Last couple of days I’ve called out sick from work. There was no issue getting the time off, though me being me I brought my laptop home and made it apparent I’d be reachable periodically for at least the first day.
How naïve I am.
Day 1 of being sick I hopped online to coordinate a project. After some time, I gave a quick update to the team on the status, and even stated I’d be offline afterwards. That was that.
Day 2 I felt even worse so I was not online. However, I did notice an email. Despite my update on day 1, my boss had still reached out about an update to the project; his tone rather expectant though like he hadn’t even read the first update.
It’s on brand for him, and yet it struck a nerve. Its kind of like that saying “if you give an inch they’ll take a mile”. I guess I’ve gotten this impression for a while yet never taken time to reflect until now. But how is this living? To be watched by such harsh eyes for… what? It feels like I can’t even take a sick day without being expected to continue working, making someone else rich while I cough, shiver, and hold my head in pain.