'Too bad, I don't care, you HAVE to come in': Burnt out employee falls asleep at the wheel OTW to work after begging for a mental health day, tyrannical boss at fault gets snubbed

Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor

Mar 25, 2023 10:00 AM EDT

Driving when you're tired is pretty much as dangerous as driving under the influence. If you topple anxiety, stress, and a work burnout on top of your sleepy drive, you might be in for a sketchy journey. One exhausted employee found out the hard way just how dangerous it is to drive when you're not in the best mental state.

After dealing with a serious mental health crisis and weeks of prolonged sleep deprivation, u/pinkfairykm an Australian native (let's call him Aussie), was on the verge of losing it. Knowing that he hadn't slept in days and was hardly functional mentally, he called his boss at work and asked for a mental health day to recuperate. Not only did he provide a doctor's note and a proof of his mental health struggles, but Aussie had forewarned his boss that he wasn't doing well.

In Australia, mental health days are sanctioned by the state and are considered the same thing as sick days. So with a doctor's note especially, they're pretty infallible. However, Aussie's tyrannical boss rudely responded to his requests by saying, "Too bad, I don't care, you HAVE to come in".

Fearing he would lose his job and because Aussie was being guilt tripped by his boss, he hopped behind the wheel and attempted to make his way to clock in. Along the way however, Aussie FELL ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL and crashed his car, sustaining injuries that sent him to the ER. When his boss called to ask him what happened (obviously with little to no concern about Aussie's well-being), our OP protagonist was devastated to inform him that he endangered his life by following the boss's instructions.

Now instead of taking a simple one or two day mental health break from work, he needed 4 full weeks of paid leave to recover from his injuries sustained in the car crash. Reddit has a split opinion about who was at fault in this situation, but quite frankly, we just hope that Aussie gets a well needed nap and a break from his horrible boss over the next month.

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