Can you predict if you’ll catch a cold in the next week? Or foresee a stomach bug a week in advance? Obviously not.
Everyone knows it’s impossible to predict minor illnesses with any certainty. So when an Indian manager told an employee that sick leave requests must be made seven days in advance, people around the world were baffled. The employee shared a screenshot of their WhatsApp conversation with the manager on the “antiwork” Reddit forum.
The employee had notified their boss, “My health is not well, so I won’t be coming to the office,” according to the screenshot.
The manager then asked if the employee was requesting sick leave. When the answer was yes, the manager replied, “To take sick leave or casual leave, you need to inform at least 7 days prior.”
“How can I know if I’ll be sick in the next 7 days?” the employee wondered in their now-viral post.
How to know if I am going to be sick in next 7 days?(NOC)
byu/faj-707 inantiwork
Commenters were stunned by the manager’s demand.
“One suggestion: Send an email every day saying, ‘This is to inform you that I might get sick seven days from now and may need to take sick leave,’ and see how long it takes,” one Reddit user proposed.
“Try malicious compliance—submit a preemptive sick leave notice every Monday morning, then cancel it the following Monday when you submit a new one,” suggested another.
Others shared their own stories of dealing with unreasonable workplace policies. “I once worked in a supermarket. One afternoon, I fell down a flight of stairs, bruising my knee and suffering a minor concussion. I called in sick, only to be told I had to come in anyway or be written up because sick calls had to be made before 8 am. I guess I’ll just schedule falling down the stairs for next time,” recounted a Reddit user.