Last year, I was coming back to work after my lunch break. Some idiot ran a stop sign, hit me, flipped my SUV, and ran. Like, he literally jumped out of his car and ran away before I could even get my seatbelt unbuckled. As an aside: being upside down in a car is 1) the worst rollercoaster ride ever; 2) disorienting as hell; 3) hurts like hell once the adrenaline wears off, which can take a while; and 4) is definitely 1 out of 5, do not recommend.
Anyway, I went to the ER, found out my sternum was fractured, and came home. A few days later, I went to my regular doctor who told me to work from home for six weeks. So I had him document that, and I turned that in with my sick-leave form for the absence so far.
My boss signed off on working from home. (Hell, we worked from home for almost 2 straight years during covid. Why not?) His boss, too. And so did his boss… but HR said no. They pointed to the official WFH policy that says up to 2 days with prior approval and only if you're not a supervisor. The director of HR personally said no. Not a single word in his response about me or my health or recovery. Not a single note from literally anyone in HR asking how I was doing or anyting even remotely… human… in reaction. Human Resources. They treat you like a resource all right. Just like lumber mills treat logs.
So, with my boss' approval, I worked from home 2 days a week and did not even consider checking email or otherwise working at all on the other days, until my 6 weeks ran out and I had to return to the office. I am thankful I had sufficient sick leave to cover the rest.
Did several big project deadlines slide because of it? Yes.
Did people end up waiting needlessly on things from me because I wasn't working? Yes.
Could I have done my job from home without impacting those projects? Also yes.
Will this impact my long-term loyalty to my employer? Definitely also yes. “Working to rule” is now MY rule.
