'I had the plague': Sick teacher forced to come into work after calling out sick; admin thought they called her bluff but were horrified by her arrival

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Aug 13, 2023 10:00 AM EDT

It seems like managers are always skeptical about whether or not their employees are actually sick. Perhaps it's a worker's inherent guilt of leaving your team in a bind with your absence, but most likely it's because managers don't trust their staff. Truth is, most people only have a handful of PTO to use per year, so workers would rather show up ill to the office once or twice a year instead of forgoing their 2 week trip to Bermuda. Alas, when employees are actually sick, it's never a smooth process to try and figure out how to cover for their shift. In this case, a teacher of an after-school tutoring program learned exactly how far her boss was willing to go to call her 'bluff'. 

When u/HariSeldonwaswrong called in sick to work, she was struggling with some pretty horrific flu symptoms. She was coughing, sneezing, hacking, and fighting a fever– the whole shebang– when she messaged her manager with the news that she wouldn't be making it in to work that day. Annoyed by her 'late notice' (as if she could have predicted the illness's severity any sooner), her boss simply said, "Sorry, we can't find someone to cover. Guess you'll have to come in."

OP was horrified, but geared up for the grand reveal of her sickness in the most dramatic way– including multi-layered N95's, sterile gloves, and the most gut-lurching cough you've never heard. For more malicious compliance, check out this traveling salesman who gets stuck with a cheap hotel 2 hours outside his city, but makes hundreds of dollars of overtime in the process.

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  • 01
    Font - Posted by u/HariSeldonwaswrong 7 hours ago Another manager won't believe their worker could be sick. M OC
    via HariSeldonwaswrong
  • 02
    Font - This happened almost a year ago. I don't work there anymore, so now I feel safe posting. I used to earn some pocket money as a tutor
    via HariSeldonwaswrong
  • 03
    Font - working with k-12 kids in an after school program. Last fall I got the flu. Coughing, hacking, sneezing, fever. I was definitely sick and definitely contagious. The
    via HariSeldonwaswrong
  • 04
    Font - problem was I had also developed laryngitis, meaning I couldn't call off work as I couldn't speak. I texted and emailed my boss at 9 am to let them know (Shift started at 4pm)
    via HariSeldonwaswrong
  • 05
    Font - 4 hours later (1pm) they replied. "Sorry. We can't find someone to take over for you. Guess you'll have to come in."
    via HariSeldonwaswrong
  • 06
    Font - I sat there panicking because I didn't want to a) get the kids sick and b) make myself worse by working with kids. I
    via HariSeldonwaswrong
  • 07
    Font - begged them to reconsider. No dice. I texted coworkers seeing if someone could trade shifts. No luck. Then I remembered an
    via HariSeldonwaswrong
  • 08
    Font - interesting policy. Tutors were required to be there 20 minutes before their first student arrived so they could get the area ready with
    via HariSeldonwaswrong
  • 09
    Font - needed materials, read over notes from previous sessions, set up their table with school supplies, etc.
    via HariSeldonwaswrong
  • 10
    Font - I also remembered I was the first person scheduled, meaning that, when I got there, I would be the only person there besides administration.
    via HariSeldonwaswrong
  • 11
    Font - I purposely didn't take any medicine for the rest of the day. My symptoms went from annoying to bad. I was hacking. My eyes looked glassy. I was extremely pale. Whole shebang.
    via HariSeldonwaswrong
  • 12
    Font - I then put on 3 KN 95 masks, changed my clothes, and put on two layers of surgical gloves. No reason to get the kids sick (although they were probably the ones to give it to me in the first place)
    via HariSeldonwaswrong
  • 13
    Font - Then I walked into the admin's office sounding like I had the plague. A perfectly timed sneeze and coughing fit hit me
    via HariSeldonwaswrong
  • 14
    Font - just as I approached the open door. Her office was quite long, so I never got within 10 feet of her. Still, she looked panicked as I croaked. "Well. I'm here"
    via HariSeldonwaswrong
  • 15
    Font - Amazingly, she found a way to take over my students that day. I was in the building for less than 5 minutes.
    via HariSeldonwaswrong
  • 16
    Font - chaoticbear 7 hr. ago +3. "Well, surely after I've come all this way it would be unfair to send me home, right? I'd better hang out in the admin office so I don't get the kids sick"
    via chaoticbear
  • 17
    Font - The North +3.5 hr. ago DynkoFrom Yes, you ought to have infected at least some of the staff, even if only to confirm that you were actually sick. And to get sweet, sweet revenge...!
    via DynkoFromTheNorth
  • 18
    Font - tcollins317 +1.5 hr. ago What an unfriendly gesture. You didn't even hug your administrator. Vote Reply Share HariSeldonwaswrong OP. 4 hr. ago How rude of me. Next time lol
    via tocollins317
  • 19
    Font - Guy954 +1.5 hr. ago When I was younger I would have gone in. Now I just call to let them know that I won't be in that day.
    via Guy954
  • 20
    Font - Stabbmaster +3.4 hr. ago You learn as you grow older, it's why I'll be doing a little bit of helicopter pseudo-union rep when my kid gets their first job. You don't ask to have the day off and give a ten minute explanation. You tell them you're not coming in, taking a sick day.
    via Stabbmaster
  • 21
    Font - Sunlit53 3 hr. ago I'd have skipped the masks and gloves until after seeing the admin face to face. Nothing like hacking up a gob of lung goo on her desk.
    via Sunlit53
  • 22
    Happy
    via u/canva

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boss sick leave calling out school manager students sick day malicious compliance kids middle school work teacher PTO sick Reddit tutor
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