Employee forced to come into work despite being sick just because manager can’t find coverage: ‘I’ve never had a job do this before!’

Author image for Ben Weiss
Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Sep 23, 2025 8:00 AM EDT

Sometimes, you don't even need to think about how to get revenge on your boss. Every so often, you find yourself in a situation where the revenge creates itself. 

For instance, this employee's manager is essentially asking to get sick by forcing his employee to come into work. Evidently, it was not the first time this author's manager tried to get away with this outdated behavior. In the last five years or so, work culture has evolved in such a way that we know how damaging it can be for employees to rally and show up to work when they are feeling under the weather. At a certain point, it's just not worth the risk. Not only is it likely that your rallying will only make your own illness worse, but you're also likely to get everyone else sick as well. That long-term risk should outweigh the short-term one of being down one employee for one day of work.

Unfortunately, however, far too many employers seem to think that their team members enjoy being too sick to come into work. Don't get me wrong: not working for a day can be a perk of being sick, but it's often a necessity. After all, you know your business is in trouble if the manager is up in arms about losing one employee for just one day of work. If the entire business suffers because of one person's temporary absence, then it's the way the business is structured that needs to change. That, of course, has nothing to do with the employee's health or work ethic. In fact, if anything, it speaks to how needed the employee is. At the end of the day, though, this really speaks to how poor the management of the establishment or business actually is.

Although it's disappointing, it comes as no surprise to learn that so many folks within this online community have found themselves in similar situations. As one of these people pointed out, it should be up to the manager to figure out what to do when an employee is out for the day. Sickness is part of being human, and if management is not prepared for that possibility, then that's their problem. After all, they are the ones who are getting paid more anyway. Figure it out!

Keep scrolling below for the full back-and-forth and stay tuned for feedback from folks who have found themselves in similar situations.

Advertisement
  • i work in a chain retail store (in california, in case that's relevant) and i messaged my manager today about 6 hours before my shift letting her know i wasn't feeling well, and couldn't come in
    via g3shy
  • to work. she told me i need to find coverage, or come in. i asked everyone available if they could cover for me, and not a single person responded. i let my
    via g3shy
  • manager know about the situation, and her only response was "sorry, we need the coverage so you'll need to come in". so now im on my way to work, with a blinding migraine.
    via g3shy
  • A white ceramic mug with tea next to a tissue box, used tissues, and a pair of glasses.
    via Kelly Sikkema

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • is this..allowed? i've never had a job do this before, i've always just been able to call out if i need to. this is the second time this exact thing has happened, the last time
    via g3shy
  • it happened i had c and was still told to come in for the day, again because we "need the coverage".
    via g3shy
  • the whole thing just doesn't sit well with me. i understand lack of coverage can be difficult, but as an employee (meaning not in any manager/supervisory role) that isn't something i should have to feel responsible for.
    via g3shy
  • EDIT: thank yall for ur responses, even the ones calling me stupid. since this was brought up in a comment, i do have various medical conditions that do qualify me as a person with a dis У,
    via g3shy
  • but the only "paperwork" i have is some MyChart forms filled out by a previous dr, and accommodation paperwork i had to submit to my college. i don't
    via g3shy
  • have any accommodations at work, and dont even quite know how to go about it. EDIT 2: for those concerned, i don't drive. i take public transit. i stopped driving a few months ago because i realized it wasn't safe for me to be doing so, due to the decline in my physical health.
    via g3shy
  • and if u guys are shook by this story, someday i'll tell the story of when i got fired because i was seriously sick (had mono), and my job (again, another corporation) said they "don't accept doctors notes" for absences, after telling me point blank i needed drs notes for missing work.
    via g3shy
  • A sick woman wearing a yellow sweater sits on the couch with.a blanket, holding her hand to her forehead.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Mean-Eggplant1008. 20 hr. ago "I am sick and will not be coming in. Coverage? You're the manager, you get paid more than I do, you figure it out. Not my job."
    via g3shy
  • If I'm sick enough to be calling in, I'm not going in, end of story. Fire me if you want, too sick to care anyway, and you just proved I was gonna have to quit sooner or later because you and your job. Better sooner.
    via g3shy
  • g3shy OP 19 hr. ago this job is incredibly temporary for me. i started in july, and am leaving CA in feb when i graduate college, but that
    via g3shy
  • being said if i lost this job id be it took me 6 months to get hired (i have a really good resume, but even with emailing/calling/appl ying to 20+ places a week, not a single person even replied to me until this job)
    via g3shy
  • xdaemonisx 21 hr. ago . edited 21 hr. ago The next time they ask you to cover your own shift, tell them that fixing scheduling issues aren't part of your job description.
    via g3shy
  • They can say no to you calling out, but they can't force you to come in. You can be fired for not going in, though, and it would be legal.
    via g3shy
  • Legion1117 - 20 hr. ago "Making sure the store has coverage when I am unable to work is not my job responsibilities as I am not a manager. I am not physically capable of working today and will not be doing so."
    via g3shy
  • That's your response. This continues to happen because we allow it to happen. If more of us would tell these "managers" to, this would not be happening as often as it does.
    via g3shy

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

workplace-stories work stories toxic-workplace job work Horrible Bosses sick company toxic-work-environment
Scroll Down For The Next Article