Obvious throwaway account is obvious.
I have a long history of back pain, which involved half of my childhood spent in physiotherapy. I also watched my mother's body crumple as the year went by because her job was too demanding, and she spent weeks at a time on medical leave because her back was killing her. In short, I'm now very careful about my own body.
I pulled something in my back last weekend, and the pain has been getting worse through the week, to the point where I went to my manager yesterday to request to leave work early so I could lie down and rest. His answer? Telling me he would only let me go if I was still coming to the department's Christmas dinner that night (year, super early, whatever). I said I'd try my best, but I was really in pain and could barely stay sited for long. He insisted, saying it would look bad if I wasn't here. I doubled down.
The pain became so horrible that I had to ask my boyfriend to come and pick me from work, and I had to leave my car in the building's parking lot for the night, because I didn't trust myself to drive. I was literally in tears at that point, and swallowing painkillers like candy. My boyfriend drove me to a nearby clinic, I got more powerful painkillers, and spent the evening lying down with a hot water bottle on my back, hoping for the pain to stop.
I obviously cancelled on the dinner.
My manager's reaction? Ignoring me all morning, and shoving my birthday gift in my face a week early, just so I would see him pissed at me and would be aware of his feelings.
My contract is up for renewal at the end of December. I'm seriously reconsidering staying…