Sometimes, strict managers inadvertently create loopholes within rigid structures.

One employee was told to log a half day despite being sick, but HR’s response ended up giving the employee the break of a lifetime.

Read on for the full story!

Exempt employee

Sick with Covid and emailed my boss that I can’t come in.

They were looking for flexibility from their boss, but didn’t get it.

I asked if I can work from home, but he said no and I should take the day off.

The next day I asked again, just so I won’t use up my sick days.

This time, things went a little differently.

He finally said yes and that I should only work half day, and use 4 hours in sick leave.

They were upset, until they got an email from HR.

Not too happy, but I do what I was told, and then got an email from HR: “Exempt employees get full day of pay as long as they work at least 50% of the day.”

Now things have turned around completely!

Since then I’ve been leaving work early when I finish my work for the day. It’s been pretty much 5–6 hour days for me.

Technically, my boss is from another department and we seldom have to cross paths.

The employee actually came out on top for once!

What did Reddit have to say?

Chill bosses are the best bosses.

Sometimes policies like this end up being too good to be true.

This policy is definitely too good of a deal for employees. Can’t have that!

Preserving PTO is a very precious thing for some people.

What started as a rigid response to a sick day turned into an unexpected shift in work-life balance.

Now they finish early, get paid fully, and no one’s the wiser.

If you liked that story, check out this post about a group of employees who got together and why working from home was a good financial decision.