17-Year-Old Bakery Worker Learns of Friend's Passing Before Shift, Cruel Manager Refuses to Give Her Leave

Ally Perry • Writer and Editor

Aug 5, 2023 8:00 PM EDT

One of the most traumatizing experiences at work is being visibly upset on the job. It's happened to most of us at some point, for reasons both big and small. Bad news can be a pretty common culprit, and having to put on your moneymaking face while reacting to something like a death is nothing short of hell.

Still, there are some horrible managers out there who have inexplicably made their employees try to do this. It is something that one Redditor had the misfortune of experiencing when she was a teenager. Explaining to r/MaliciousCompliance how she had learned of a friend's death the night before a shift, her boss still expected her to turn up and serve customers. In response, they were faced with her grief.

It's no surprise that her fellow Redditors sympathized with her, and many had similarly shocking stories about callous management expecting them to work through such events. No amount of short staffing makes this OK.