I woke up with a fever. I called HR to say I needed sick leave.She said, “First, you need to find someone to cover you! Your job is your duty.”I said I’m too sick for that.She replied, “Leave denied.”30 min later, she called in panic.I’ve sent an email to all.It said: “F said:that I wasn’t allowed to take sick leave unless I found someone to replace myself. As I stared at the email thread gathering replies like a snowball rolling downhill, I felt a mixture of dread and relief. I hadn’t meant to make a scene; I simply wanted to explain why I wouldn’t be available for the day. But the moment I hit send, colleagues began chiming in—some shocked, some angrily recalling similar encounters, others calling for clearer policies. Within minutes, the conversation grew beyond me. My fever blurred my vision, but I could still recognize that something bigger than my sick day had been set in motion.
By midmorning, my phone buzzed again. This time it was my manager, speaking softly, almost apologetically. He told me not to worry about coverage or procedures and said the HR representative’s response did not reflect company policy. He apologized repeatedly, explaining that my email had prompted an emergency meeting among department heads. As he spoke, I lay bundled under blankets, thinking about all the times employees had quietly accepted unfair treatment simply because they feared being labeled “difficult.” Maybe my feverish haze had pushed me to accidentally do something many had wanted to do but never dared: shed light on a broken process.
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