We can all agree that when we take on a role in a workplace, we should be expected to perform our duties, show up on time, not abuse the time off policy, and generally make good contributions as a member of that company. Those are all reasonable things to expect of an employee who is being paid.
But we are all human, and sometimes things come up that are out of our control.
In mom and TikToker @atrustedadult2.0's experience, she had never asked for a day off of work before, and that only changed when both of her children were sick at the same time, and there was no one else to care for them.
She reached out to her workplace two hours prior to the opening of her shift and left a message, explaining what was going on and that they should not expect her to appear at work that day.
Less than thirty minutes before her shift was originally supposed to start, the mom was shocked to receive a voicemail from a woman at the workplace named Gabby.
She had been unable to pick up the phone when Gabby called because she was caring for her kids, but when she played back the message, she was stunned.
The TikToker played the voicemail in her video, and Gabby could be heard saying:
"Hi Jessica, this is Gabby. I know you called earlier about not coming in, but after speaking to Alicia, she would still like you to come in."
"If you could please give me a call..."
Jessica was flabbergasted.
"Like... I said I wasn't coming in. What do you mean you'd still like me to? Yeah, I know you'd like me to! But I said no, so what do I say to that?"
You can watch the video here:
Fellow TikTokers empathized with the working mom and how she was being treated by her workplace.
@atrustedadult2.0/TikTok
@atrustedadult2.0/TikTok
@atrustedadult2.0/TikTok
@atrustedadult2.0/TikTok
@atrustedadult2.0/TikTok
@atrustedadult2.0/TikTok
@atrustedadult2.0/TikTok
@atrustedadult2.0/TikTok
@atrustedadult2.0/TikTok
@atrustedadult2.0/TikTok
After some TikTokers expressed hope for an update, Jessica shared one, but possibly not the one they were expecting.
"The update is, I stayed home on Friday, and then I went in on Monday, I quit my job, and then I took my kids and my friend to the zoo."
"Calling out is calling out, and that voicemail was incredibly toxic, and I don't work for toxic places."
"It's not great, I still need a job, but I don't need that job."
While it's understandable that parents need to make accommodations to balance their home life, family life, and work life, everyone has off days and needs outside of the workplace that have to be attended to from time to time.
It should have been easy enough for Jessica's workplace to pull together a last-minute shift arrangement for one day, especially since this was the first time she'd called out of work.
The fact that they couldn't accommodate Jessica missing a shift only served to show a weakness in their managerial structure and planning.
