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Antiwork

Today was my first day back at work in over a month following surgery and my wife’s (ongoing) hospitalization. The whole day my boss kept repeating “Bet you’re glad to finally be out of the house and back at the office!” and variations thereof.

This is hardly as egregious as many posts here about how clueless and connected to the “old ways” our bosses are, but it was hella annoying. My last day of work was on 12/15 because on 12/16, I had elbow surgery. I was expected to return to work around 12/27, but then my wife went into the hospital after she lost the ability to walk following a fall, and I've been the sole caretaker of our toddler, who also got Covid around the same time I went in for surgery. ​ In some respects, I'm very fortunate my boss let me miss this much work (unpaid, of course) so I could (temporarily) put my family ahead of his pocketbook, as there are plenty of employers who would have demanded I return to work as soon as my surgeon cleared me; irrespective of what was going on with my wife or…


This is hardly as egregious as many posts here about how clueless and connected to the “old ways” our bosses are, but it was hella annoying. My last day of work was on 12/15 because on 12/16, I had elbow surgery. I was expected to return to work around 12/27, but then my wife went into the hospital after she lost the ability to walk following a fall, and I've been the sole caretaker of our toddler, who also got Covid around the same time I went in for surgery.

In some respects, I'm very fortunate my boss let me miss this much work (unpaid, of course) so I could (temporarily) put my family ahead of his pocketbook, as there are plenty of employers who would have demanded I return to work as soon as my surgeon cleared me; irrespective of what was going on with my wife or daughter. My wife is currently in inpatient rehab after recuperating from lumbar spine neurosurgery, and my daughter is cleared to go back to daycare, so there's no need for me to stay out of the office anymore.

All day today, he kept (symbolically) nudging me in the ribs and saying some variation of “I bet you're glad to finally be out of the house and back at the office!” or “No disrespect to your daughter, but I bet you're glad to finally converse with other ADULTS! (har har har)”

And quite frankly… no. The return to the office was something I was dreading since my wife was transferred to inpatient rehab and I knew my days at home with my daughter were numbered. It'll be nice to make a paycheck again (I have no clue how the f I'm going to come up with February rent since my wife isn't getting disability and I work at a 3 person company so have no benefits at all), but I loved getting to play with my daughter, clean and organize the house, spend time with my dog, get to visit my wife, etc. To say nothing of finally take some “me” time to watch TV or mindlessly scroll Reddit and unwind for the first time in who knows how long.

TL;DR- Boss was jokingly implying work is a better place for me to be for my mental health than by my family's side.

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