Worker Takes Boss’s Personal Visit While On Sick Leave As A Personal Space Violation, Reports Him
Chances are, many of you have probably had to deal with a boss from hell at some point or another!
You know, one that loves to micromanage, throw passive-aggressive remarks, manipulate, neglect their subordinates, bully, or, for instance, show up unannounced to hand-deliver a letter to a car wreck victim to inform him that his sick pay will soon run out as a weird intimidation tactic.
More info: Reddit
Man gets into a car wreck and is granted 3 months of paid sick leave
Image credits: Monstera Production (not the actual photo)
He maintains regular contact with his workplace and recently emailed them his new sick note
Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Pavel Danilyuk (not the actual photo)
Image source: u/BigJhed
“Supervisor turned up at my house while [I was] on sick leave” – this web user took to one of Reddit’s most popular communities dedicated to work-related struggles to tell its members a tale of how his supervisor pulled a surprise visit to hand-deliver him a letter about his sick pay running out. The post managed to garner over 7K upvotes as well as 457 comments discussing the situation.
Everybody and their grandma knows how vital it is for personal space to be respected! Just think about it; we all deal with different things on a day-to-day basis, and more often than not, the bulk of it is very overstimulating, so the last thing you want is to have some zany character be in your face after a long and tiring 9-5 shift.
Alas, no wonder it’s said that human beings are selfish, as it seems like some individuals are simply incapable of reading the room.
Now ask yourself, where can you find the largest gathering of inconsiderate folk? If you said Walmart or any other supermarket chain, you are right – however, the answer that I’m looking for is “at work.”
Having someone stand too close, give unwanted physical contact, lean over your desk or stare for no reason, ask intrusive questions, bait you into discussing overly personal things, eavesdrop, or take your personal belongings without permission – most, if not all of us, know exactly what it’s like to have a certain someone at your job whose mere demeanor is enough to leave you gasping for air.
Still, it’s half the trouble when it’s just a coworker who you can potentially ignore, but when it turns out to be your superior – may the universe be in your favor!
Days later, the supervisor shows up unannounced with a letter about the OP’s expiring sick pay
Image credits: August de Richelieu (not the actual photo)
The author of today’s story, u/BigJhed, got into a car wreck a few months ago and has been on paid sick leave since.
The guy maintained regular contact with his workplace; in fact, he recently emailed his manager his new sick note to cover his absence – however, for some mind-boggling reason, the supervisor felt the need to pay the poor man a surprise visit.
Here’s the thing; it’s not unusual (though very annoying) to have your sick leave questioned by your higher-up – but the OP had previously tried to return to work post-crash and even managed to work for a week before he realized that his rather physical career was only making his back worse. So, it seems like there shouldn’t be any doubts about whether he’s actually chilling in the Bahamas or dealing with his herniated disc in the company of his wife and their baby.
But, bosses, eh?
Anywho, the man turns up unannounced, waking the Redditor’s kid, to hand-deliver a letter informing him about his sick pay running out soon. Luckily, the man couldn’t answer the door, but he did dub the supervisor’s antic as an “intimidation tactic” and revealed that he already has a new job lined up.
What do you reckon, Pandas? Do you think the supervisor was indeed out of line?
Fellow online community members shared their thoughts and opinions
I was in hospital with kidney failure. I had called my employer and got my mum to take in a sick note (days pre email). I had just waddled to a little garden area in the hospital when I saw my boss walking over to me. He had suffered an injury and was at the hospital for treatment and decided to pop in to see if I needed anything and if I was doing ok. It was a bit awkward as I was in my pj's with no bra (wobbly sagging tiddies whilst in front of your boss is stressful), but he brought me some flowers and was just asking how I was (to be fair I almost died). I was grateful for the visit and the flowers. The guy was a decent boss which seems different from the above story.
OP probably knows his boss best, but my first thought was he was checking to see if he was lying about being injured and just getting a paid vacation. To the dude who commented about US vs. UK, no where did this say if it was illegal or legal and a boss coming to an employee's house doesn't violate HIPAA, honestly, it has nothing to do with it at all. And idk if the UK has short/long term disability, but if he's getting 3 months off paid, I think the only protection STD/LTD would provide would be guarantee of his job upon return and it sounds like that wasn't an issue plus he's in a union which gives him a lot of job protection.
To clarify, if the boss used company resources to look up OP's address for this purpose, in the US that us a HIPAA violation. Your boss should not know, much less be able to look up your address and then show up during approved leave time to check up on you or deliver anything personally.
Load More Replies...I got hurt badly on the job. Got shot in the eye with a crate staple(1/4"wide2-1/4"long) Stapled my eye to the back of the orbital socket. I didn't work for the company whose employees caused this. My supervisor showed up a week later with papers for an extension of sick leave for a YEAR!, Plus a whole bag of get well cards from the employees of the other company and the one i worked for. No arguments, good Doctors,No unions, but in the end honorable folks(Of course I had a strong lawsuit basis too) Eye healed completely, I never got so tired of saying "AAARH" to kids!
I was in hospital with kidney failure. I had called my employer and got my mum to take in a sick note (days pre email). I had just waddled to a little garden area in the hospital when I saw my boss walking over to me. He had suffered an injury and was at the hospital for treatment and decided to pop in to see if I needed anything and if I was doing ok. It was a bit awkward as I was in my pj's with no bra (wobbly sagging tiddies whilst in front of your boss is stressful), but he brought me some flowers and was just asking how I was (to be fair I almost died). I was grateful for the visit and the flowers. The guy was a decent boss which seems different from the above story.
OP probably knows his boss best, but my first thought was he was checking to see if he was lying about being injured and just getting a paid vacation. To the dude who commented about US vs. UK, no where did this say if it was illegal or legal and a boss coming to an employee's house doesn't violate HIPAA, honestly, it has nothing to do with it at all. And idk if the UK has short/long term disability, but if he's getting 3 months off paid, I think the only protection STD/LTD would provide would be guarantee of his job upon return and it sounds like that wasn't an issue plus he's in a union which gives him a lot of job protection.
To clarify, if the boss used company resources to look up OP's address for this purpose, in the US that us a HIPAA violation. Your boss should not know, much less be able to look up your address and then show up during approved leave time to check up on you or deliver anything personally.
Load More Replies...I got hurt badly on the job. Got shot in the eye with a crate staple(1/4"wide2-1/4"long) Stapled my eye to the back of the orbital socket. I didn't work for the company whose employees caused this. My supervisor showed up a week later with papers for an extension of sick leave for a YEAR!, Plus a whole bag of get well cards from the employees of the other company and the one i worked for. No arguments, good Doctors,No unions, but in the end honorable folks(Of course I had a strong lawsuit basis too) Eye healed completely, I never got so tired of saying "AAARH" to kids!
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