‘So bad’: Worker shares text, everyone tells her to quit

A text message exchange between a boss and an employee has gone viral and people online are calling it “so bad”.

When a worker texted her boss to confirm she could take annual leave for her uncle’s funeral, the response shocked her.

Ben Askins is a workplace commentator from the UK who has found his sweet spot by sharing anonymous texts from bosses and offering his advice.

He recently shared a text message exchange between a boss and an employee that even had him in disbelief.

The worker texted her boss to “make sure” she was still able to take time off for her uncle’s funeral after she received an email from her boss about holding off on approving annual leave requests.

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The boss replied that while he was “very sorry” to hear about her uncle, he couldn’t afford to make any “exceptions” to the rule.

“If I give you time off I’ll have everyone coming to me with special requests,” the boss argued.

This exchange went insanely viral. Picture:

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The employee replied and asked her boss to make an exception because she and her uncle were really close. She added that she was “sure the rest of the team would understand” given the circumstances.

The boss doubled down and said he was “really sorry” and that it would be different if it was “immediate” family, but this was too much of a stretch.

The employee didn’t give up and argued back that it was just one day and she’d make sure she didn’t “fall behind” on anything.

“This would really mean a lot to me,” she added.

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The boss didn’t relent and said that after some thought, the only conclusion he could reach was that she should take half a day off work and then make up the hours the rest of the week.

“I think we can justify that just don’t (let) the others (know) you’re getting special treatment,” the boss warned.

The employee replied, “Okay, thanks.”.

The employee didn’t give up and argued back that it was just one day and she’d make sure she didn’t “fall behind” on anything. Picture: iStock

Mr Askins was horrified by the exchange and said the boss’s attempt to hide the fact that he was giving his employee time off to attend a funeral was nothing short of “weird” and inappropriate.

He also argued that bosses can always make “exceptions” for people’s particular circumstances and that isn’t about giving anyone special treatment.

“Different people require different things at different moments. It is okay to treat people slightly differently depending on the circumstances,” he said.

Mr Askins ended his point by declaring the text exchange was “so bad” while physically appearing genuinely horrified by the exchange.

The text messages, of course, promoted a large response online, with one user claiming that if she was denied leave to attend a funeral, she would be looking for a “new job” and not sticking around.

Another argued that going to a family funeral is not a “request” it is just telling your boss you won’t be able to work.

Another said that if their boss was that unreasonable they’d be getting their “resignation” because there are other jobs out there.

Grimly other people shared stories of being denied time off from work to attend a funeral. One person said an ex-worker was “refused” time off for her aunt’s funeral, and another said she was also refused time off to attend her step-grandfather’s funeral.

Originally published as ‘So bad’: Worker shares text, everyone tells her to quit