Employee gets instantly fired after asking to work from home during a snowstorm: ‘I got a call back from my boss and HR together’

Author image for Etai Eshet
Etai Eshet • Editor
Jan 10, 2025 9:00 AM EST

From the time we're young, we're told that sincerity, hard work, and honesty are the keys to success. Do your best, show up, play by the rules, and the world will reward you. It's the kind of feel-good advice that could serve as a corporate version of Live, Laugh, Love type of motivational wall art (YOLO you guys), but feels less sturdy when tested against real life. The truth is, many workplaces don't hand out gold stars for effort or integrity. 

Corporate life often serves up lessons nobody asked for. And yet, so many of us—bright-eyed and trusting—carry these childhood lessons into adulthood, And many of us buy into corporate promises of flexibility and work-life balance, which is understandable, but also kind of adorable, like believing the tooth fairy might leave you a twenty if you lose a molar as a 28-year-old.

Which brings us to today's story, a tale of one well-intentioned worker, a snowstorm, and a hard lesson in believing the scripts companies like to recite.

Our frostbitten public accountant is navigating both icy roads and the icy realities of modern employment. On a particularly miserable morning, with traffic at a standstill and a 90-minute crawl ahead of him, he made what seemed like a smart decision. His job allows for remote work, so he responsibly called HR to let them know he'd be working from home. Logic, right? Common sense. A win-win for everyone. 

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  • "We're moving in different directions. This is your last day with the firm”
    via Krishna Tedjo

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Got fired for requesting WFH due to snowstorm
    via PsychoDelicJoey
  • Ugh. I lost my job today because I tried leaving around 7:50am and the roads were bad. There was standstill traffic and it showed I would arrive at work after 90 mins as opposed to 24-30 mins as usual.
    via PsychoDelicJoey
  • Cheezburger Image 10451537664
    via FatCamera
  • My job allows WFH, so I called our HR department to let them know I'd be working from home.
    via PsychoDelicJoey

  • But what followed wasn’t at all what he was expecting. the company swiftly responded, in a beacon example of corporate efficiency, not by thanking him for his commitment, but by letting him go, effective immediately. 

  • Cheezburger Image 10451537408
    via Val Vesa for Unsplash+
  • I got a call back from my boss and HR together in one call, and they said "We're moving in different directions. This is your last day with the firm".
    via PsychoDelicJoey
  • I lost my job last year on January 23 because that firm was bought out by another and they were relocating to New Jersey (I live in Ohio).
    via PsychoDelicJoey

  • To be fair, his belief in the idea that logic and effort would be rewarded is kind of heartwarming. Like a kid who still thinks adults always know what they’re doing, there’s a sweetness to it. But corporations saying they value safety or flexibility often means they value them only in PowerPoint slides at HR conferences.

  • I feel dumb. I've been struggling to make it in public accounting. I've always gotten great reviews on my work, but they've said my soft skills were lacking. It's hard, I'm 20+ years younger than the next youngest person at my firm and I guess it's hard to communicate or relate with them in the ways they want.
    via PsychoDelicJoey

  • So there he is, probably wondering why an ice storm felt kinder than his workplace. it's a valuable lesson learned and there is another bright spot, at least he didn’t drive an hour and a half just to get fired.

  • Babylon-97531 Been here, got fired at day 363 of employment so they didn't have to pay out the 40 hours of PTO I would have gotten at day 366. Also other reasons. move on to your next job and good luck.
    via PsychoDelicJoey
  • karma_is_4_pussies It sounds like they have been waiting for a reason to do this, and you just happened to give it to them today. If it wasn't for this, it would have eventually been for something else.
    via PsychoDelicJoey
  • Ok_Exchange_9646 Repeat with me: You are a cog in the machine, a number on an excel sheet, they don't give a f about you
    via PsychoDelicJoey
  • beingafunkynote lol they needed you in the office SO badly they fired you? Morons.
    via PsychoDelicJoey
  • brownbootwrx I could see why you're upset but why didn't you just call your boss and ask if you could work from home?
    via PsychoDelicJoey
  • nfurnoh And this is the difference working in America. I'm in the UK and today the main roads are clear but my side road isn't, can't get my car out. I'm working from home on a day I should be in the office with absolutely no fear. The most my boss will do is roll his eyes because he thinks it's just an excuse. Absolutely no way I could get sacked for it.
    via PsychoDelicJoey
  • annoncatmom Hey, this really sks. But I want to say that despite the outcome, you made the right decision to stay home. There is no work out there that is worth risking your life driving to work in a snowstorm. Ever. I'm sorry you lost your job but I'm glad you're safe.
    via PsychoDelicJoey
  • LazerFace1221 Yep. The decision is usually already made and they just wait for a reason
    via PsychoDelicJoey
  • helloxstrangerrr Working in the US is wild. If that happened here in NZ, employment court would have a field day and the employee would get financial compensation + apology, probably even a reinstatement.
    via PsychoDelicJoey
  • nicklor Imagine if you have gone in with the snow just to get fired
    via PsychoDelicJoey
  • Catch Melf YouCan09 My last role laid me off (canceled my much needed state compliance role) at day 361. Why? So they wouldn't have to pay me the remaining $1000 sign on bonus. That i needed to pay for surgery in 3 weeks. That i delayed 2 years to get.
    via PsychoDelicJoey
  • FullExposure My boyfriend was forced to resign the day before surgery. Planned on using FMLA/short term. At least he was still covered by insurance because Cobra is a joke. Wild that one human can potentially destroy someone's life.
    via PsychoDelicJoey

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management christmas boss privacy workplace-stories toxic-manager storm hr toxic-workplace manager private bosses work PTO managers supervisor workplace Horrible Bosses work-life balance bad bosses
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