'Turn my camera on? Fine': Dedicated employee attends a work meeting from his hospital bed, then gets revenge against a nosy boss by obliging his demand to turn on his webcam

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Feb 28, 2025 1:00 PM EST

The American work mentality knows no bounds, and even when this guy in our next story was literally lying in a hospital bed during a work meeting, his nosy boss insisted he turn his camera on. You want to see my smiling face? Sure, here you go.

I totally get that bosses want to see what their work-from-home employees are up to when they're on a conference call. No CEO wants their schpiel undermined by an employee in the bathroom, doing pilates in the living room, or completely ignoring the call because that would defeat the purpose of their quarterly brag-fest. But likewise, not every employee wants to invite the entire company into their house via video chat, exposing their home decor, their cat's antics, or even something far more personal—like their health problems. 

But if you've got a pushy boss who won't take no for an answer, I suppose the only thing to do is maliciously comply with their demands. Keep scrolling to see how this chronically ill employee stuck it to his boss, earning his webcam freedom for the rest of his employment. 

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    via Monkey Business Images

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "Turn my camera on? Fine..."

    In 2021 I was working on a project with this manager called Mark who was a real stickler for the rules. He was the kind of dude who wouldn't allow chitchat in his team and loved an office day more than anything, despite the fact that our team was external and all of us lived crazy far away.
    via scissorfella
  • I've got a chronic disease which, at the time, was kept relatively under control with infusions at the hospital every few weeks. Seeing as Mark didn't want to chitchat, he wasnt aware that I live with this disease.
    via scissorfella
  • One day I was in the hospital, working from the bed with a cannula in one arm. We had our daily meeting planned and I figured it would be fine to call in without my camera, as they could still hear me just fine, and I didn't want to freak anyone out with the infusion line in the picture and whatnot.
    via scissorfella
  • I get onto the call and Mark immediately comments that he I can't see my face. I tell him that I've not got my camera on today and don't elaborate, figuring that it's a 15 minute call and I could just as easily be driving or something.
    via scissorfella
  • Mark responds by asking me to stay back on the call after we finish. I comply, and he chews me out for not turning on my camera, saying that it's a rule that we all need to show our faces. Fine.
    via scissorfella
  • I turn on my camera and watch his face go from red to white, as he sees me in what is very clearly a hospital room. I tell him I'm uncomfortable being on camera while I'm getting treatment (also not elaborating on what it's for). His sweaty little face still brings me joy.
    via scissorfella
  • It was a really nice moment to bask in, and I think about it pretty often when I get managers who like rules just a little too much.
    via scissorfella
  • Jay_Stone The only way that could've been better is if you turned it on in the meeting and caused him to get sweaty face in front of everybody on the call.
    via Jay_Stone
  • LadyNorbert Vicariously satisfying. From one chronic illness warrior to another, I salute you for this particularly delicious bit of MC.
    via LadyNorbert
  • Courtnall14 I once had an admin tell me I couldn't leave work for dialysis on days that we had faculty meetings. That I'd just have to "skip treatment" on those days. I talked to my Union Rep and that admin member didn't talk to me again until he retired.
    via Courtnall14
  • Anothercraphistorian Any manager who always thinks that everyone on their team is trying to get one over on them needs re-training. These aren't children and you're not Daddy. Trust the people you work with.
    via Anothercraphistorian
  • jezwel I almost never turn my camera on, and there's no way I'd ask my team members to do so unless there was some super specific requirement. You want your privacy, that's fine with me.
    via jezwel
  • justaman_097 Well played! Let's hope that he doesn't try that cr p again.
    via justaman_097
  • davisdilf Attending work meetings from a hospital bed. American work culture is really something
    via davisdilf
  • Snoo58207 I did the exact same thing while getting a Keytruda infusion. I made sure to get the bag and little pump machine in frame before I turned the camera on.
    via Snoo58207
  • WatermelonArtist I did one of these recently, while in the ER with my daughter. Turns out, the urgent meeting wasn't as urgent as I was led to believe.
    via WatermelonArtist
  • DrJulianBashir His sweaty little face still brings me joy. This is what "Print Screen" was made for. PrtScrn, then Ctrl+v into MS Paint, save to desktop. Optional: set as wallpaper Super-optional: Set as video call background.
    via DrJulianBashir

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boss work from home worker zoom employee manager job work coworkers working ceo employees wfh supervisor workplace company coworker business
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