'Another manager [who] won't believe their worker could be sick': Tutor who was told they have to come into work while sick makes their boss regret their decision

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Sep 2, 2023 9:00 AM EDT

For some reason, employers become extremely cynical whenever their employees need a day off work, even if the cause given is something extremely plausible (and statistically likely), such as the contraction of the flu during the height of flu season. It's almost as if it's a projection of the employer what they themself would do if placed in the employee's position. 

"Surely," [Employer] reasons. "[Worker] must be making it up to skip out on their work duties." For they, too, would have done so back in their days of being in someone else's employ.

While this may be sometimes the case—for there are surely less-than-honest employees out there, like [Employer] themself once was… More often than not, when an employee calls out sick during the time of year when people usually get sick, they probably actually are.

This tutor used to work with K-12 kids in an after-school program. One day, they got the flu and couldn't call off work. Their boss told them to come in anyway, so they decided to make their boss regret that decision, arriving with gravitas in the form of attire that made the severity of what they had been asked sink. When they walked in the door of the school's office, they were donning three KN-95 masks and two layers of surgical gloves, elaborating the symptoms of their illness to lengths that deserved to be performed on a dimly lit stage in front of an audience. 

Horrified, the administration found someone else to take over the tutor's students that day, and they were in the building for less than 5 minutes…

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    Computer - THF PHOT
    via Scott Graham
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    Font - Posted by u/Hari Seldonwaswrong 9 hours ago Another manager won't believe their worker could be sick. M OC 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 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 problem was I had also developed laryngitis, meaning I couldn't call off work as I could
    via u/HariSeldonwaswrong
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    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." 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 begged them to reconsider. No dice. I texted coworkers seeing if someone could trade shifts. No luck. Then I remembered an interesting policy. Tutors were required to be there 20 minutes before their first student arrived so they could get the area ready with
    via u/HariSeldonwaswrong
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    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. 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 u/HariSeldonwaswrong
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    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) Then I walked into the admin's office sounding like I had the plague. A perfectly timed sneeze and coughing fit hit me 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" Amazingly, she fou
    via u/HariSeldonwaswrong
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    Font - +3.8 hr. ago "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" o chaoticbear Vote Reply Share HariSeldonwaswrong OP 8 hr. ago . Vote ... Wish I'd thought of that lol. I only lived 10 minutes away by car, but still. Reply Share Vote ... DynkoFrom The North +3.6 hr. ago Yes, you ought to have infected at least some of the staff, even if only to confirm that you were actually sick. And t
    via u/HariSeldonwaswrong
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    Font - harujusko 7 hr. ago One time I called in because I had a fever and my manager said, "Bring me a doctor's note today or don't bother coming up for your next shifts". I barely called off on that job and was already the most senior ones. With fever and all, I went to the walk-in clinic and I told the doctor exactly what my manager said. She was mad and asked me if 2 weeks off work will be good. She wrote me a note saying I can't work for 2 weeks and I happily brought it to my work, showed it
    via u/HariSeldonwaswrong
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    Font - Archangel4500000 +2.8 hr. ago Ferengi rule of Acquisition #23 "Nothing is more important than your health... except for your money." Vote Reply Share lvlister2023 8 hr. ago Got to love a good rule of acquisition :p Vote Reply Share
    via u/HariSeldonwaswrong
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    Font - ma +3.7 hr. ago I haven't been hourly for a while, but if memory serves the minimum shift pay in my jurisdiction was... two hours? for a cancellation at the employer's decision. Narrow-Chef-4341 You might want to check if there's anything similar. JU Vote Reply Share HariSeldonwaswrong OP. 5 hr. ago I never heard of this. My break is almost over, but when I get off later I'm going to look into it. For future reference at least. Thanks Vote Reply Share
    via u/HariSeldonwaswrong
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    Font - tcollins317 +1.5 hr. ago What an unfriendly gesture. You didn't even hug your administrator. Vote Reply Share HariSeldonwaswrong OP 5 hr. ago How re of me. Next time lol Vote Reply Share ●
    via u/HariSeldonwaswrong
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    Font - series_hybrid +2.7 hr. ago Why wear masks? Go in and wait until you are close, then cough with a half-assed covering of your mouth. These idiots need to suffer the consequences of their decisions. Reply Share Vote Material_Strawberry · 6 hr. ago Why wear so many 95 grade masks at once? I've needed to switch in the past to a surgical one for a while because periodically the N95s were too tight. I can't imagine your lung power. Reply Share Vote
    via u/HariSeldonwaswrong
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    Font - JO HariSeldonwaswrong OP 5 hr. ago • I wanted to be sure to protect the kids. It wasn't their fault that my boss was being negligent. Plus, if I'm honest, I wanted to make a statement that I was willing to go the extra mile even if admin wasn't. I looked absolutely ridiculous bc they weren't the same kind, and you could tell they were stacked up. Also, I see from how I wrote this there might be some confusion. I didn't put the masks on until I arrived. I literally was standing right outsi
    via u/HariSeldonwaswrong
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    Font - Canian_Tabaraka · 4 hr. ago Well, you showed up to work at their insistence. They sent you home. Hope you got paid for 3 hours since this was all their doing. Vote Reply Share
    via u/HariSeldonwaswrong

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