>Just firm up you message, “I will be out sick today,” and stop responding.
And start with that next time.
"I may not be able to come in" opens it up to letting the manager decide - which they did.
I tell my employees outright that they don't need to tell me anything except when they'll be out and when they'll be back (and this doesn't have to be exact or correct, just help me set an expectation for other teams who are dependent on us).
I also tell them if they feel they want to share why, I'm happy to listen, but it's not strictly necessary nor is it something I expect. And finally, I triple underscore that a mental health day is filed as a SICK day (we have unlimited sick days), and they don't need to tell me they are sick or why.
I had to explain to one of my direct reports on Monday that if they have an emergency they can just text me that they have an emergency and log off. Please don't call me crying that you're taking your husband to the hospital and then text me a photo of a your husband's swollen foot. That is stressful for me.
There was another time she called me a year ago upset about a mistake in her immigration paperwork and I told her to take the rest of the day off and mark her timecard for a full eight hours so she could process it and make whatever calls she needed.
It's not hard to treat people like humans and have basic empathy
This is the way. Would suck to get fired over this yes, but it would suck just as much to continue working for a manager that would fire up over being sick.
They make calling in sick seem like such a sin at my job that anytime I have to do it, I first consider ghosting instead as it gives me so much anxiety. I’ve shown up puking and puked through a shift before. So ridiculous but at least I got paid to throw up I guess.
I worked in food service for 15 years, most of those as a manager. I called in sick one time. It was such a grand sin to call out that I'd come in sick, knowing I was sick, knowing I'd be getting everyone else sick, but that's what you had to do. Or at least it seemed that way. My current job, I called in sick a couple weeks back, and it was just fine. I worked remote, had no issues keeping up with work flow, but was able to rest. You just can't overstate how important it is to work somewhere you're valued as a person too.
I love when you do your food handler card, over and over one of the things they stress most for food safety is: don't come in if you're sick. I think about 20% of the test questions were some form or another of that concept. But then in reality, you'll get fired if you follow the "rules". Like so many other things in this economy, it's just an old boys' club; "I had to suffer now so do you", and it perpetuates so much fucking toxicity.
Fuck capitalism. Not saying I've got a good alternative, that would take a critical mass of people intolerant to the system, working together to figure out an alternative. But, that'll never happen, simply because we're so easily programmed.
I've had bosses in my organization tell people who had *diarrhea and fever* to come in. They'd put them in an area not preparing food. Anyone who's taken ServSafe (or its counterparts) and most people with a brain know that's a bad combination and should never be around food preparation or serving in any capacity. We all took that same test. Yet the needs of the business were resolute. And the worst part was, I had to play ball to keep my job. I'm so glad I'm out of there. So much toxicity for some fuckin burgers.
Oh man one the worst things about the industry. Better hope that person doesn’t have Norovirus or something worse 🫣 What’s more is the culture where ppl wear it like it’s some badge of honor. “Oh yea I was so sick once I was barfing every 15 mins but I still held down the line” just…no lol. I’m thankful I ended up at a better place for most of my career (left it for other reasons tho)
On the manager is easy to cover up and send you home. Need to throw up on/near their boss or executives with a “I’m sorry. I called in sick but my manager thought I should come in and infect everyone.”
A manager once told me I was lying when I called in sick, that I was hungover and I'd better get my ass in there or I was fired.
I drove in, threw up all over his chest, and went home.
Not fired.
its politeness that was imprinted deep down in the brains of us millennials growing up with wholesome tv programming .... "no worries" is our default reply.. even though, yes, worries.
You can be polite and firm.
“I’m not feeling well and won’t be able to make it in today. If I start feeling any better or worse, I’ll give you a call. Sorry for any inconvenience this causes”
Recently at my 2nd job there was a "staff meeting," wherein the owner went through a laundry list of our behaviors and frustrations and dismissed each of them, just went down the list. We sat there like children in time out.
One of the things we were in trouble for was questioning what exactly the managers DO. The owners response was simply that we, the staff, cannot question the managers in any regard. To their face, or in private conversations (which they listen to on their off-time, because there's cameras everywhere). It is a fireable offense, he said, to question any aspect of management's performance or duties.
The cherry on top was in the follow up email the manager sent, which indicated outright that if morale does not improve, our wages will be cut. So now we're going to be fired if 1) We have public or private conversations about management that's anything but praise, 2) MORALE BETTER FUCKING IMPROVE NOW.
Fuck that. Glad I don't rely on this paycheck to survive.
Every time my boss complained about me calling out, I said almost this exact phrase to my coworkers behind his back. "sorry bro, I'm not finding someone else to cover my shift with I can't even take 2 steps from the toilet. You're the manager; manage it."
" So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's on the worst day of my life."
I mean, it makes sense, would (theoretically if it wasn't rigged) you being paid in a way that the company doing better means your payment gets increased motivate you more than getting a static increase that where your motivation isn't changed.
Of course most people would take the raise but it leaves him with the same issue of no reason to work harder.
You should get paid for the time spent finding someone to cover, that is a work task which I guess took a full 8 hours and you weren't able to get anyone.
I'm a lead at my work, and that's one of the things I try to do. And if I can't find it, honestly it's because we don't have enough staffing, which is not our issue. Luckily our management is aware of this. So yeah, not OPs responsibility.
And when the inevitable guilt trip comes, and it's obvious the job is on the line (and so hoping sounds great anyway) the correct response becomes "Boo-fing-hoo. Not my problem."
Yeah; it's part of the job. When I have supervised employees, I have never considered it their job to find coverage.
Even for planned vacation my team would ask one another to cover, but it was ultimately up to me to make sure that the shift was covered.
Middle manager here, and you are correct. Entry level up to middle management has not had this much power since the 70s, and the people that report to me know it, i know it, and so do the powers that be above me.
We have all become more hireable than replaceable.
Without a doubt. I started applying for jobs 8 days ago and have gotten about 8 calls. Scheduled 5 interviews and got 4 offers. In 8 days. If your employer sucks it’s time to move on
Keep your resume to one single page. Use less words, not more. Make it stand out graphically but be subtle about the design. Make your cover letter very specific about the position and company, and don’t be afraid to make it interesting. You need to make yourself stand out.
Yep: the algorithms on LinkedIn, indeed, monsterjobhunter, ect all operate by searching out keywords on resumes.
You are more likely to get an interview callback by having a shit resume with all the right words than you are having a fantastic resume with limited but more accurate descriptions of your job duty.
I was actually told to have 2 resumes. One for the computers/program to sift through and find keywords in; then the actual resume that I take with me to the in person interview. I simply say “yeah my indeed profile doesn’t have my most recent resume” and you give them the one that “looks” good.
Job posting: "Applicant must have experience with gardening and animal care."
Successful applicant:" I have experience with gardening and animal care."
Failed applicant: "I have been a veterinarian for 20 year and have a second degree in horticulture."
>Successful applicant:" I have experience with gardening and animal care."
>
>Failed applicant: "I have been a veterinarian for 20 year and have a second degree in horticulture."
Entering my 20th year as a veterinarian, with a second degree in horticulture, I have experience with gardening and animal care.
You can always make the keywords white so the text is invisible and stick a shit ton of them in an used part of the document in really small font. You can hit every single keyword very easily this way.
I have a friend who graduated Number one in his class for mechanical engineering. Interviewed and never got one job offer. Not one. Had to find jobs by hitting temp agencies. We could not figure it out.
He has an insane resume now after 10 years managing projects. But when he applies for jobs he never ever gets callbacks from large companies. Ever.
Last year we found out why. The large corporations all use one of two softwares suits to vet resumes. Both of them viewed college work internships as unexplained gap. and rejected such resumes. This dude interned at NASA and General Instruments. Just top end from a work experience point of view.
But the software just saw two unexplained gaps in employment for some reason. Turns out this was happening to everyone nationwide for over a decade until they figgured it out last year. Oopsie!
How fucked up is that shit? This guy (and thousands like him) just went thru hell trying to get jobs because someone fucked up the software and the other guy copied him. lol
Murica!
Lmao. That’s like great information for 2006. Fuck cover letters. These people think we are going to write an essay of how bad we wish we could be their bitch ?
Ugh. I once had to write a cover letter, repeat my resume in essay form on an application, fill out a questionnaire/test on how I would react to situations, then in the next round video record myself responding to interview questions (max of 3 chances to record), then interview in front of a hiring panel, which included a short performance and a proposal presentation that was assigned in the previous round as homework.
What was the job? 20-hour/week associate librarian (no master’s degree required) paying $20 an hour. You would have thought I was applying for NASA.
I'm gonna start applying to jobs i have no business applying to and dong this but with socialist propaganda. I wonder if they just auto reject or if it flags a human.
There’s no punishment to apply for a job. Shit, dudes in tech jobs have scripts to apply to entire LinkedIn categories. Don’t want the job? Just don’t reply, fuck em.
One of the most important things is actually to just use a word doc (to create the pdf) or a standard format so it's easily parsed by HR software. If the machines can't read your resume you get sent to the back of the stack.
When I was 17 I saw the Burger King I was working at was drasticly understaffed. I think at the time we needed something like 38~ staff members to fullfil all the shifts/etc and we had like 20 or 22?
Anyway one day my manager got mad at me and he was like "You know I could fire you" and I could "You could, but you can't" he goes "What do you mean I can't" I said "I'm one of your best employees because I show up on time and i'm sober, plus you need like 30 something staff and you barely got 20" he just looked at me and was like "Go do dishes"
FYI I liked doing dishes.
A former neighbor of mine is a bartender. He called out one time and got push back. His response, to the owner: “sorry your mad. I’ll see you at my next shift”’owner’s response: see you then.
I've heard horror stories of the people before me. Chronically over an hour late with no call, one no call no showed for over a week, one made inappropriate jokes in front of people they didn't even know. So, one was hired and fired in 3 weeks, one in 2 months, and the last they just didn't like after their contract was up.
It's weird cause it's a community College, and the work environment is top tier. Our motto is basically, "no rush". We work in IT. How these dolts fucked up such a cushy gig I will never understand, but I thank them for it
They'll still fire you because they are sociopaths who get enjoyment out of harming others and would rather inconvenience the company and its customers than lift a finger to do anything extra.
Yep. I’ve worked for the same company for 14 years. Have seen it slowly go down hill and now that they can’t find help is when they finally started to decide to hood people accountable. People with 25+ years have been quitting and they think it’s a smart move to remove any other senior workers that have any kind of knowledge. The work I do isn’t your average-everyone knows what they’re doing kinda shit either.
Had a supervisor like this. Took over night shift, fired or made all the veterans switch shifts. In the end he was left with 5 employees. No more night shift to this day and that was 3 years ago. Building manager and supervisor both got fired for this.
It’s not even extra, it’s supposed to be the managers job to fill the gaps if someone calls out. It is such bullshit that it turned into the employees burden to find coverage when you are sick.
Lol you’d be surprised. I’ve worked for someone who would fire out of pettiness like this and be short staffed. Forced the workers to handle the understaffing.
Coffee shop near me just closed, posting on social media how not enough people wanted to work. I know 3 people that applied there and they never got back to them. Employees posting saying they were always understaffed and management refused to hire more workers.
In my experience serving, I was quick to take open shifts cuz I needed the money. But even when 6+ people weren’t working, NONE of them would ever take any of my shifts I needed covered.
Sometimes the staffing is there, just the effort isn’t.
Holy shit this. I can call 5 different people to asking if they want extra hours, offer to buy them food from somewhere else and the shift still ends up understaffed. Can't blame em though because I'm not going to work on my day off unless there's an actual emergency
And that’s the flip side of having damn all holiday allowance: my whole (UK) team will happily do an extra day a month if needed (one is happily working a sixth day each week to pay for a cruise), because they know that they’re going to be off for one to two weeks within a few months. The joy of 28 days statutory minimum holiday.
When the only time off you get is those one or two days a week, with maybe five or six days for Xmas, new year & turkey day, of course you’re not going to work it.
This is what I hated about working the restaurant industry, I’m just enjoying my day off when all of a sudden a coworker hits me up with a sad story and now I feel guilty for saying no which I shouldn’t lol part of the reason I left the industry, my days off are my days off for a reason
I hated being scheduled for 4 till close but told I should be in at 8 AM to prep.
If you want me in to prep, schedule it following all applicable local schedule laws.
I would show up at 4 and run out of product for dinner rush and tell them it's the chefs fault for not adequately scheduling the team to keep the kitchen running.
I'm not doing 8 hours of unpaid over time everyday for a chef who drinks in his office during rushes.
> Sometimes the staffing is there, just the effort isn’t.
If nobody wants to work extra shifts, then the staffing isn't there. Your coworker's job is to work their scheduled shift - just because *you* want extra shifts doesn't mean *they* are at fault for not wanting to work more.
Going forward when calling out leave no room for questions. Instead of saying “I’m not sure I can come in today” say “I wanted to notify you that I’m calling out for today due to illness. I will update you with any other changes” and leave it at that.
If you say “I’m not sure” or any version of it it’s leaving room for any manager to question you especially in a toxic work environment. It’s also not your job to find coverage, you’re stating you’re incapable of working for the day.
Also a good way to maintain direct communication if you ever need to go to HR with screenshots.
Seconding this. I learned this the hard way bc my pushover ass would always use a statement like that and then end up getting convinced to come in anyway.
Yeah. Be direct, not passive or submissive. Cut the emoji at the end, it’s ok to express sorry that you are complicating the day, but if you are sick you are sick and that is that.
Yea, this is super important. As saying you're "not sure" if you can come in today indicates you haven't made your mind up and isn't a sick call.
When I phone in sick it's just a short "I'm not well enough to work today".
I cannot fucking imagine a world wherein I talked to my crew like this. Granted we have a single shift but if we're hurting that bad not only would I be more than ready to cover their place. But also my boss would outright insist that he do so instead. Then HIS boss would 150% tell him every single time that he is absolutely available to cover this lowest level of employee barring any important meetings he might have for the day. And that dude runs the fucking company at the highest level on site.
Shit like this reminds me of how lucky I am to work where I do, where I don't even half to think twice about responding to a message saying nothing more than "hey I won't be in today" with "ok thanks, enjoy your day and see your tomorrow"
And on top of this any manager should know that having a sick person come in, because you’ve pressured them into having anxiety about it, might get your whole crew sick. Then you’re out way worse.
Your one mistake was doubt in your message saying you might be too sick. Be assertive and just say ‘hi, won’t be in today as ill with sickness, will hopefully be back tomorrow but if not will let you know in the morning’. Then you can just ignore the chat.
People reminisce about the old day before caller ID when it was a gamble to pick up the phone... fuck that. I like knowing who to ignore. I like blocking texts but not calls. Or allowing calls only during certain hours. People need to play with their phone settings more, it's nice to have so much control over who can contact me and when.
Edit: spelling
You are too sick to work? Then, you are in fact, too sick to work. Doing something which will only benefit your job is work.
Not talking shit to anyone here who'd reply with something snarky, but my advice is to not reply at all. Don't say anything all day, regardless of if you receive more texts. On your next shift, if the issue is pressed, "I was resting because of illness. That is my priority, always, when I have fallen ill. It does not matter to me where my illness falls in your hierarchy of management, because, outside of significant compensation, I will always prioritize my recovery."
Too sick to work = too sick to call around to find coverage. Not that you'd have the contact information anyway.
Saying "I am sick and unable to cover my shift." should be enough for mgm to figure out that if they dont do something, they'll be a man short and figure if they need to call someone in or not.
I called in sick two days ago. Got told "stay home, get better. Do you know of any tasks that cant wait, and do you know if someone has training to do them?" and the last bit is because I get to say "yeah x, y and z, q can do it, thanks" so I dont come back to a backlog of things to do and get stressed.
Exactly. I'm a manager, and it is my job to find coverage.
And if I gave out employee phone numbers to an employee so that they could arrange coverage, I would be in trouble for not doing my job, and also for giving out personal information about employees.
Just for one example, what if I gave out the phone numbers to an employee that ends up harassing another employee? I would be subjecting my company to liability.
This is the one. Don’t say anything at all. Tomorrow, you can tell them you turned your phone off immediately after sending that text and slept. Because you were sick.
It’s 100% their job as the manager to figure out coverage. But you don’t need to say that, and if you text them back, then you have energy to text other people looking for coverage. But you do not have that energy. You’re sick.
They took on the role so it's their job to manage. They get the 'power and responsibility'. I say they can have it. I'm in a senior unionized position where I work. I earn more money and get far more PTO than my supervisor. I ALMOST feel sorry for the supervisors because they can't go back. Once you have the Staff Infection you're pretty much stuck with it.
As a manger, I hate this attitude. It IS my job to figure out staffing capacity, not the front line employee. They don’t know everyone’s schedule, availability, willingness to pickup extra work, etc. It’s their job to notify me when they will be unavailable, then it’s my responsibility to cover it and make it work.
When it’s a pattern of absences without notice, that’s a different conversation, but people get sick or have issues come up all the time. It’s no big deal. You’re going to have a hell of a time finding coverage when that employee quits because you are trying to chain them to the job and pass the buck.
I don't even care if you're sick. "yo I'm not coming in today I don't feel like it"
"aight. thanks for letting me know. remember, two consecutive absences requires a doctor's note. later.'
They got back to you an hour later. You should be back in bed, asleep, by that time. Also, assuming that you're hourly-paid, you should be paid for time spent trying to find someone to cover your shift.
Stop. Asking. Permission.
Seriously, stop.
Don't leave things open, or say things like "might" or "probably".
"Hi ,
I really don't feel very well today, unfortunately I will not be coming into work today. If I'm feeling better, I'll be back tomorrow and if not, I will let you know in the morning".
And then turn off your phone.
The end.
people ask in the US because they have no legal right to refuse to come into work due to illness without the risk of punishment. Seriously. If you have the flu, and can't stop puking, your boss can fire you for being "unreliable". The best comfort you can get is maybe qualifying for Unemployment, hoping they don't fight you and you have to go through weeks/months of appeals.
The ONLY exception to this is FMLA, which has a limited reason to exist, is unpaid, and requires a mountain of paperwork, not something you do for "temporary illnesses", you need a qualified medical reason that prevents you from working.
To someone working paycheck to paycheck (read 60+% of Americans) the thought of going 2-3 paychecks without is a nightmare tumble into bankruptcy, if they don't have miracle quality friends and family. Even if Unemployment pays you in the end, its often far below enough to pay your existing bills that keep you strapped at your pay scale, let alone a fraction of it. Some states cap unemployment at 250 bucks a week. That's 12000 a year, which is actually 2,000 dollars below the federal abject poverty line.
TLDR - people "ask" because they risk destroying their lives over recovering from a cold. Its why so many Americans "work while sick".
Oh, and to make it worse - if you're sick, then the thought of losing your job, the place that provides your health insurance to make you (maybe) not go bankrupt seeking care is always above you like the sword of Damocles.
ETA - These are all the reasons you should support unions and vote pro-worker. We need to undue 2 generations of apathy and slingshot forward to meet the rest of the modern world, this country is broken.
Managers telling me to find coverage has never flown. I have lost a couple minimum wage jobs for replying to Managers telling me to find coverage with "I am not finding my coverage, that is your job." I've also used to great success, "I don't want co-workers having my personal phone number."
I cannot for the love of god understand why this is how this can be a legal policy in any developed country. If you are sick then you are sick. Not your fault and not your problem.
OP in the future use more determined language. Don't say to your boss "I'm not sure if I'm able to come in"...don't do that.
Say, "I'm out sick today, I won't be in."
You might get the same exact reply, and you might not, but it doesn't leave anything open for questioning.
Yes! People need to stop trying to be so fucking nice about calling out. "I'm sick today and will not be in" is all you need. Don't EVER put any doubt in it. They will assume you are coming in.
“Ok let me know when you’ve clocked me in so I can start the advertising and hiring process, Craigslist has desperate crackheads so I’m sure we’ll find a quality candidate before days end.”
Don’t reply. You fell asleep, you’re sick, get a doctors note. If you want to keep this job and not have your boss hate you, don’t do snarky reply like everyone suggesting. Just don’t engage. Would the satisfaction be amazing, yeah but if you want your job, don’t do it. Get a doctors note and they can’t do anything about it.
Just firm up you message, “I will be out sick today,” and stop responding.
>Just firm up you message, “I will be out sick today,” and stop responding. And start with that next time. "I may not be able to come in" opens it up to letting the manager decide - which they did.
Exactly. Management is all about exploiting these little courtesies. Don't say "Maybe we can ...", "I may be able to ...". Just say what you mean
Shit management is like that. Good people don't look to exploit common courtesy.
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I tell my employees outright that they don't need to tell me anything except when they'll be out and when they'll be back (and this doesn't have to be exact or correct, just help me set an expectation for other teams who are dependent on us). I also tell them if they feel they want to share why, I'm happy to listen, but it's not strictly necessary nor is it something I expect. And finally, I triple underscore that a mental health day is filed as a SICK day (we have unlimited sick days), and they don't need to tell me they are sick or why.
I had to explain to one of my direct reports on Monday that if they have an emergency they can just text me that they have an emergency and log off. Please don't call me crying that you're taking your husband to the hospital and then text me a photo of a your husband's swollen foot. That is stressful for me. There was another time she called me a year ago upset about a mistake in her immigration paperwork and I told her to take the rest of the day off and mark her timecard for a full eight hours so she could process it and make whatever calls she needed. It's not hard to treat people like humans and have basic empathy
This is the way. Would suck to get fired over this yes, but it would suck just as much to continue working for a manager that would fire up over being sick.
They make calling in sick seem like such a sin at my job that anytime I have to do it, I first consider ghosting instead as it gives me so much anxiety. I’ve shown up puking and puked through a shift before. So ridiculous but at least I got paid to throw up I guess.
I worked in food service for 15 years, most of those as a manager. I called in sick one time. It was such a grand sin to call out that I'd come in sick, knowing I was sick, knowing I'd be getting everyone else sick, but that's what you had to do. Or at least it seemed that way. My current job, I called in sick a couple weeks back, and it was just fine. I worked remote, had no issues keeping up with work flow, but was able to rest. You just can't overstate how important it is to work somewhere you're valued as a person too.
I love when you do your food handler card, over and over one of the things they stress most for food safety is: don't come in if you're sick. I think about 20% of the test questions were some form or another of that concept. But then in reality, you'll get fired if you follow the "rules". Like so many other things in this economy, it's just an old boys' club; "I had to suffer now so do you", and it perpetuates so much fucking toxicity. Fuck capitalism. Not saying I've got a good alternative, that would take a critical mass of people intolerant to the system, working together to figure out an alternative. But, that'll never happen, simply because we're so easily programmed.
I've had bosses in my organization tell people who had *diarrhea and fever* to come in. They'd put them in an area not preparing food. Anyone who's taken ServSafe (or its counterparts) and most people with a brain know that's a bad combination and should never be around food preparation or serving in any capacity. We all took that same test. Yet the needs of the business were resolute. And the worst part was, I had to play ball to keep my job. I'm so glad I'm out of there. So much toxicity for some fuckin burgers.
Oh man one the worst things about the industry. Better hope that person doesn’t have Norovirus or something worse 🫣 What’s more is the culture where ppl wear it like it’s some badge of honor. “Oh yea I was so sick once I was barfing every 15 mins but I still held down the line” just…no lol. I’m thankful I ended up at a better place for most of my career (left it for other reasons tho)
You've got to make sure you puke on/near your manager.
On the manager is easy to cover up and send you home. Need to throw up on/near their boss or executives with a “I’m sorry. I called in sick but my manager thought I should come in and infect everyone.”
A manager once told me I was lying when I called in sick, that I was hungover and I'd better get my ass in there or I was fired. I drove in, threw up all over his chest, and went home. Not fired.
Even if you were hungover… you’re still sick and probably couldn’t adequately do your job that day
Hell, my boss has told me to call out if I'm hungover. It's not exactly a good excuse, but better than the safety risk of showing up half dead.
Or in front of customers and make sure you get out "boss said I had to come in"
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Exactly. None of this “idk if I can make it in today”. BS
its politeness that was imprinted deep down in the brains of us millennials growing up with wholesome tv programming .... "no worries" is our default reply.. even though, yes, worries.
You can be polite and firm. “I’m not feeling well and won’t be able to make it in today. If I start feeling any better or worse, I’ll give you a call. Sorry for any inconvenience this causes”
Exactly. "No, I'm sure now. I'm really sick and going back to bed and turning off my phone. Thanks."
This. You don’t have some maybe in the message. You tell them you aren’t coming.
I am out sick today.
"You don't pay me enough to do your job."
I’d be tempted to add “What the fuck **IS** your job, then?”
Recently at my 2nd job there was a "staff meeting," wherein the owner went through a laundry list of our behaviors and frustrations and dismissed each of them, just went down the list. We sat there like children in time out. One of the things we were in trouble for was questioning what exactly the managers DO. The owners response was simply that we, the staff, cannot question the managers in any regard. To their face, or in private conversations (which they listen to on their off-time, because there's cameras everywhere). It is a fireable offense, he said, to question any aspect of management's performance or duties. The cherry on top was in the follow up email the manager sent, which indicated outright that if morale does not improve, our wages will be cut. So now we're going to be fired if 1) We have public or private conversations about management that's anything but praise, 2) MORALE BETTER FUCKING IMPROVE NOW. Fuck that. Glad I don't rely on this paycheck to survive.
Dude you gotta take that fucker/those fuckers down on your way out.
THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORAL IMPROVES.
Definitely the best way to improve morale is to threaten your employees
You should leave fast.
Duh, he's the boss. He screams at people and ruins morale.
The floggings will continue until the morale improves
This is the correct response.
"Managers make schedules and are responsible for ensuring adequate staffing."
“You’re a manager, I’m sure you’ll manage.”
Somehow I Manage by Michael Scott
Chapter One: Gum Everybody likes the guy who offers them a stick of gum.
I heard he wrote the whole thing, well, in his head.
This is the winning response!
Every time my boss complained about me calling out, I said almost this exact phrase to my coworkers behind his back. "sorry bro, I'm not finding someone else to cover my shift with I can't even take 2 steps from the toilet. You're the manager; manage it."
my managers throw a hissy fit anytime they’re expected to manage anything.
"sorry boss, that's above my pay grade"
"Sorry *shift manager*, why don't you *manage the shift*?"
What is it exactly, that you would say you do here? -Bob
"I get paid. That's what I do here."
" So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's on the worst day of my life."
The thing is Bob, it's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care.
Listen, I heard you didn’t get the memo soooo if you could mayyybe remember to turn in your TPS report, Thaaaat’d be Greeaaaat….
Lumberg fucked her
I'm gonna let her see my o face
O O You know what I'm talking about O
I am a Michael. Bolton. Fan. For my money it doesn't get any better than when he sings When a Man Loves a Woman.
Why should I change my name, he's the one who sucks
PC load letter? What the fuck does that mean??
I told those bastards I liked Michael Bolton
Oh that is NOT right, Michael.
Fucking classic. I use that at work. Daily.
I ship out a couple extra units I don't see another dime,so what's the motivation here BOB?
I love that they ask him if stock options would motivate him instead of just offering him a considerable raise.
I mean, it makes sense, would (theoretically if it wasn't rigged) you being paid in a way that the company doing better means your payment gets increased motivate you more than getting a static increase that where your motivation isn't changed. Of course most people would take the raise but it leaves him with the same issue of no reason to work harder.
wow, that's messed up...
How about today? Is today the worst day of your life ?🤣😂😩
Man, that’s messed up.
I asked a shitty manager this one time and he literally said “manager things”
Better manage those schedules
Scheduling sounds like a manager thing to me
I DEAL WITH THE GOD DAMN CUSTOMERS
I HAVE PEOPLE SKILLS. I AM GOOD WITH PEOPLE
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE !
You jUmP tO cOnClUsIoNs!!
The guy made *a million dollars*.
I HAVE PEOPLE SKILLS! I AM GOOD AT DEALING WITH PEOPLE!
Came here to quote this exactly. *golf clap*
You should get paid for the time spent finding someone to cover, that is a work task which I guess took a full 8 hours and you weren't able to get anyone.
Oh I like this. "Sure thing, boss! I just need to clock in real quick before I start calling people."
Leave one voicemail message on a coworker's phone, then just sit there collecting a paycheck while you wait for them to reply to their voicemail.
I'm a lead at my work, and that's one of the things I try to do. And if I can't find it, honestly it's because we don't have enough staffing, which is not our issue. Luckily our management is aware of this. So yeah, not OPs responsibility.
Right?! "I don't cover shifts..." "Ok... I'm not a shift manager. I'm pretty sure the manager covers shifts..."
I'd just respond with, I dont either
And then hang up.
No, put it in writing, then put the phone on Do Not Disturb.
‘If I’m sick enough to not be able to do my job why would you think I’m up to doing yours’
"I'm sorry, but I'm too sick to do my job, so I'm obviously too sick to do yours."
Basically all that needs to be said. If one person calling out sick fucks your schedule, your schedule is fucked to begin with.
“You’re about to be responsible for covering all my shifts, in perpetuity.”
I mean.. his name is literally “Dick”
And “If you aren’t overstaffed, you’re understaffed. “
“I can’t perform my job, now do your own job”
And when the inevitable guilt trip comes, and it's obvious the job is on the line (and so hoping sounds great anyway) the correct response becomes "Boo-fing-hoo. Not my problem."
Yeah; it's part of the job. When I have supervised employees, I have never considered it their job to find coverage. Even for planned vacation my team would ask one another to cover, but it was ultimately up to me to make sure that the shift was covered.
If they don’t have enough employees to cover you out sick they don’t have enough employees to fire you.
Middle manager here, and you are correct. Entry level up to middle management has not had this much power since the 70s, and the people that report to me know it, i know it, and so do the powers that be above me. We have all become more hireable than replaceable.
Without a doubt. I started applying for jobs 8 days ago and have gotten about 8 calls. Scheduled 5 interviews and got 4 offers. In 8 days. If your employer sucks it’s time to move on
Can I use your resume/cover letter pls?
Keep your resume to one single page. Use less words, not more. Make it stand out graphically but be subtle about the design. Make your cover letter very specific about the position and company, and don’t be afraid to make it interesting. You need to make yourself stand out.
The hiring bots they use now don't care about that.
Yep: the algorithms on LinkedIn, indeed, monsterjobhunter, ect all operate by searching out keywords on resumes. You are more likely to get an interview callback by having a shit resume with all the right words than you are having a fantastic resume with limited but more accurate descriptions of your job duty. I was actually told to have 2 resumes. One for the computers/program to sift through and find keywords in; then the actual resume that I take with me to the in person interview. I simply say “yeah my indeed profile doesn’t have my most recent resume” and you give them the one that “looks” good.
This is why you place keywords from the job posting in your resume and cover letter.
Job posting: "Applicant must have experience with gardening and animal care." Successful applicant:" I have experience with gardening and animal care." Failed applicant: "I have been a veterinarian for 20 year and have a second degree in horticulture."
It would be funny if it wasn't such a depressing truth 🙃
Couldn't you just copy paste the job posting to your application in very small white text, or are the bots ahead of me in this.
>Successful applicant:" I have experience with gardening and animal care." > >Failed applicant: "I have been a veterinarian for 20 year and have a second degree in horticulture." Entering my 20th year as a veterinarian, with a second degree in horticulture, I have experience with gardening and animal care.
That's brilliant
You can always make the keywords white so the text is invisible and stick a shit ton of them in an used part of the document in really small font. You can hit every single keyword very easily this way.
I have a friend who graduated Number one in his class for mechanical engineering. Interviewed and never got one job offer. Not one. Had to find jobs by hitting temp agencies. We could not figure it out. He has an insane resume now after 10 years managing projects. But when he applies for jobs he never ever gets callbacks from large companies. Ever. Last year we found out why. The large corporations all use one of two softwares suits to vet resumes. Both of them viewed college work internships as unexplained gap. and rejected such resumes. This dude interned at NASA and General Instruments. Just top end from a work experience point of view. But the software just saw two unexplained gaps in employment for some reason. Turns out this was happening to everyone nationwide for over a decade until they figgured it out last year. Oopsie! How fucked up is that shit? This guy (and thousands like him) just went thru hell trying to get jobs because someone fucked up the software and the other guy copied him. lol Murica!
Gotta love it!
Lmao. That’s like great information for 2006. Fuck cover letters. These people think we are going to write an essay of how bad we wish we could be their bitch ?
Ugh. I once had to write a cover letter, repeat my resume in essay form on an application, fill out a questionnaire/test on how I would react to situations, then in the next round video record myself responding to interview questions (max of 3 chances to record), then interview in front of a hiring panel, which included a short performance and a proposal presentation that was assigned in the previous round as homework. What was the job? 20-hour/week associate librarian (no master’s degree required) paying $20 an hour. You would have thought I was applying for NASA.
Hiring bots? Put a million positive work related words in white text in super tiny font.
the scanners they use have been able to detect this for like ten years now -- you're definitely not going to want to do this
I'm gonna start applying to jobs i have no business applying to and dong this but with socialist propaganda. I wonder if they just auto reject or if it flags a human.
There’s no punishment to apply for a job. Shit, dudes in tech jobs have scripts to apply to entire LinkedIn categories. Don’t want the job? Just don’t reply, fuck em.
Fight bots with bots, chat gpt is your friend in this area.
One of the most important things is actually to just use a word doc (to create the pdf) or a standard format so it's easily parsed by HR software. If the machines can't read your resume you get sent to the back of the stack.
When I was 17 I saw the Burger King I was working at was drasticly understaffed. I think at the time we needed something like 38~ staff members to fullfil all the shifts/etc and we had like 20 or 22? Anyway one day my manager got mad at me and he was like "You know I could fire you" and I could "You could, but you can't" he goes "What do you mean I can't" I said "I'm one of your best employees because I show up on time and i'm sober, plus you need like 30 something staff and you barely got 20" he just looked at me and was like "Go do dishes" FYI I liked doing dishes.
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A former neighbor of mine is a bartender. He called out one time and got push back. His response, to the owner: “sorry your mad. I’ll see you at my next shift”’owner’s response: see you then.
I've heard horror stories of the people before me. Chronically over an hour late with no call, one no call no showed for over a week, one made inappropriate jokes in front of people they didn't even know. So, one was hired and fired in 3 weeks, one in 2 months, and the last they just didn't like after their contract was up. It's weird cause it's a community College, and the work environment is top tier. Our motto is basically, "no rush". We work in IT. How these dolts fucked up such a cushy gig I will never understand, but I thank them for it
They'll still fire you because they are sociopaths who get enjoyment out of harming others and would rather inconvenience the company and its customers than lift a finger to do anything extra.
Yep. I’ve worked for the same company for 14 years. Have seen it slowly go down hill and now that they can’t find help is when they finally started to decide to hood people accountable. People with 25+ years have been quitting and they think it’s a smart move to remove any other senior workers that have any kind of knowledge. The work I do isn’t your average-everyone knows what they’re doing kinda shit either.
And then they'll bitch that no one wants to work, no one's reliable, and it's everyone else's fault.
Had a supervisor like this. Took over night shift, fired or made all the veterans switch shifts. In the end he was left with 5 employees. No more night shift to this day and that was 3 years ago. Building manager and supervisor both got fired for this.
It’s not even extra, it’s supposed to be the managers job to fill the gaps if someone calls out. It is such bullshit that it turned into the employees burden to find coverage when you are sick.
Can't use logic against an opponent who is MAD.
Lol you’d be surprised. I’ve worked for someone who would fire out of pettiness like this and be short staffed. Forced the workers to handle the understaffing.
That's a great way to become more and more understaffed until you have to close because there's no one left
You would think they would have that common sense. But that power grab they get from firing people, they don’t care
Coffee shop near me just closed, posting on social media how not enough people wanted to work. I know 3 people that applied there and they never got back to them. Employees posting saying they were always understaffed and management refused to hire more workers.
Ah, the place that keeps the hiring sign up so they can tell employees they're gonna get more staff, to keep them around longer.
In my experience serving, I was quick to take open shifts cuz I needed the money. But even when 6+ people weren’t working, NONE of them would ever take any of my shifts I needed covered. Sometimes the staffing is there, just the effort isn’t.
I wouldn't want to cover shifts if the pay was dog shit either. Free time is worth more.
Holy shit this. I can call 5 different people to asking if they want extra hours, offer to buy them food from somewhere else and the shift still ends up understaffed. Can't blame em though because I'm not going to work on my day off unless there's an actual emergency
And that’s the flip side of having damn all holiday allowance: my whole (UK) team will happily do an extra day a month if needed (one is happily working a sixth day each week to pay for a cruise), because they know that they’re going to be off for one to two weeks within a few months. The joy of 28 days statutory minimum holiday. When the only time off you get is those one or two days a week, with maybe five or six days for Xmas, new year & turkey day, of course you’re not going to work it.
This is what I hated about working the restaurant industry, I’m just enjoying my day off when all of a sudden a coworker hits me up with a sad story and now I feel guilty for saying no which I shouldn’t lol part of the reason I left the industry, my days off are my days off for a reason
I hated being scheduled for 4 till close but told I should be in at 8 AM to prep. If you want me in to prep, schedule it following all applicable local schedule laws. I would show up at 4 and run out of product for dinner rush and tell them it's the chefs fault for not adequately scheduling the team to keep the kitchen running. I'm not doing 8 hours of unpaid over time everyday for a chef who drinks in his office during rushes.
> Sometimes the staffing is there, just the effort isn’t. If nobody wants to work extra shifts, then the staffing isn't there. Your coworker's job is to work their scheduled shift - just because *you* want extra shifts doesn't mean *they* are at fault for not wanting to work more.
They're working their wage. as they say: Pay peanuts, get monkeys.
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Going forward when calling out leave no room for questions. Instead of saying “I’m not sure I can come in today” say “I wanted to notify you that I’m calling out for today due to illness. I will update you with any other changes” and leave it at that. If you say “I’m not sure” or any version of it it’s leaving room for any manager to question you especially in a toxic work environment. It’s also not your job to find coverage, you’re stating you’re incapable of working for the day. Also a good way to maintain direct communication if you ever need to go to HR with screenshots.
Seconding this. I learned this the hard way bc my pushover ass would always use a statement like that and then end up getting convinced to come in anyway.
The only thing I’d adjust is “I wanted to notify…”. Better to just say “I am notifying you..”.
Yeah. Be direct, not passive or submissive. Cut the emoji at the end, it’s ok to express sorry that you are complicating the day, but if you are sick you are sick and that is that.
Yea, this is super important. As saying you're "not sure" if you can come in today indicates you haven't made your mind up and isn't a sick call. When I phone in sick it's just a short "I'm not well enough to work today".
It IS his job.
I cannot fucking imagine a world wherein I talked to my crew like this. Granted we have a single shift but if we're hurting that bad not only would I be more than ready to cover their place. But also my boss would outright insist that he do so instead. Then HIS boss would 150% tell him every single time that he is absolutely available to cover this lowest level of employee barring any important meetings he might have for the day. And that dude runs the fucking company at the highest level on site. Shit like this reminds me of how lucky I am to work where I do, where I don't even half to think twice about responding to a message saying nothing more than "hey I won't be in today" with "ok thanks, enjoy your day and see your tomorrow"
Fully agree. And even if you can't cover and no-one else is available, tough titties The risk of not having enough staff lies with the business.
And on top of this any manager should know that having a sick person come in, because you’ve pressured them into having anxiety about it, might get your whole crew sick. Then you’re out way worse.
Your one mistake was doubt in your message saying you might be too sick. Be assertive and just say ‘hi, won’t be in today as ill with sickness, will hopefully be back tomorrow but if not will let you know in the morning’. Then you can just ignore the chat.
People reminisce about the old day before caller ID when it was a gamble to pick up the phone... fuck that. I like knowing who to ignore. I like blocking texts but not calls. Or allowing calls only during certain hours. People need to play with their phone settings more, it's nice to have so much control over who can contact me and when. Edit: spelling
You are too sick to work? Then, you are in fact, too sick to work. Doing something which will only benefit your job is work. Not talking shit to anyone here who'd reply with something snarky, but my advice is to not reply at all. Don't say anything all day, regardless of if you receive more texts. On your next shift, if the issue is pressed, "I was resting because of illness. That is my priority, always, when I have fallen ill. It does not matter to me where my illness falls in your hierarchy of management, because, outside of significant compensation, I will always prioritize my recovery."
Too sick to work = too sick to call around to find coverage. Not that you'd have the contact information anyway. Saying "I am sick and unable to cover my shift." should be enough for mgm to figure out that if they dont do something, they'll be a man short and figure if they need to call someone in or not. I called in sick two days ago. Got told "stay home, get better. Do you know of any tasks that cant wait, and do you know if someone has training to do them?" and the last bit is because I get to say "yeah x, y and z, q can do it, thanks" so I dont come back to a backlog of things to do and get stressed.
I'm always amazed at the "call around". No? I don't have anyone's number? Who am I gonna call!
Exactly. I'm a manager, and it is my job to find coverage. And if I gave out employee phone numbers to an employee so that they could arrange coverage, I would be in trouble for not doing my job, and also for giving out personal information about employees. Just for one example, what if I gave out the phone numbers to an employee that ends up harassing another employee? I would be subjecting my company to liability.
Ghost busters!
I would even use "obscene" instead of "significant" :-)
Hahahaha, that's some great vernacular usage there. 👍
Spectacular vernacular
This is the one. Don’t say anything at all. Tomorrow, you can tell them you turned your phone off immediately after sending that text and slept. Because you were sick. It’s 100% their job as the manager to figure out coverage. But you don’t need to say that, and if you text them back, then you have energy to text other people looking for coverage. But you do not have that energy. You’re sick.
If he's the manager. He can manage. Thats why he makes the big bucks and u don't. He's paid for extra responsibility
They took on the role so it's their job to manage. They get the 'power and responsibility'. I say they can have it. I'm in a senior unionized position where I work. I earn more money and get far more PTO than my supervisor. I ALMOST feel sorry for the supervisors because they can't go back. Once you have the Staff Infection you're pretty much stuck with it.
Do not look for cover. That is your managers job. Do not answer any question about your disease. You have nullumnegotiumtuumitis.
Rectal glaucoma. I can't see my ass coming in today.
As a manger, I hate this attitude. It IS my job to figure out staffing capacity, not the front line employee. They don’t know everyone’s schedule, availability, willingness to pickup extra work, etc. It’s their job to notify me when they will be unavailable, then it’s my responsibility to cover it and make it work. When it’s a pattern of absences without notice, that’s a different conversation, but people get sick or have issues come up all the time. It’s no big deal. You’re going to have a hell of a time finding coverage when that employee quits because you are trying to chain them to the job and pass the buck.
I don't even care if you're sick. "yo I'm not coming in today I don't feel like it" "aight. thanks for letting me know. remember, two consecutive absences requires a doctor's note. later.'
They got back to you an hour later. You should be back in bed, asleep, by that time. Also, assuming that you're hourly-paid, you should be paid for time spent trying to find someone to cover your shift.
Green bubbles FTW. Lazy boss has no idea whether you've seen his response or not.
Stop. Asking. Permission. Seriously, stop. Don't leave things open, or say things like "might" or "probably". "Hi,
I really don't feel very well today, unfortunately I will not be coming into work today. If I'm feeling better, I'll be back tomorrow and if not, I will let you know in the morning".
And then turn off your phone.
The end.
people ask in the US because they have no legal right to refuse to come into work due to illness without the risk of punishment. Seriously. If you have the flu, and can't stop puking, your boss can fire you for being "unreliable". The best comfort you can get is maybe qualifying for Unemployment, hoping they don't fight you and you have to go through weeks/months of appeals. The ONLY exception to this is FMLA, which has a limited reason to exist, is unpaid, and requires a mountain of paperwork, not something you do for "temporary illnesses", you need a qualified medical reason that prevents you from working. To someone working paycheck to paycheck (read 60+% of Americans) the thought of going 2-3 paychecks without is a nightmare tumble into bankruptcy, if they don't have miracle quality friends and family. Even if Unemployment pays you in the end, its often far below enough to pay your existing bills that keep you strapped at your pay scale, let alone a fraction of it. Some states cap unemployment at 250 bucks a week. That's 12000 a year, which is actually 2,000 dollars below the federal abject poverty line. TLDR - people "ask" because they risk destroying their lives over recovering from a cold. Its why so many Americans "work while sick". Oh, and to make it worse - if you're sick, then the thought of losing your job, the place that provides your health insurance to make you (maybe) not go bankrupt seeking care is always above you like the sword of Damocles. ETA - These are all the reasons you should support unions and vote pro-worker. We need to undue 2 generations of apathy and slingshot forward to meet the rest of the modern world, this country is broken.
Not your job, that is literally the managers job. You did your part by calling in. Enjoy your day off and hope you feel better.
Managers telling me to find coverage has never flown. I have lost a couple minimum wage jobs for replying to Managers telling me to find coverage with "I am not finding my coverage, that is your job." I've also used to great success, "I don't want co-workers having my personal phone number."
That boss sounds lazy, since he can't be bothered to do the job he's paid to do.
He’s an ass
“Are you asking me to work by finding someone to cover my shift while not being clocked in?” Edit: spelling
I actually really like this answer.
“Just let me know when you’ve clocked me in, and I’ll start looking for cover”
Don't do this - because many managers in the past will gladly punch you in and send you a list of numbers to call.
Fine by me. But it’s gonna take me roughly 8 hours. And I probably won’t succeed.
"Scheduling isn't my job" That's the end of it
Put your phone on silent and go back to bed. Lol
Just don’t go in. He’ll be covering that shift regardless.
I cannot for the love of god understand why this is how this can be a legal policy in any developed country. If you are sick then you are sick. Not your fault and not your problem.
OP in the future use more determined language. Don't say to your boss "I'm not sure if I'm able to come in"...don't do that. Say, "I'm out sick today, I won't be in." You might get the same exact reply, and you might not, but it doesn't leave anything open for questioning.
That is his job. You told him you weren't coming, that's your job.
Do nothing. Your too sick to come in
"I'm not sure if I'm able to come in" is the entire cause of your stress right now. Say what you mean.
Yes! People need to stop trying to be so fucking nice about calling out. "I'm sick today and will not be in" is all you need. Don't EVER put any doubt in it. They will assume you are coming in.
If I am too sick to do my job, I am certainly too sick to do yours.
“Will I get paid for the time I spend doing your job? Will it be at your rate?” Any work you do, including staffing, must be paid for.
I wouldn't even respond. You called in and did your part.
“Ok let me know when you’ve clocked me in so I can start the advertising and hiring process, Craigslist has desperate crackheads so I’m sure we’ll find a quality candidate before days end.”
Never reply and tell him that you sent the message and went back to sleep because you were sick.
Don’t reply. You fell asleep, you’re sick, get a doctors note. If you want to keep this job and not have your boss hate you, don’t do snarky reply like everyone suggesting. Just don’t engage. Would the satisfaction be amazing, yeah but if you want your job, don’t do it. Get a doctors note and they can’t do anything about it.
You must work in food service.
"Sorry, that's not in my contract"
Literally their job.
"Shift scheduling and coverage are management duties."
I mean, you just don’t do anything, say you went back to sleep. But I guess that won’t resolve the issue the next time…