Employee gets blamed for boss's poor performance after boss disappears for 6 weeks, employee collects evidence to show HR: ‘I had not heard one complaint’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Aug 25, 2026 7:15 AM EDT

The best part of being a boss is blaming your mistakes on your employees. Isn't that great?

Think about it. You have a few employees under your wing who take your instructions and follow your lead when it comes to getting work done in your department. For all intents and purposes, they must listen to everything you say and work accordingly. What a fun power trip, are we right?

Not to mention, having people working for you means that you can throw them under the bus whenever you feel like it: missed a deadline? Blame it on the new hire. Sent a client the wrong document? Tell them you weren't even the one to make the document. Are you behind on all your tasks? Report to HR that it's some random employee's fault. You cannot go wrong if everyone thinks you did nothing wrong. And if your employees try to claim otherwise, well, it's their word against yours, and you are the boss.

If we were to step inside this boss's mind, we imagine his thoughts would sound something like what is said above. He had no problem disappearing for over 6 weeks with no explanation to his employees, and then blaming the team's poor performance on one of his top employees. Since he works remotely, the only one who actually noticed his absence was this employee, and while the poor worker tried to hold the fort while the boss was gone, they still received a warning from HR accusing them of a lack of productivity.

Obviously, the one who dropped the ball is the boss, but the employee would have to work really hard to prove they are not the one to blame. It takes a lot of work to get HR to take an employee's side over management's side, which means the employee could use all the evidence and documentation they can find. Will they be able to pull it off? Keep reading to learn.

Advertisement

  • WFH boss disappears for 6+ weeks then I get thrown under the bus

    I'd like to start with that I got my annual raise with zero mention of issues. Just a vague "you're doing great work so you get the normal raise this year."
    via Electrical_Still6709
  • Then My boss disappears without explanation and doesn't say a word to me about it other than "he'd be popping in and out of the
    via Electrical_Still6709
  • office the next few days". I didn't pry because I didn't have any questions about the work I was getting done on time and was communicating
    via Electrical_Still6709
  • on a daily basis with the rest of the team but the amount of work I have drops off a cliff. I'm talking like less than 10 hours a week. Fast forward two weeks later he takes another Thursday Friday off.
    via Electrical_Still6709
  • He comes back then hands me a written warning that HR will see about my poor performance. I was completely dumbfounded. He
    via Electrical_Still6709
  • then cites my poor communication with several very vague examples of things that are unrelated to one another and sometimes were completely out of my
    via Electrical_Still6709
  • control. I had not heard one complaint or slight from any coworkers or missed any deadlines, or majorly foked up in any significant client- facing way.
    via Electrical_Still6709
  • Best part is is that he was away all day the next day on teams without being out of office.
    via Electrical_Still6709
  • Employee showing proof to HR.
    via Vitaly Gariev

    Employee showing proof to HR.

    Scene is illustrative and does not depict actual individuals or events.

  • At first I really took to this heart like I was a fok up but after pouring through emails, messages, and taking things into context it really feels like
    via Electrical_Still6709
  • I had been thrown under the bus here. Thoughts on how to navigate this situation?
    via Electrical_Still6709
  • Employee holding documents.
    via Tetiana Shyshkina

    Employee holding documents.

    Image depicted solely for explanatory purposes.

  • Monarc73 I would take any documentation seriously. (TBH, this sounds like his productivity drop was noticed, and he is making it look like YOU are the problem in order to hide his
    via Monarc73
  • absences.) Otherwise, ignore this. (However, keep this all in mind when your NEXT review comes up, and feel free to remind him of WHY your output dropped.)
    via Monarc73
  • Infamous-Simple-2361 Keep track and store all communications from and to you (emails/Teams messages/any texts)
    via Infamous-Simple-2361
  • Bring everything up in your HR meeting. The meeting with HR about your "poor performance" seems like a great way to get everything out in the open before it gets any worse for you
    via Infamous-Simple-2361
  • MobileMysterious4876 Been in similar boat. I knew it was going to progress because it was so weak and somewhat stupid. I was fired about 5 weeks later. Take it very seriously.
    via MobileMysterious4876
  • gmara13 Go to HR. That what they're there for. Remove the emotion and state fact. If your workload is pipelined you can quote actual bodies of work you've been given or not given. Don't let it go if you truly are in the right. That negativity won't leave you
    via gmara13
  • Putrid Possibility345 HR is never your friend. Your boss is never your friend. You should document your objections rationally and
    via PutridPossibility345
  • factually but you should also start looking for other employment. When you end up. on a PIP they have already discussed firing you. They have no requirement to be fair or
    via PutridPossibility345
  • objective when determining your performance is inadequate. You are not often given the chance to defend yourself when these things are decided.
    via PutridPossibility345
  • I have seen very few people recover from a PIP and have a prosperous career with the same employer. Good luck
    via PutridPossibility345

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

Tags

boss workplace-stories remote work employee hr manager job performance workplace company
Scroll Down For The Next Article