Employee shares manager's new 'bizarre' sick leave rule, internet has one question

An employee shared a relatable workplace rant after her manager introduced a bizarre new rule around sick leave, leaving many employees online asking the same question, how exactly are people supposed to predict falling ill?

Instagram user Deblina posted the now-viral video explaining how she had taken a two-day sick leave after feeling unwell, only to return and discover that her manager had introduced a fresh rule requiring employees to inform about sick leave the night before.

In the clip, Deblina appeared visibly baffled as she addressed the camera and recalled the incident. “I was not feeling well, so I asked my manager for a two-day sick leave. After coming back, I found out that my manager had made a new rule, that even if someone takes sick leave, they need to be informed the night before,” she said.

Questioning the logic behind the decision, she sarcastically asked if managers had forgotten how sickness actually works. “Are managers logic less? How do you think this works? Do we get some kind of notification that tells us we're about to get sick?” she joked.

She then added a humorous punchline that struck many viewers as painfully relatable to office culture, saying, “If I could predict my life that easily, don't you think I would've made a fortune working in IPL by now?”

The video was captioned, “Apparently fever also needs prior approval now,” summing up the frustration many employees often feel when workplace policies begin to sound more rigid than practical.

Watch the video here:

The comments section quickly turned into a mix of jokes, workplace complaints and shared frustration.

One user hilariously pointed out how Deblina’s story reminded them of their own workplace, writing that her manager sounded way too relatable to their team lead.

Another joked that the situation was such a “great observation” that they would definitely discuss it with their own manager, but only after hike discussions were over.

A third user sarcastically remarked that becoming a manager apparently came with one condition: “you have to lose your common sense.”

For several online, the video opened up a larger conversation around unrealistic office expectations, with several people sharing stories of being questioned or inconvenienced even while taking legitimate sick leave.