Worker Quits During First Week After Boss Tells Him It's His 'Responsibility To Find Replacement' When Calling Out Sick
He claimed that it shouldn't be an employee's responsibility to do a manager's job.
ViDI Studio / Shutterstock / Reddit An employee revealed that they had no problem leaving their job upon feeling as if their boss was lacking empathy and understanding.
Posting to the subreddit r/antiwork, an online forum where people can post their work-related struggles and seek advice, a man shared that after recently being hired by a company, he realized it wasn't a good fit due to the manager's odd stance on calling out sick.
He quit after a week because his manager said it was his responsibility to find a replacement if he called out sick.
In his Reddit post, the man went on a lengthy rant about how toxic the work environment had been for the job he recently quit, especially when it came to the policy of calling out sick. "My manager let me know that it is my responsibility to find a replacement if I call out sick, so I'm quitting," he began.
He claimed that it was a huge turn-off that instead of expressing worry if an employee called out sick, the manager was just concerned about that person being able to find a replacement.
"It was just pure inconvenience and bitterness," he wrote, pointing out that it was his first week at the job and he didn't know any of his coworkers or had any of their numbers, so it would impossible for him to find a replacement if he needed to call out sick.
Photo: Prostock-studio / Shutterstock
"At jobs where I feel respected and have the resources, I would absolutely try to find some cover before reaching out to my boss. But that will never happen here," he continued. After quitting, he remarked that his next job will have upper management and an HR department.
He explained that his current job is a family-run business that will often claim all employees are "like family," which he now knows to be a "red flag."
"I am sick and tired of managers who try to get me to do their job when I am sick and cannot work. Nobody should ever have to put their job at a higher priority than their health."
Many employees in the workforce have revealed that a lack of empathy from an employer is not the type of work environment they want to be a part of.
According to data acquired by Businessolver Workplace Empathy Monitor, a majority of workers, 85%, agree that empathy is often undervalued by their employer. Almost one-third of employees, 30%, don’t feel the company they work for is empathetic, and about half, 51%, feel that organizations and companies as a whole are not empathetic.
People in the comments section agreed that it's not an employee's role to find replacements when they are sick.
"It is never your responsibility to find someone to cover you when you need to call in sick or for an emergency. Never take a job that requires that," one TikTok user wrote.
Another user agreed, writing, "I've been in management for YEARS and you can ask someone to look for a shift swap if you can't approve the time off for whatever reason, but you cannot make someone else find coverage if they're sick."
"Is it in your job description to find a replacement? No. Even if it was, it’s always the manager’s responsibility to find a replacement or work the hours themselves, not yours," a third user pointed out.
It's important for employers to always prioritize employee well-being and have systems in place to manage absences and staffing issues.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.