Employee, suffering from conjunctivitis, asks for sick leave. Manager's reply leaves Internet shocked

An employee recently narrated a distressing experience involving his manager’s lack of empathy when he requested medical leave. Sharing his ordeal on the Indian Workplace subreddit, the worker explained that he had been suffering from a severe case of conjunctivitis since the previous Friday. He joined his current organisation in May and had visited a doctor on Tuesday, who advised him to take a week’s rest and even mentioned it on the prescription note.

Because he was unable to access his email, the employee sent the doctor’s prescription to his manager via WhatsApp. Instead of showing understanding, the manager responded coldly, instructing him to contact the HR department. When the employee asked for the HR’s contact number, the manager abruptly replied that he no longer wished to continue working with him, claiming the employee was not doing anything productive.

The worker added that his condition had worsened, with his eyes beginning to bleed on the day he reached out to his manager. The harsh reply left him shocked and disheartened, prompting him to post screenshots of the conversation online to seek advice from fellow Redditors.

Online Reactions and Advice

Members of the subreddit strongly condemned the manager’s behaviour, calling it unprofessional and unethical. One user advised the employee to immediately contact HR and request an official meeting, attaching the doctor’s prescription and WhatsApp screenshots as evidence. Another suggested that the employee should document every interaction and, if necessary, involve higher authorities if he was being pressured to work despite a legitimate medical condition.

Some Redditors noted that government employees in West Bengal receive quarantine leave for contagious diseases, highlighting that private companies should uphold similar health and safety standards. A few even recommended staging an online meeting with visibly covered eyes to emphasise the seriousness of his condition.

Others expressed frustration at the lack of compassion in corporate workplaces, questioning whether managers are trained to handle employee health issues responsibly. One sarcastic commenter even mocked the manager’s poor communication skills, asking if all supervisors spoke such broken English.

The incident reignited discussions about workplace empathy, labor rights, and the urgent need for humane management practices in India’s corporate culture.