Boss Tells Worker He’s ‘Hard To Work With’ Because Of His ‘Elevated Needs’ After Demanding He Works A Shift He Wasn’t Scheduled For
He called him chaotic.
wavebreakmedia / Shutterstock Nothing can be more stressful than your supervisor or manager contacting you on your day off to demand that you come in to work. Everyone should be entitled to periods of time when worrying about the job ceases.
One man shared a tense conversation he’d recently had with his boss via text message in Reddit's "r/mildlyinfuriating" subreddit.
His boss insisted he works a shift he was never scheduled for.
The conversation started with a text he received from his boss asking him if he could work the closing shift on an upcoming Thursday and demanding that he respond “ASAP.” The employee let the man know that he could not pick up the extra shift as he was leaving town, prompting the boss to respond, “Ugh.”
Feeling the need to explain, the Redditor shot back saying that his plans did not revolve around the possibility of his coworkers not showing up. He told his boss he scheduled his personal life around planned time off.
From there, a back-and-forth unfolded with the manager advising his subordinate to update his availability in a time-tracking app. He stated that because the employee had not done so, he assumed he was available.
The employee sought clarity, asking why he would need to add availability to a week that had already been scheduled, especially if he was not supposed to work that day. Though the logic makes sense, the manager proceeded to blame him for not communicating.
The two continued to banter back and forth, with the worker unable to understand why his higher-up did not staff the department appropriately. Meanwhile, the boss continued to insist that the employee be a solution to the worker shortage.
The manager then proceeded to bring up instances where the employee had missed scheduled shifts, insinuating that since he had been so accommodating during those times, he expected the same in return.
He went on to accuse his report of having ‘elevated needs’ and a lack of communication.
The tone of the text message was such that any worker would conclude that their job was at risk for simply taking a day off as planned.
The employee shot down any inferences that he had not shown up to work as scheduled outside of missing time due to a power outage over the Christmas holiday.
His boss confirmed that was the inference he was referring to and complained about working 14 hours to cover for the absence. With the out-of-office employee on the defense and the manager clearly using past behavior to twist his arm into compliance, the uncomfortable argument continued.
The dysfunctional correspondent seemed to tumble further and further into the abyss of toxicity with the two arguing. The boss seemingly implemented new time off policies on the spot while the employee vehemently defended himself against accusations of irresponsibility.
After the manager went on to accuse the employee of having his parents respond, he shockingly revealed that the text exchange was taking place at 12:41 am, a time that is clearly way outside of business hours.
Photo Credit: Reddit
Unable to reach any agreements, the boss eventually told the Redditor that his needs were “chaotic” and that he was “unable to fulfill the needs that were conveyed” before “accepting” his resignation, after the employee said, “I’m putting on my two weeks.”
The manager told the employee never to contact him again, and the employee replied with a simple “LOL” effectively ending the lengthy debate.
Readers think he invested too much time and energy arguing with his boss — that it could work against him.
One man wrote, “That was someone trying to limit his words (what the employees should have done from the start) to limit liability and blame in case this comes back to them. This employee trying to [explain himself] just made it worse. Unless you are on call, you don’t have to explain why you are unavailable in the next two days.”
He offered that the resignation via text was sufficient for terminating the employee’s position and suggested that had the man limited his correspondence with the boss, he would not have become so worked up that he shot himself in the foot.
That commenter is partially correct. A text message can be accepted as a notice of resignation if it is the standard mode of communicating across the board. The manager muddied the waters by asserting that it was not the employee texting, potentially removing the man’s liability for the resignation.
An at-will employer can fire you whenever they want, for any reason. However, the fact that prior attendance concerns were only brought up in retaliation for the refusal of the employee to come in on an unscheduled day can easily be viewed as retaliation and litigated. The laws vary, depending on your jurisdiction.
At the end of the day, judging by the interaction between the boss and his employee, it might be in the best interest of both parties to part ways. With all of the jabs thrown, the relationship is likely irreparable.
NyRee Ausler is a writer from Seattle, Washington, and author of seven books. She covers lifestyle and entertainment and news, as well as navigating the workplace and social issues.