Boss’s Response To Employee’s Leave Request To Spend Time With Girlfriend Goes Viral

The contemporary workplace carries the sign of flexibility, mental wellness, and work-life balance. However, inversely, taking a simple day of leave has now become a pending task laced with challenges and fears for many employees. The pressure to constantly perform, remain available, and justify personal time has turned leave applications into carefully worded documents rather than honest requests. Taking a day off for a reason related to rest, relationships, or mental rejuvenation often gets couched in terms of “personal work” and “medical grounds” to escape societal disapproval.

Against this backdrop, the incident that happened recently is quite notable. A boss shared an extraordinary leave request made by an employee. The reason is that the employee wanted a day with his girlfriend. Rather than scolding the employee, the boss praised the request for its transparency. Within no time, this story went viral on social media and has also become a trending topic of discussion.

LinkedIn

The employee’s honest leave request left everyone stunned

The post was shared on LinkedIn by Vireen Khullar, who is the Director of SHMI Driving Innovation in Oral Care. The post appreciated the honest leave application made by a worker regarding a day off to pass the day with his girlfriend prior to her leaving the town.

The leave application, headlined ‘Leave Request for 16th December,’ was dated December 16 and stated that the employee’s girlfriend was leaving for her home in Uttarakhand the next day and would return only in January. Wanting to spend the day with her before her departure, the employee sought leave well in advance and asked if the arrangement would work. Employee’s leave says,

Hi Sir, I wanted to request leave on 16th December. My girlfriend is leaving for her home in Uttarakhand on the 17th and won’t be back until early January, so I’d like to spend that day with her before she leaves. Let me know if this works. Regards.

Along with the screenshot, Khullar wrote,

Received this in my inbox recently. A decade ago, this would’ve come as a sudden ‘sick leave’ message at 9:15 AM. Today, it’s a transparent request sent well in advance. Times are changing. And honestly? I prefer this version.

Adding that he preferred honesty, he approved the leave, saying,

Can’t say no to love, can we? Leave approved!

Have a look at the original post:

How did the Internet react to the above-mentioned post?

The post soon went viral and got thousands of reactions and comments on it. Many commentators appreciated the openness demonstrated by the employee and the support of the openness expressed in the manager’s statement. To many, this is what healthy leadership looks like, with trust outweighing the need to check up. Others noted that the fact that the leave application went viral indicates that openness in leave applications is rare.

Have a look at some of the comments it got

However, the viral moment also brought to attention the underlying problem of the pressure employees are facing while making a request to take time off work. In many work organizations today, taking leave has become a cause of stress and not just a simple procedure to undertake. It may not always be appropriate and safe to be this clear for many employees.

What do you think about this kind of honesty in the modern workplace? Do share your thoughts with us in the comment section of this article.