An employee’s account of being pushed to work during a medically approved 15-day leave has sparked outrage on Reddit, where the incident was shared in detail. The worker explained that this was the first long leave they had taken in years, prompted by a surgery that had become unavoidable after months of persistent pain and failed treatments.
Leave Approved but Pressure Began Immediately
According to the employee, they had meticulously planned the leave so it wouldn’t coincide with peak workload. Before going on leave, they wrapped up pending tasks, worked late nights, and delegated the rest to colleagues. Despite this, the manager allegedly called on the day of the surgery itself—while the employee was under anaesthesia and without their phone.
The employee responded the following day, only to find the pressure intensifying. By the third day of leave, the manager allegedly began asking them to work from bed. By the seventh day, he wanted to know when they could resume full-time duties.
Reddit Users Criticise the Manager’s Behaviour
The employee said they submitted their discharge summary, prescriptions, and official recovery instructions, yet the manager continued pushing for updates and remote work. The Reddit post quickly gained traction, drawing reactions from users who condemned the workplace’s lack of empathy.
One Reddit user said, “Actually it was very dumb on your part to respond sorry to say. You’ve got your leave approved, pretend you’re fully recovering and actually recover instead of taking additional stress. Please don’t show this much loyalty, they clearly don’t give a damn about you. Get well soon!”
Another user said, “In time’s like this you should just mute the notifications. This kind of post also scares me quite a lot about switching, in my current org I took a week’s leave for diwali and I muted my Google Chat and still I did not get a single DM or something asking me for some tasks.”
The incident has reignited discussions on Reddit about unhealthy work expectations, pressure during medical emergencies, and the blurring lines between personal time and professional responsibilities.
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