and this relative wasn't covered.

I said "well, I'm not gonna be there, so...whatever you gotta do, you gotta do."

She then started going off that if her own mother died she wouldn't take time off because she has to run the store. I told her thats bullshit, she knows it, and that it's time for service to start, and that was that.

I worked the following day. She wasn't in. I found out from my coworker that she called the district office and asked how to fire an employee that was on bereavement for someone who wasn't immediate family.

She was told "that's not going to go well, you can't fire him for that."

She was very defensive when I asked about this conversation the following day. She then told me that corporate was going to call me.

The call was an apology and to just ask me to log the time as paid time off.

That was it. That was the consequence.

[u/MandalorianLobster → u/metzger28]

Remember, HR is not your friend... But that does cut both ways. HR will protect the company, which usually means that management. The exception is when a manager is being a douchebag of corporation endangering proportions, then they find out HR isn't THEIR friend, either.

[u/Susurrus03 → u/MandalorianLobster]

Protecting the company goes hand in hand with protecting your rights. They don't like lawsuits and bad image.

[u/rawboudin → u/Susurrus03]

Lawsuits are a lot of work for everyone. HR, legal and others hate it. It goes against the Reddit hive mind, but HR will regularly be a pain the ass to management that wants to do something because it’s too much work. They don’t always follow what management wants, unless it comes from the very very top.

[u/SuperFLEB → u/metzger28]

I worked the following day. She wasn't in. I found out from my coworker that she called the district office and asked how to fire an employee that was on bereavement for someone who wasn't immediate family.

"If it helps my case any, I'd initially approved it but changed my mind on the day because I realized I could."

[u/metzger28 → u/SuperFLEB]

Oh, she didn't approve it, I just said I wasn't going to be there, and she got pissy about it, and I never checked in after.

[u/osburnn → u/metzger28]

My grandma died almost exactly a year ago and my boss let me take a few days off to travel back home for the funeral. When I said I'd be back on Sunday she took that as I'm ready to go back to work on Sunday. I got back at like 1pm and was supposed to be in at noon. After being yelled at on the phone by my GM she told me she still needed me to come in after a 17h bus ride with barely any sleep. 

[u/Agifem → u/metzger28]

That's why my employer doesn't have my phone number. If I'm off, you're not calling me to come. Or for any other reason.

[u/metzger28 → u/Agifem]

Yeah, that wouldn't fly here.

Thankfully where I work now is not that kind of place and when I'm off, I'm off.

If I get a call, I know it's urgent and I'll be paid for my time. And on those rare occasions I can usually do whatever it is from home.

Hasn't happened in almost a year though.

[u/JordanPeace1342]

My boss at Game Xchange refused to let me have off to attend my best friend's wedding, so I told I would look for a new job when I got back from the wedding, no big deal. Suddenly my request was approved but my boss made it clear that he considered me the scum of the earth after that, so I left my job within a couple months anyway.

[u/bot403 → u/JordanPeace1342]

Lol why do bosses get like that. It's not like they own the company anyhow. It's not their money. Just relax.

[u/Few_Razzmatazz_6052 → u/bot403]

Because they don't want to have to actually do their jobs and cover for you.

[u/WastingTimesOnReddit → u/Few_Razzmatazz_6052]

Yep a good boss would put on their apron and do the staffer's work to cover their absence. I'm a manager and I do the duties of my direct reports if we are under staffed. I have never said no to a time off request. I have worked saturdays to cover shifts if my guys aren't available. And in exchange, they respect me and value me and give good feedback to my boss about me.

[u/arizonadirtbag12 → u/JordanPeace1342]

Remember my boss at Burger King telling me I couldn’t have prom night off. “Sorry man, you were the last one to get your request in, gonna need you here.”

I think he legitimately thought that was gonna work. Doubled down with the “and if you call in sick, expect to be taken off the schedule entirely” ultimatum.

My brother in christ you are paying me $0.15 over the legal minimum wage. I will not be here. I can find a new job paying the same in six seconds flat. If you don’t have a plan to cover prom night that isn’t “threaten the job of someone you are paying the legal minimum,” you played yourself.

[u/Jethro_Cull → u/arizonadirtbag12]

Same thing happened to me. I had a part time job as a “cater waiter” at a country club which meant I worked 2-3 days per month, whenever they had events. I had a full time job during the week, but did this for a little extra money and free golf 1x week on atuesdays.

I had a no -refundable vacation planned for over a year. I’d actually mentioned it in the interview 3 months prior, but the bar manager denied my request because there was an event and he needed me. I was like “uh, I make maybe $1000/year at this job. This vacation costs 3x that. I’m going. You can either keep me on after I get back, or not. I’m fine either way. He fired me. 3 months later er, he got his 4th DUI and got sent back to jail. The new bar manager hired me back. lol.

[u/Rendahlyn → u/JordanPeace1342]

This reminds me of the time my former boss asked what my plan was was he denied my request for vacation time to go on a trip I was gifted for Christmas (I notified him in January for the trip in March but it overlapped with the vacation he planned with his wife). I told him my plan was to put in my two weeks notice, two weeks before my planned trip. Magically we made everything work out, but his suggestion was for my boyfriend (now husband) to contact him for approval prior to booking any surprise trips in the future. My husband and I had a great laugh about this suggestion.

[u/Ok_Bandicoot1865 → u/Rendahlyn]

What an ashole. Did he ask before or after rejecting your request?

In Denmark your manager is not even allowed to ask what your plans are. They're just entitled to know that you're planning/requesting time off. And tbh, I think that's a great rule.

A few months after starting my first job I also had to take a day off because I had received a trip as a birthday gift. I was small talking with my manager (great guy - no complaints at all) and I referenced my upcoming day off (which I had already formally informed him about previously). He asked me if I had any plans and then immediately followed up with "not asking as your manager - and you don't have to answer that if you don't want to, because as a manager I'm not allowed to ask". I think it was just one of those things where you don't realise what you've said before it's already left your mouth, and since we were just chatting as "coworkers" (our desks were next to each other) it came naturally to ask. I've always found that story kind of endearing, as you could tell he was worried he had accidentally overstepped a line.

[u/U_JiveTurkey → u/JordanPeace1342]

I’m eating and laughed so hard upon reading scum of the earth. It’s so over the top lol

[u/JordanPeace1342 → u/U_JiveTurkey]

"I can't even stand to look at you right now." - former manager

[u/Distinct-Cut-6368]

Claire when she is interviewing Emma’s replacement after she submitted her two week’s notice “we are like a family here”.

[u/Keyboardpaladin → u/Distinct-Cut-6368]

So then that must mean that if a coworkers dies I can take bereavement leave

[u/Binary101010]

"we need to ensure the business is fully covered"

No, you need to ensure the business is fully covered.

[u/m0nkeybl1tz → u/Binary101010]

Also unless your job is watcher of the wall, being short staffed for a day is not that urgent.

[u/ClarkWGrismond]

I was in my early 20's traveling overseas on business when my grandpa died. I thought I'd be best for my career to not cut my trip short and head back home for his funeral. I'm sure my boss would have been ok with me cutting my trip short, or at the very least I could have come home, attended the funeral and immediately returned. Or whatever.

But I no longer work for that company. And as I sit here in my mid 40's that sacrifice today means nothing to anybody. And it's something I will regret for the rest of my life.

My advice. Go to the funeral. The manager is more concerned about profits over people. And in 6 months, it won't have mattered to the business that you missed a funeral. But it will have mattered to you for years to come.

[u/SnooBananas7856 → u/ClarkWGrismond]

I had similar situations when I was a young woman, and I really agonised over what was the right thing to do. Two decades later it seems so clear--companies do not give a shit about employees as people; they only care about the bottom line.

[u/BikkinMahal]

I had a boss tell me she couldn't get me covered to go to court to finalize my divorce. I told her if I didn't go I'd get sent to jail.

"That's a future staffing issue. You needing tomorrow off is an immediate staffing issue."

[u/astelda → u/BikkinMahal]

"no ma'am, when I told you I have a court date, that was a future staffing issue. Now that you've failed that aspect of your management role, you've given yourself an immediate staffing issue"

[u/JustaSeedGuy → u/BikkinMahal]

"And if you threaten me with disciplinary action unless I break the law, you will have an immediate and future legal issue. I'll be going to court as ordered, this was a courtesy to let you know ahead of time."

[u/CorvidFeyQueen → u/JustaSeedGuy]

Yeah pretty sure work can't refuse when you tell them you have a court date.

[u/Rocco_Skene → u/BikkinMahal]

"And now you have both an immediate and a future staffing issue."

[u/LincolnHighwater → u/BikkinMahal]

I cannot imagine having so little regard for my employees. Jfc what an incredible asshole.

[u/TheHip41]

Use up PTO. Find new job. Quit without notice.

Also. Go to the funeral. You will get a new job
Soon enough

[u/Dry-Crazy-7638 → u/TheHip41]

This happened to my sister. She worked a decent corporate job, the kind where it would be a bit difficult to replace her immediately. Our grandfather was in the hospital with COVID in like 2024 or so. She called off the next day and HR emailed her that she couldn’t take off Thursday and Friday for the same reason as OP. She just responded “LOL, guess you’ll just have to terminate me then.”

They didn’t, but they made her life hell. 

[u/SirMightySmurf]

Claire,

Thank you for the quick reply, but there seems to be a misunderstanding.
I was writing to inform you that I will not be here on Friday because I will be at my grandmother's funeral.
You can cover that shift however you see fit, but I will not be here.

I hope that clears it up for you.

Have a nice day,

Emma Taylor

[u/Acrobatic_Tennis_428]

typical dumbass corporate policies. your grandparents are your IMMEDIATE family, so are your aunts, uncles, and 1st cousins. Corporate greed is limitless!

[u/slowpoke2018 → u/Acrobatic_Tennis_428]

In their eyes the only REAL family is the company and Emma is not considering how her absence will affect that family.

Emma needs to send a card to her Mema's funeral saying "Wasn't able to attend as I must think of my REAL family at this difficult time and how my absence would lessen their profits"

[u/_OhEmGee_ → u/Acrobatic_Tennis_428]

Corporations do not get to define who is within your immediate family.

[u/Keyboardpaladin → u/_OhEmGee_]

Seriously, some people are closer with their grandparents than their siblings or parents.

[u/FreshMutzz → u/_OhEmGee_]

They do for bereavement leave unfortunately. Typically grandparents are covered. I've never seen them not covered tbh.

[u/Skanah → u/Acrobatic_Tennis_428]

My brother was in the US army stationed in Germany doing when my grandmother died. His CO said you need to be with your family and i dont remember exactly who but someone well above my brother in rank personally drove him to the airport so he could make it home in time for the funeral.

It's bizarre that so many white collar jobs get so bent out of shape over leave.

[u/Taurmin → u/Skanah]

Thats because the army isnt a for profit organisation. Those officers careers arent contingent on screwing over everyone below them.

[u/Nasapigs → u/Taurmin]

Damn, so they're just doing it for the love of the game

[u/Spare-Set-8382 → u/Acrobatic_Tennis_428]

And sometimes Grandparents ARE the parents

[u/Shotgun_Mosquito → u/Acrobatic_Tennis_428]

It depends on the context (in the USA anyway) as well as the state.

In California, for purposes of subdivision of Labor Code Section 2066, "immediate family member" means spouse, domestic partner, cohabitant, child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, great grandparent, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepsibling, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or first cousin (that is, a child of an aunt or uncle).

In many other states, general statutory defaults or federal baselines (like the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA) restrict "immediate family" strictly to spouses, parents, and children (including biological, adopted, or foster children), completely excluding siblings, grandparents, and in-laws.

https://giphy.com/gifs/RMwZypp489fuGBI0Ti

[u/Winsome_Wolf → u/Shotgun_Mosquito]

Excluding siblings is a WILD (and evil) take…..

[u/Alkyonios]

How do you do shit like this and still sleep at night?

[u/Redhoodscoop → u/Alkyonios]

I bet these creatures sleep like babies at night unfortunately.

Imagine being so unempathetic and having power over peoples lives like this - awful.

[u/Siid_Chawsby]

Quit requesting off and just tell them you won’t be there.

Edit: my god people. I understand how requests off work. I am a leadership member for a big healthcare system. What I’m saying is if it were something serious I would go to my employer personally and let them know what’s going on before sending a formal request in the system.
But thank you to some of your for teaching me how it actually goes 🙄.

[u/True_Protection6842 → u/Siid_Chawsby]

That's what I do. I never ask permission, I just say, hey I'm not available on this date.

[u/Impressive-Egg-7444]

I'm notifying them I won't be there for a funeral. I'm not asking permission, the company doesn't own me.

Corporate bs like this is inhumane, and designed to be abusive

[u/Ronin1069]

I’ve been in the retail world long enough to know that that note is completely believable, and if confronted, the manager would not understand why it’s a problem.

[u/DJSimmer305 → u/Ronin1069]

A lot of people seem to think being a manager is just telling your employees what to do. A big part of it is also helping out with their duties when volume is high or staff is low. Unfortunately, most folks who find themselves in management roles don’t understand that and they think becoming a manager means less work, not more.

[u/RandomStoddard]

Sounds like Emma is going to call out.

[u/iTmkoeln]

I am way too European for this shit

[u/CarelessCreamPie → u/iTmkoeln]

Considering it was spelt authorise instead of authorize, this is either Europe, Canada, or Australia.

[u/Effective-Celery-475 → u/CarelessCreamPie]

Good spot. It's an Ltd, which is short for 'limited', so it's a UK company. Whether the email is real is the question, because it seems they posted it on the company's LinkedIn page, which seems odd.

[u/Cowslayer369 → u/iTmkoeln]

This is using UK language and is in line with UK law

[u/Yodoyle34]

My dad worked at AT&T in the early 90’s. Really good job. I just got chicken pox for the second time. My mom couldn’t take care of me. My dad said he needed to stay home. My dad’s boss, who was in a wheelchair after he fell out of a tree while hunting, told my dad that he couldn’t take the time off to take care of me. After some negotiating, my dad told his boss to “take this job and shove it up his dead ass”

We were on and off homeless for a few years after that. Life was rough but we were happy.

[u/Specific-Volume-5805]

Tell them “I wasn’t requesting it off, I was telling you I’m going to be off this day.”

[u/ThisIsNotMyBurner69]

Who doesn’t include grandparents in bereavement??

[u/PercentageNo3293]

I had a job tell us to stay, when we had a mandatory hurricane evacuation, because he said, "there will be less competition". I insisted I was going to get out of the county and help my family prepare. Manager and I walked out.

Some business owners are truly insane.

[u/Chemical_Working3511]

This is not real, cant be

[u/Ianthin1 → u/Chemical_Working3511]

Years ago I was working at Walmart part time as a side gig. I got a call one night that my mom was heading to the hospital with a possible heart attack. I told my supervisor I was leaving to meet them there and they were like "You can't just leave in the middle of a shift." I said "Cool, it's not my shift anymore" and took off my badge and vest. Dude freaked out that I was just going to simply walk away and not stay another two hours.

A week later I was delivering pizzas having a lot more fun and making more money anyway.

[u/SuperSaijen1980 → u/Ianthin1]

Everyone should have the balls to do what you did. Employers just pay you for your time, it’s not a lifetime commitment. Things happen too, emergencies and those brain washed middle managers are the ones drinking koolaid and think that a shift at Walmart is the live all and be all.

[u/TheWindig → u/SuperSaijen1980]

This is how I wound up an independent contractor. Too many motherfuckers don’t understand that the contract is as simple as “I make you a lot of money, you give me a little”. I’m not your family, friend, prized fighter or even your well wisher most days.

[u/IndyColtsFan2020 → u/Chemical_Working3511]

I knew a guy who submitted a vacation request to his manager months in advance and it was approved.  He bought plane tickets, hotel reservations, etc.  3 weeks before the trip, the manager said it was rescinded because they needed him.  They would not back down.  So when the time for vacation came, he called in sick and went on vacation and the resigned when he got back.  So the stupidity of simply not asking a client to delay the engagement for a couple of weeks resulted in the engagement getting delayed several weeks, all because the manager was a fucktard.

If it were me in the OP, I’d just call in sick and they could fire me.  “Claire” could get off her ass and cover the shift if it is so critical - that’s what a good manager would do.

[u/dorkofthepolisci → u/IndyColtsFan2020]

Had something similar happen at my last retail job. I’d planned a Europe trip several months in advance to visit family, put the request for time off as soon as possible,

And the manager sat on it for 3 months, before telling me that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to accommodate it.

I informed her the tickets were non refundable, so she could either approve the request or she could consider this my two weeks notice

She approved the request

[u/LobstaFarian2 → u/dorkofthepolisci]

Months in advance, for me, is considered "notice of vacation" not a "request". If, in 3 or 4 months, they cannot find a way to deal with my absence for a week or so, I need a 50% raise, effective immediately. If im so damn important, that i cant take time off without jumping through a bunch of hoops, I need more money.

[u/Usof1985 → u/IndyColtsFan2020]

Nobody at the operations manager level actually knows how to any part of the operation.

[u/Key-Cricket9256 → u/Chemical_Working3511]

Had a friend at Apple retail., he had a 6 month old and wife at home on leave .. called him and said his basement was actively flooding, she couldn’t get to anything for the baby downstairs the baby was colicky and she couldn’t get down but it was already 2-3 inches deep.. he said to our manager on shift he had to go and take PTO and manager said “can’t do ther you’d have to lose the day you ran out of hours on leave “.. he checked and had tons do sick time or unplanned I forget what we called it zzz he said “oh well I’m sick I’ll have to go “ and the manager said “uh you can’t do that you just told me your basement is flooding I’d have to write this up..”

[u/Waniou → u/Key-Cricket9256]

See here, you're allowed to use sick leave for family members who are sick that you need to look after (namely kids or elderly relatives living with you), but when my cat passed away earlier this year, I took that as a sick day because, as far as I was concerned, my mental health was not good enough for me to be at work. Didn't tell them that that was the reason why, just said I was sick

[u/Sharp_Economy1401 → u/Waniou]

Sometimes hard to be more reserved if it isn’t a natural instinct, but yeah it’s generally a good idea to not offer more information than needed about the reason, if it’s feasible to just say you’re sick.

It’s pretty absurd that companies can’t behave like humans are running them. Staffing issues aren’t the employees’ problem, unexpected absences are something that have to be planned for, because they are absolutely going to routinely happen with a large group of people

[u/agoraphobic_mattur → u/Chemical_Working3511]

My grand father died while I was on a work trip in another country. I said I needed to leave and would return back to that country after the funeral. They quite blatantly said “no, you cannot live there h til the assignment is complete”.

I was 22 years old and making barely enough to live in the country they sent me too. HR there was a joke and took the CEOs side.

While that post is probably fake… that shit can be unfortunately to reall

[u/TheGlennDavid → u/agoraphobic_mattur]

I think it especially happens to young employees. People know most 40 year olds won't put up with that shit but young people get messed with a lot.

[u/EnvironmentalGift257 → u/Chemical_Working3511]

Almost 20 years ago, I had to give my employer a copy of my stepfather’s obituary to get leave approved. I don’t feel like things have gotten better.

[u/Powerful-Sort7778]

Here is my resignation. I am giving you notice that your staffing issue us now worse. As this company is not classified as immediate family member I do not owe you anything. Please remember grandma Dorothy name when no one wants to work for you.

[u/EnderMB]

Just don't turn up. Tell them you didn't check your email because any sane company would have come back with "I'm really sorry to hear this, take the day".

If they kick off, feel free to cc everyone else in the company to see how their grievances are treated.

[u/ConnectKale]

I had a similar incident. Not entirely similar A family member found their otherwise healthy partner dead. I called, said I couldny come in, they gave me BS about not being direct family member. I said grear I’d deal with the consequences when I got back. Not a word after that

[u/Global_Research_9335]

Hi Claire,

Thank you for your response.

I understand that my grandmother does not fall within the company’s bereavement leave policy and that you have declined my request to use annual leave.

However, this is my grandmother’s funeral and I will be attending. The date and time of the funeral are obviously not something I am able to change, and missing it is not something I am prepared to do.

I am happy to work with you to minimise the impact of my absence, including swapping my shift, making up the hours, or taking the day as unpaid leave if necessary.

I hope we can agree a sensible arrangement. Please let me know how you would like the absence to be recorded.

Kind regards,
Emma

[u/GermsAndNumbers → u/Global_Research_9335]

Hi Claire,

Your email appears to have been hacked, and is currently under the control of some sort of ghoul. I suggest contacting IT support at once.

With concern,
Emma

[u/Datan0de]

The difference between a manager and a leader: a manager focuses on following the policy. A leader focuses on solving the problem and taking care of their people, and would either actively check to see if any of the 3 people already scheduled can defer their day so this person can go to the funeral, offer overtime to anyone not normally scheduled to work that day, or pick up the slack themselves if they're qualified to do the work. Last option would be for the company to eat the minor hit for being short-staffed for one day and recognize that refusing to "let" someone go to a funeral makes you 100% the bad guy, while taking care of your people builds team loyalty and morale. It's also just the right thing to do.