Woman employee told to “put mother in a medical or shelter home and come to office”, sparks debate on workplace toxicity

Workplace toxicity is no longer confined to hushed office corridors. As employees increasingly turn to social media platforms to share their experiences, a troubling pattern is emerging—complaints about inhumane management practices and lack of empathy are rising by the day.

A recent Reddit post detailing a senior employee being asked to institutionalise her critically ill mother to prioritise office attendance has reignited conversations around how common, and normalised, such toxic behaviour has become in modern workplaces.

A post on Reddit titled "Manager told: Put your mother in a medical or shelter home and come to office." has created a stir.

The user said that a senior woman colleague at a large private bank asked for a few days of leave. The user described the ordeal saying "Her mother was critically ill because of wrong medication. She wasn’t asking for anything special. Just some time." However, things did not go as expected. The user said that the employee was told by her manager to 'put her mother in a medical or shelter home', and then come to office regardless of the problems she was facing. "The manager’s response was: If she’s not recovering, put her in a medical or shelter home and come to office," said the user.

Manager told: Put your mother in a medical or shelter home and come to office.
byu/Mr_Moulick inIndianWorkplace

The user said the employee was was left with two choices which were to work as usual or stay with her mother. The employee chose to stay with her mother, following which she had to resign from her job. She had to do so despite having worked there for many years. The user concluded the post saying, "I’m posting this here because I honestly don’t know what the “right” response is anymore in such workplaces," and thereby asking the readers online what they would have done in a situation like this.

The post created some noise on the platform where users sympathised with the kind of workplace toxicity that the employee faced. One user said, "Ask the manager to give this suggestion in written, and watch his tone change and ego crumble." Another commented " I empathise with her and the feelings that she had to go through. There should be some legal way to get back at this crude kind of exploitation" A different user chimed in saying, "If the company cannot emphasize with her, then it's not worth for any loyal employee to stay there."

(Disclaimer: This is a report based on user generated content on social media. Storyboard18 has not verified these claims and does not endorse them)