An Indian employee who underwent surgery and was advised complete bed rest by the doctor, has revealed how their boss had the ‘audacity’ to ask them to ‘work from bed’. In a now-viral Reddit post titled, ‘Sharing my experience of my medical leave due to a surgery’, the user shared screenshots of the WhatsApp conversation with their manager, who repeatedly asked them to resume work, despite having an approved 15-day medical leave.
The employee stated that this was the first time in several years they had requested leave of this length, and their previous time off had never exceeded three consecutive days.
“I had been in significant pain for 3 to 4 months prior to the surgery, and when all medications failed, the doctor advised that surgery was the only option. I planned my dates carefully so the peak season would not be affected,” the user wrote in the r/IndianWorkplace subreddit.
Even after getting the approval, the employee said they worked late nights and weekends to ensure that the work would continue smoothly and the colleagues would not have to suffer.
“But guess what, I received a call from my manager on the day of the surgery itself. My phone was not with me and I was under anaesthesia, so I replied the next day. From the third day of my leave, he started asking me to work from bed, and by the seventh day, he asked when I could return to full-time work,” the user said.
“I even sent him my discharge papers, doctor’s prescription, and recovery instructions. Yet he still had the audacity to ask me to work from bed.”
‘Would Have Lost It’
As the post gained traction, social media users empathised with the individual, advising them to quit and find a company with better policies.
“In times like this, you should just mute the notifications. This kind of post also scares me quite a lot about switching,” said one user, while another added: “I would have lost it over this. I would have said politely just once that I cannot work during my leave and not pick up calls after that. Just quit.”
A third commented: “I don’t understand why it’s always that in India people think they are doing something wrong taking leaves, like you saying sorry? You have your leaves approved, so you didn’t even need to explain to him/ her this much.”
A fourth said: “My manager was the same, made me work when I was in hospital but that person was clever and never texted so that screenshots don’t get leaked.”