Manager scolding employee for weekend “unavailability”, demanding he work Sunday sparks outrage online

A Reddit post detailing a workplace dispute has gone viral after an employee alleged that his manager at a large listed company reprimanded him for being unavailable during the weekend and subsequently asked him to work on Sunday, despite his clearly defined Monday-to-Friday schedule. The employee explained that he followed a standard weekday routine and had a family function to attend on Saturday, which he did not feel obliged to report as it fell outside his working days, but this decision triggered unexpected demands from his manager.

Apparently I need to keep my manager informed about my weekend plans
byu/Onlyquestionshehe inIndianWorkplace

He stated that he had long struggled to maintain work–life balance and that the situation escalated when the manager, who had a meeting with his own superior on Saturday afternoon, sought two to three reports from him at 9 a.m. that morning. The employee said he informed the manager that he had a family engagement and would not be able to comply, prompting the manager to become upset over not being told in advance about his weekend unavailability and to insist that he compensate by working on Sunday. He added that he had repeatedly tried to explain that he could not work weekends due to classes and other commitments, and asked the Reddit community for advice on how to handle the situation without resigning.

A screenshot shared with the post showed how the conversation intensified. When the manager questioned his availability, the employee responded that he would inform his family he might have to skip or join the function later due to work and said he would return home by 2:30 p.m. to connect. The manager maintained that he should have been informed earlier about any weekend non-availability and pressed him to disclose the timing of the function, adding that forecast inputs needed to be submitted by the next day. The post drew swift reactions across the platform, with one user describing it as a textbook misuse of authority, another accusing the manager of treating weekends as additional workdays, and others noting that employees should never have to justify attending a family event on their day off, calling such situations a clear path to burnout in corporate roles.