30 October 2023 , 09:20
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Calling in sick to work is never a decision that's taken lightly, but sometimes there's nothing you can do if you feel unwell, and more importantly, you wouldn't want to spread your illness to your colleagues too.
Usually, you will be expected to take a sick day unless you feel well enough to work from home, and it's something your employer offers, it can be a safer option to prevent spreading the germs. However, one employee was shocked to receive a firm response from their boss when proposing to work from home - due to suffering from hay fever.
The responses divided opinions (@theaussiecorporate/Instagram)Their boss demanded they either come into the office or take a sick day, as they weren't going to accept the employee to work from home because of their hay fever. They informed their boss that they were unwell, but could work from home and a screenshot of the pair's conversation was posted on an Instagram page called The Aussie Corporate, a business resource and gossip site.
The initial message read: "Morning, will be working from home today. Hay fever got me bad last night so I'm still a snotty/coughing mess. Got plenty of partners private and implementations to keep me going in terms of workload today."
However they were met with an extremely blunt response - their boss said: "Morning, I am sorry you're suffering from hay fever, I just want to let you know that I've been informed by (name hidden) previously that team members are not allowed to work from home for reasons such as this. It's been previously explained to me, that if a team feels they are well enough to work from home, then they are well enough to work from the office."
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The boss then further said: "You'll either need to come into the office for the day and work, or alternatively take today off as sick leave" and asked the employee to let them know which they prefer. The screenshot asked followers if they thought the response was reasonable or not. It was concluded that 68 per cent of people thought it was unreasonable, whereas 10 per cent thought it was reasonable. Employers aren't able to 'force' employees to take a day off sick, however, they can suggest taking sick leave if they are a health and safety risk to others.
The rise in companies offering people to work from home has hugely increased since the lockdown, and many people are now working either permanently from home or in a hybrid role working both from home and in the office. Although reports suggest that the work-from-home 'trend' may be coming to an end in Australia. A global survey conducted by consulting firm KPMG found that two-thirds of CEOs and bosses in Australia believe that 'white-collar' traditional roles would return to working in the office full-time within the next three years.