<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
An office worker has revealed the exasperating response they received after telling their boss they needed the morning off to take their sick child to the hospital.
The mum explained her son had been unwell all night with a high fever and that she had already cleared the absence with another manager.
Instead of showing concern, her boss replied, ‘That’s really not ideal. You know we’re up against it this week, can’t someone else handle it?’
‘No sorry, there’s no one else that can do it,’ the employee revealed.
The boss reluctantly approved the leave but added, ‘Don’t take too long, we need you on this project.’
The exchange was shared online by UK career expert Ben Askins, who regularly calls out bosses for their poor management practices.
He criticised the employer’s lack of empathy.
‘Do you think she wants to be doing this in the morning? She’s got a sick kid, she’s got to take him to the hospital, that’s obviously just quite a stressful situation.
An office worker has revealed the exasperating response they received after telling their boss they needed the morning off to take their sick child to hospital
‘The idea that he’s sitting there going “ah, well, I could go to work but I quite fancy [taking my child to the hospital instead]” is ridiculous.’
The story struck a nerve with Australians, particularly parents and carers who often feel torn between workplace demands and family responsibilities.
While Australian law provides employees with personal or carer’s leave to look after sick or injured family members, many workers say the culture inside offices tells a different story.
Many were furious over the boss’s response, with one saying: ‘Some bosses are inhuman and their actions prove it.’
Dozens of people shared their own experiences of being pressured or dismissed when they needed time off.
‘If it’s a medical emergency, you don’t ask. You tell,’ one person wrote.
Another revealed, ‘I had to call out of work while I was legit throwing up on the call… the next day the manager texted me saying she was disappointed no one stepped up over the weekend.’
‘In the 70s I had to do this, and I was fired. They said if I really cared about my job, I would have found someone to sit with my daughter in the hospital. Horrible that this mindset still exists,’ one shared.
‘A former employer (US based) actually required 24-hour notice prior to any unplanned emergency. Let that sink in. It was a written policy until the company was called out on it,’ another added.
Others described bosses who handled things better.
‘I took two days off and have been working from home for the last four. My boss is more worried about me getting better than coming in,’ a woman said.
For many, the clip highlighted a broader issue in Australian workplaces – outdated attitudes to care responsibilities that clash with modern expectations of work-life balance.
As one viewer put it bluntly, ‘And they wonder why it’s hard to keep workers.’
