"Call in sick, take PTO, or get online right now:" Boss demands employee takes day off after an 8-minute bathroom break

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Dec 6, 2023 8:00 PM EST

There are a lot of benefits to working from home. You don't have to take a shower, commute, or even put on pants to put in a full day's work, and that's not a reality most of us were living in 4 years ago. Remote work has brought so much flexibility to regular people, but it can also inspire a level of annoying micromanagement. Many bosses assume that because people are working from home, they're probably not getting as much work done as they would in the office, which really depends on the person. 

One remote worker recently got a verbal warning from their job for taking too long in the restroom. They were in there a whopping 8 minutes, doing what is often done in such a time frame, and their boss totally ripped them a new one. If my boss told me I couldn't step out for less than 10 minutes while working from home, my time at that company would be beyond over. 

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  • 01
    r/antiwork u/SpecterGygax • 4d My boss wanted me to use a sick day to use the bathroom.
    via u/SpecterGygax
  • 02
    I work from home and stepped away from my workstation to use the bathroom this morning. Halfway through my 8 minute bathroom break I got a voicemail from my boss telling me that I either needed to call in sick, take pto or get back online right now. I reiterate, I was offline for 8 I minutes and they wanted me to use a sick day. I frequently skip breaks and work past when my shift is set to end. I got this job my second year in college because I was sick of working retail. This job has slowly go
    via u/SpecterGygax
  • 03
    customers are worse, the supervisors don't care if they verbally abuse you, your schedule can get changed without any notification, they give people work that they legally can't be asked to do because the company won't foot the bill to give employees proper qualifications and we get paid less than we would working at McDonalds. It was a decent place for a college student to work at first, but this entire company has gone to
    via u/SpecterGygax
  • 04
    Edit: I just saw it was added to my file as a verbal warning! I'm in a pretty drawn out application process for a job that actually uses my degree and was planning to just tough it out till then, but so think it's time to find a temp secretary position or something until the.
    via u/SpecterGygax
  • 05
    RichyCigars 4d ● Ask them for a copy of the policy that outlined this expectation. Reply 8k
    via u/RichyCigars
  • 06
    roughneck78show • 4d $20 they do not have one and his supervisor is on some micro managing BS ... 3.4k
    via u/roughneck78show
  • 07
    chubbysumo • 3d With work from home employees, managers have a lot more work to do because they have to justify their position when their team is as productive or more productive without their micromanaging. The sounds like the manager is trying to justify his position by saying he caught an employee abusing breaks. 408
    via u/chubbysumo
  • 08
    or browncoatfever • 3d I used to be a manager, and I liked to think of myself as chill and easy going. A fellow manager was...not. He was always micromanaging the staff to the point they quit. He wrote up an employee for discussing their wages with another team member. When I reminded him that was illegal he said "the company comes before anything". Cool. I proceeded to discreetly tell the employee he wrote up to lodge a complaint about the write up and contact my neighbor, who just happened to
    via u/browncoatfever
  • 09
    5141121 4d Soc Dem . "Please point out the relevant part of the employee handbook stating that bathroom breaks are not an acceptable reason to be unavailable..." cc: HR with the recording of the VM. Reply ... 2.9k
    via u/5141121
  • 10
    Fixerguy415 4d ● I guess it's time to completely quit working through any breaks. "Oh, y'all want to me around for 8 minutes? Ok, watch this: The free work y'all BEEN (note the past tense) getting from me during my lunch and my 15 minute breaks is, as of this moment, dead." No more. When I take my lunch I'm not lifting a finger for y'all. Whenever I take my 15 minutes 2x a day (and I absolutely AM taking all of those) I'm not lifting a finger for y'all. Not even answering the phone if I'm on a b
    via u/Fixerguy415
  • 11
    ka-ka-ka-katie1123 4d ● Yes. WORK TO RULE. You don't even need to tell them about it. Just do it. Take every second of break, lunch, PTO, etc. possible. Do not do a single second of work off the clock. Do not take any "shortcuts" that save the company time and money but aren't the 100% official way to do things. And encourage others to do the same while you keep looking for a new position. And document EVERYTHING. 409
    via u/ka-ka-ka-katie1123
  • 12
    Mooseheadm5 • 4d Take the computer with you next time, poop as long as you want. Boss makes a dollar, I make a dime... Reply ... 4175
    via u/Mooseheadm5
  • 13
    Garrden 4d ● Absolutely appalling. Also, in the US restricting employee bathroom access is an OSHA violation ... Reply 549
    via u/Garrden
  • 14
    foxafraidoffire • 4d I frequently skip breaks and work past when my shift is set to end. Not anymore you don't, right? ... Reply 60
    via u/foxafraidoffire
  • 15
    good_god_lemon1 · 4d • In my 20's I worked at a call center and also needed a long bathroom break (to ). A male manager poked his head into the women's washroom and called out my name. He didn't demand any PTO or anything but I'll never forget that someone once investigated an 8 minute break cuz I wasn't being productive. Just wild. ... Reply 444
    via u/good_god_lemon1
  • 16
    DoctorCIS 3d ● I mean, if you really wanted to be a butt about it, you'd file a sexual harassment complaint. The supervisor is effectively demanding you take your laptop into the bathroom with you and keep the camera on. Make him have to explain, "I'm not asking it for a sexual reasons, I'm actually trying to deny them bathroom priviledges." 423 + Reply
    via u/DoctorCIS
  • 17
    CeSoul06 4d My job has started clocking people out for bathroom breaks that last longer than 4 minutes. People log back with a message that they clocked them out. Or change people's clock in times because you were "working" immediately. Or the worst part if you wfh and have tech issues. They want to clock out, drive to work, and clock back in. 14 凸 Reply
    via u/CeSoul06

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boss remote antiwork remote work employee terrible-bosses bosses work employees toxic-boss PTO overworked-employees workplace Horrible Bosses bad bosses
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