It was supposed to be a serene island getaway. But for one Malaysian woman, her vacation took an Orwellian turn when her boss demanded she share her live location—not just once, but continuously—while she was on approved annual leave. The incident, reported by the South China Morning Post, has since set social media ablaze with fury and disbelief.
The woman, who goes by @_nnadrahhh on Threads, posted on June 10 about her supervisor’s disturbing new workplace “policy.” According to her post, her boss instructed employees to share their live GPS location whenever they go on leave, even when traveling overseas. Failing to do so? You risk being marked absent, even with official leave approval.
The Workplace Culture That Went Too Far
The woman recounted how her leave applications were not being approved unless she complied with the real-time tracking demand. “My boss said it’s a new rule,” she wrote, calling into question its legality and its shocking intrusion into employee privacy.
In a move of silent resistance, she travelled to an unnamed island off Malaysia and posted a picture of herself relaxing by the sea. Alongside the sun-drenched snapshot was her declaration: she refused to share her live location. The price? A flurry of angry calls from her boss and mounting professional pressure.
The violation didn’t stop there. She later added that the same rule was applied even during unpaid leave and sick leave, turning ordinary rest days into opportunities for surveillance.
“This is Not Normal. Your Boss is Crazy.”
Public outrage came swiftly. Social media users flooded her post with messages of solidarity and concern. “This is not normal. Your boss is crazy,” one wrote. Another asked bluntly, “How can your boss breach your privacy like that? Staff can do whatever they want during their annual leave.”
Others questioned the legality of the so-called “new rule.” When one user asked which law supported her boss’s demands, the woman replied bitterly, “I don’t know. I guess I am just a slave.”
According to Malaysian labour law, employees are entitled to at least eight days of paid annual leave per year, and there is no requirement under the law to disclose one’s location while on personal time. Yet the power imbalance in many work environments still emboldens employers to impose arbitrary, even absurd, rules on staff.
The woman has since said she plans to report her company to the Department of Labour if they try it again.
When Burnout Meets Surveillance Culture
In an age already plagued with digital overreach and burnout, this incident reignites a broader conversation: where do employers draw the line between workplace policies and invasion of privacy? With mental health becoming a global concern and remote work blurring the lines between home and office, the idea that workers now must prove they’re truly “off-duty” feels not only invasive, but dystopian.