Woman Explains How She Used Taco Bell Mild Sauce To Fake A Reason To Call Out Of Work
While her video was meant to be humorous, it highlights the reality of many employees being scared to call out sick to work.
fizkes / Shutterstock A woman revealed the conventional tactic that she used to get out of working a full shift at her job. In a TikTok video, Kaitlin Becker explained how she used a Taco Bell sauce to get out of showing up to work when she was in college.
She used the Taco Bell mild sauce to fake having pink eye and get out of work.
"This one time in college, I really didn't want to go to work. I had classes all day and I just wanted to hang out with my friends," Becker began in her video. She explained that due to her reluctance to go in for her shift at work, she called and lied about having pink eye.
She told them that it was incredibly bad and she couldn't even open her eye. However, many of her other co-workers had called out sick on that same day, and her employer was urging her to come in despite her faux pink eye because they were incredibly short-staffed.
"I was like, 'I mean, I don't know. It's bad like it's burning. I'm so uncomfortable.' And they're like, 'We'll figure it out. Please come here,'" she continued. With her job still wanting her to come in, Becker decided to take the lie a step further and went to the Taco Bell on her campus, got some of her mild hot sauce packets, and put them in her eyes.
She assured viewers that it wasn't too spicy but did still burn. The sauce immediately put tears in her eyes and caused them to become extremely red. To make it even better, her friends agreed that the sauce looked believable enough for her managers to think she actually had pink eye.
"So what happened was, by the time my mild sauce eye got to my car, I had cried out all of the irritation. My eye was just back to normal, looking white and round," Becker said. She ended up calling her job and lying again, saying that it was getting worse and she really couldn't come in, but they simply asked her if could just wear an eye patch, which Becker begrudgingly agreed to.
"I had to stop at CVS and buy an eye patch for my eye, and I went and worked my shift with an eye patch for no reason at all."
Many working-class individuals have admitted to being scared to call out sick at work.
While many viewers were astonished at the lengths that Becker went to just to get out of showing up for her shift, and even though she wasn't actually sick, many people have admitted to being scared to call out for work.
According to a study obtained by BenefitsPRO, a news, analysis and trends forum for benefits professionals, around 64% of workers experience negative emotions such as stress, anxiety, guilt, or fear when requesting sick time. From The Independent, a survey of 2,000 U.S. workers found that 67% did this because of concern they would be reprimanded, while 41% of respondents said they always or often worked while sick because they could not afford to take time off.
On top of that, many working-class individuals have admitted to just showing up to work even if they were actually sick. According to a report from Robert Half, 57% of employees sometimes go to work while sick, and 33% always go to work while sick, which means that as many as 90% of workers go to work while under the weather.
The most common reason employees gave for going to work sick was that they had too much work to do (54%), followed by not wanting to use a sick day (40%) and pressure from their employer (34%).
While Becker's video was meant to be a humorous retelling of an unexpected moment from when she was a young adult in college, it highlights the pervasive challenges that many employees face when navigating workplace expectations. More than anything, employees want to feel supported in the decision to prioritize their own health without fear of repercussions and the looming threat of possibly being fired because of it.
Instead of resorting to creative strategies to avoid work, individuals should feel comfortable discussing their health concerns, whether physical or mental, openly with their employers. Encouraging such dialogue can lead to a healthier work environment, where employees are not afraid to prioritize their well-being.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.