An employee, who had thorough plans of enjoying a family holiday, served a lesson in work-life balance to an overly demanding boss.
The text exchange between the pair went viral after the boss tried to drag the employee back to work while the latter was on vacation.
“Just can't imagine ever speaking to any of my team like this,” a social media user said about their conversation.
Highlights
- An overly demanding boss's text messages to an out-of-office employee went viral.
- The exasperated boss was seen forcing the employee to work during their family vacation.
- The employee refused to cave despite the boss's relentless demands.
- The “insane” text exchange sparked a flurry of comments online, with many marveling at “the audacity of these people.”
A tense exchange between an overly demanding boss and an out-of-office employee went viral
Image credits: andranik123/stock.adobe.com (Not the actual photo)
In screenshots of the text exchange, shared by career expert Ben Askins, the boss was seen asking for a “quick” update to a presentation that had more than 70 slides.
“Hey just a quick one, can you take a look at the presentation I just sent you, they need tidying up before the pitch tomorrow,” the boss said. “Slides 73-78 in particular are the priority.”
Screenshots of the conversation were shared in a viral video by career expert Ben Askins
Image credits: ben.askins
“Did you see this message?” the boss added.
“I’m on holiday, remember?” the employee asked. “We’ve just got off the plane and we’re on our way to our Airbnb now.”
Image credits: olenachukhil/stock.adobe.com (Not the actual photo)
The boss said an “important” meeting had been pushed forward, and the update needed to be made.
“We need to sort this out,” the exasperated boss said.
The employee went on to apologize, saying they didn’t have their laptop with them. They also revealed they had already made plans for the evening.
The boss was seen “badgering” the employee during their family holiday
Image credits: ben.askins
“You don’t have your laptop? Why on earth not?” the vacation-ruining employer asked.
“Can you can [sic] find somewhere to jump online? It won’t take long,” they added, still relentlessly trying to persuade the employee during their pre-planned time off.
Even as the boss ramped up the pressure, the boundary-setting worker did not cave and once again pointed out their holiday plans.
“Try asking the team, I’m sure someone will be able to help out,” they added.
Image credits: Дмитрий Ткачук/stock.adobe.com (Not the actual photo)
Continuing to interrupt the holiday, the boss badgered the employee and turned down the idea of onboarding someone else.
“I really need you to do this,” they said. “We have to win this one.”
The employee then put their foot down and said there was no way they would “just abandon” plans made well in advance.
“I booked this week off months ago and I’m with my family,” they said. “I can’t just abandon our plans to go looking for somewhere to work.”
The boss seemed utterly confused by the idea that the employee did not take a laptop on holiday
Image credits: ben.askins
“Right. Good to know where your priorities are,” the boss harshly said.
“Yes it’s with my family,” the out-of-office worker replied.
Career expert Ben called it an “amazing response” and said it’s just “so obviously incorrect” for the boss to be making such demands during a pre-planned holiday.
He said finding another employee to fill in would be an easy fix to the problem.
“If you’ve not arranged that, then that is your fault,” he added. “If no one else in your team can pick it up, that’s also your fault as a boss.”
Image credits: ben.askins
Ben stressed on the importance of letting employees have enough time to switch off and recharge.
Otherwise, “they won’t be able to do good work for you.”
“You can’t just keep badgering people,” he added.
The “insane” text exchange sparked a flurry of comments online, with many marveling at “the audacity of these people”
Image credits: Volodymyr/stock.adobe.com (Not the actual photo)
Netizens resoundingly agreed to the expert’s opinions, with many saying they wouldn’t even have acknowledged the boss’s message.
“Why the hell are they even replying? Surely you say no and then just ignore the messages,” one said.
Another wrote, “It always amazes me when people on holiday still respond to these texts.”
Image credits: Volodymyr/stock.adobe.com (Not the actual photo)
“You know you’re a bad boss when you can’t believe they would choose their family over you,” a third said.
A fourth quipped, “Don't acknowledge. Don’t reply. It's your time, not theirs.”
“Family first always!” several netizens agreed
Image credits: Pormezz
Many couldn’t fathom making or even sitting through an entire presentation with more than 70 slides.
“I died of boredom just thinking about a 78 slide presentation,” one said.
“78 slides, as a client I’d walk out after 10,” another wrote.
Experts have long advocated for the need for employees to have a healthy work-life balance, so that they can offer their most productive selves at work.
Patricia Graves, a senior certified professional and HR knowledge advisor at the Society for Human Resource Management, previously told the BBC that employees in recent times have been quitting to “find new opportunities that offer better work-life balance.”
“I think we have evolved to a place where workers themselves define what work-life balance looks like to them as individuals,” she said. “It has forced employers to offer many of those demands to attract and retain talent.”
Social media users sided with the employee and said there's no reason to entertain such requests
