Reddit user u/et-regina used to work in a multi-story cafe where she would run up and down stairs all day serving customers.
The employee shared a story to the subreddit r/MaliciousCompliance that could have taken a turn for the worst if it were not for one doctor.
“I had slipped on some spilt motor oil in the car park on my way home and my ankle had bent underneath me; I had initially assumed I’d just twisted it, but several hours later it was still throbbing, as well as swelling up so much that it looked like I was hiding a pair of golf balls under my sock and turning a deep shade of purple,” et-regina shared.
“As my next shift started in less than 12 hours and we were short staffed as it is, I didn’t want to call in sick, but I knew there was no way I’d be able to stand/walk on it for a whole day.”
“I called my manager to explain and to ask if I could a) switch to the register for a few days, which involved much less walking than my regular role, and b) borrow one of the bar stools to sit on behind the counter so I wasn’t putting too much weight on it.”
“I figured this wouldn’t be a problem as we had other staff who could cover the floor and there are no issues with access around the register that the chair could get in the way of: I was wrong.”
“The manager insisted that he wouldn’t sign off on me having a chair without a signed doctors note verifying my injury, even after I sent him photos of my wrecked ankle.”
“As my GP was already closed, I headed to the 24-hour walk in clinic.”
“An x-ray and a lot of poking and prodding later, the doctor told me I had to ice it every few hours until the swelling went down (which took almost a week) and keep all weight off it for at least a week, and wear a brace for another 2 weeks after that.”
“When I explained what I did for a living, the doctor presented me with a lovely note explaining that I shouldn’t be at work at all for at least 7 days.”
“I wish I could have seen my managers face when I called to explain that I didn’t need the chair after all as actually I wouldn’t be in work for the rest of the week and most of next week, doctors orders.”
“Funnily enough, I was never asked to produce a doctors note again for the rest of the time I worked there.”
The entire experience is one et-regina has not forgotten — now, she has moved into management with a deep understanding in empathy. after the whole ordeal
Et-regina, who hails from London, England, shared with Bored Panda how the manager ended up leaving the company due to unrelated reasons.
“I definitely did get more sympathy from the company on the whole after this incident, they were generally more trusting on the odd occasion I did call sick than they were with other staff,” she shared. “I’ve always had very few sick days in all of my jobs, my attitude is very much that providing I’m not gonna risk making a customer sick, I’ll be trying to come into work.”
NOW WATCH: Sweden Actually Turns It’s Garbage Into Energy | Save The World