Posted by denised in 
While four inches of snow is child’s play for northerners, the southeast, unaccustomed to more than a mere dusting, is paralyzed as a result of a winter storm that crept in overnight.
Despite dire news warnings about hazardous driving conditions, I wonder how many non-essential (anyone who isn’t a doctor, nurse, cop, fire etc.) employees felt obligated to get to work today, not because the world would end if they didn’t show up, but because of an overly demanding boss or the fear of job loss.
I’ve been there more times than I’d like to count. One particularly challenging winter in the northeast with a blizzard threatening, employees congregated around water coolers wondering who would be bold enough to make the first move. Driving home in blizzard conditions is frightening and all of us wanted to beat the storm home. The bosses, who presumably would have to drive home in the same conditions, never budged, and at 5:00pm we ventured out into madness. Thank God all of us made it home alive but not everyone is always that fortunate.
A friend shared a story of a colleague who, fearful of driving to work in hazardous conditions, called her boss to tell her she wouldn’t be able to make it in. Her boss gave her an ultimatum – report to work or you’re fired. My friends colleague took the warning seriously and unfortunately lost her life driving to work that morning.Another friend shared a story about a woman who had been ill for some time and had requested extended leave. When it was time for her to return to work she still was not well and requested an extension. Her boss claimed not to have received the approval from HR and insisted the employee report to work. The employee died in the office that day.
I’m not a litigious person, but if there was ever a case for legal action, I think the stories above make that case. In neither story was the employee a medical professional or someone on whose life others depended. They were “forced” to report to work because of policy and because their bosses knew they had the power to make them come in. Let’s hope that stories like this are few and far between and that no employee ever feels obligated to put he life at risk to punch the clock.
Do you have a similar story of reporting to work despite illness or hazardous weather for fear of losing your job? Share your story in the comment section or email it to denised(@ ) reallybadboss.com (remove parenthesis.)
