As we’re all trying to get back to a sense of normalcy despite the COVID-19 pandemic still being a thing that’s mucking up our lives, work rules seem increasingly arbitrary and confusing.
One Redditor who was recently employed at a new job and got COVID posted texts from their work that show how absurd this situation really is.
“You’re still within your 90 days and you do not have any time off or sick time as per the company policy,” the texts begin.
“We understand that you didn’t choose to get covid and we are sorry that you and your girlfriend got it, but for everyday that you’re absent from work, you will get one occurrence for each day.”
“You’re very new and only started this month, so you won’t be able to work from home.”
“Our suggestion to you is to do a test again on Sunday and get the results, if you test negative you can come back to work Monday (if you are scheduled that day), otherwise once you reach 7 points, you’ll be eligible for termination.”
I mean, is anyone is even pretending they care about COVID anymore and the well-being of workers? Redditors responded, sharing their stories of HR hypocrisy and working conditions.
“Sounds like they want you to go to work with Covid,” observed
rhb4n8.
“What I love is when HR is like ‘it’s policy! Our hands are tied!’ As though they couldn’t just create a policy that’s, oh, I don’t know, realistic and humane,” said
joinusitwillbefun.
“I started feeling unwell the first Friday at a new job, wore a mask. Tested positive, and turns out it had spread through the office and multiple people were sick. Mine was mild and I was eligible to go back per the cdc on Thursday but got told not to go, that everyone who wasn’t sick was working from home and they cleared out the building for a week. Only have 5 sick days but decent pto, but they didn’t dock any of us anything because covid. Granted, small company, but still. Actually family run, and from everything I’ve been seeing here I expected the worst but they pay more and it was worth the risk. And instead they actually treat people well? Gas prices went up and they have a few people with far commutes and they gave everyone a gas line increase on our paychecks. And they just do it and tell you about it later, no one is asking or stressing and apparently it can be so easy to not be a sh*t company that it makes seeing and reading all of these piss me off even more,” shared
wakeonuptimshel.
“It doesn’t make sense that low wage jobs have the most bullsh*t rules. I’m currently sick rn and almost went in on Friday. I was told to rest and come back on Tuesday as it’s not worth straining my body,” said
SaltyTalks.
“In some cases it’s just a power trip. Others, the management wants to punish you for making their life more difficult (most managers really struggle with scheduling). Lastly, many managers are under the impression that the people below them on the ladder are lazy, and they’re where they are because of merit and hard work. These perceptions create the horrible working environments we know so well. Not to say there isn’t good management, just that the system is set up for them to psychologically fail,” explained
GwerigTheTroll.
“Can someone please explain to me why this company/business would rather fire what I assume to be a motivated employee and have to go through the process of hiring and training someone new, rather that simply say, ‘ok, take a few days come back when you are no longer sick.’ It is such an inefficient way to run a business, said
sirharryflashman.
