For over 10 years I worked in an incredibly toxic industry. There was this culture of blame where you would get berated whenever something went wrong. If you were late / off sick you would get ridiculed by not just managers but other colleagues. You couldnt leave early or be the first to leave without getting shit off someone.
It fucking sucked.
It made me feel I need to explain everything, make excuses for myself and share information that i am not that comfortable sharing because no one believed / listened to you when you said you were late because of x or something failed because of y.
I work in a much better place now and my manager is very understanding but i cant help but share more iflnfo than i need to.
I was late today because of something quite personal and told my manager i would be. He said it was fine but then i went into more detail, sharing personal things that made me uncomfortable and he just said “dont worry mate, its not your fault, take all the time you need”
It made me realise that its not normal for people to have to share their personal issues with work when they have to take time off because of them. Other people on my team dont, they just give the bare minimum because it doesnt change anything and you shouldnt have to prove anything, you should be trusted as an employee.
Hopefully some others might see themselves in this post and itll help them learn to stop making excuses for themselves to justify their actions
I am going to try