Boss sparks fury over outrageous text message after employee is hit by a car: ‘He has to be kidding’
A boss has been criticised for a ‘ruthless’ response to his employee being hit by a car – with thousands appalled by the shocking behaviour.
British career expert Ben Askins shared text messages between an employee and her boss discussing a co-worker’s unfortunate accident.
‘Where is Stacey? I haven’t seen her today and she isn’t responding to my messages,’ the boss said.
‘Oh, you didn’t hear! Stacey got clipped by a car, I think she is okay. It wasn’t going quickly but she was pretty shook up. Beth just took her to the hospital to be checked out.’
The boss showed no concern for the employee.
‘When will she be back? We have a pitch this afternoon and she’s supposed to be presenting,’ they said.
The employee was uncertain but offered to help: ‘I’m not sure. I doubt she’ll be back today, but I have her deck and the notes so I should be able to step in for her if that’s okay?’
‘This is the last thing we needed today,’ the boss raged. ‘Would you mind just keeping in contact with Beth and Stacey and seeing if she can come back and present, we really need this win.’
A boss has been criticised for a ‘ruthless’ response to their employee being hit by a car
Mr Askins couldn’t believe how insensitive the boss was being.
‘If one of your team gets hit by a car, your first response can’t be “When will she get back to work?”
‘On a basic human level, you have to start with: “Oh my god, is she okay?”,’ Mr Askins said.
The employee shared the sentiment.
‘I don’t think we should be bothering them, but I promise you I can cover for her if it comes down to it,’ they said.
The boss finally relented: ‘Fine, yeah, worst case scenario we go with you.’
Mr Askins also took issue with the boss’s treatment of their other employee.
‘Well, I bet that feels wonderful to hear that you’re the worst case scenario. This is really terrible.
Mr Askins couldn’t believe how insensitive the boss was being
‘The employee is trying to be helpful by offering to step in, but how are you treating them so badly by saying that?
‘I shouldn’t have to [tell people] that if someone in your team gets hit by a car, you need to make sure they’re okay before asking when they can come back to work,’ he said.
Many others shared their experiences with uncaring bosses.
‘I was hospitalised on a drip with severe morning sickness – dehydration and monitoring the baby. Boss kept calling and then finally sent me an email saying “I appreciate you are in hospital but you have a 5:30 deadline and you will need to complete the document”,’ a woman shared. ‘I work in HR and she was my manager.’
Another said, ‘I collapsed on the floor with a bad back and literally couldn’t move or stand up. Bed ridden. My manager called and asked if I was coming back the next day.’
A third wrote, ‘I was hit on my way taking my kids to daycare before work. My manager was furious that it would make me late. I was afraid if I took us all to the hospital, I’d be fired.’
