Being sick is miserable enough on its own. Having to drag yourself into work while you’re sick makes the situation even worse.

This retail employee found herself in that situation after coming down with a virus during the holiday season.

She tried to call out, but the company’s blackout policy made it clear that missing work could put her job at risk.

So she did what many employees do when they feel they don’t have a choice and showed up sick.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the kind of illness she could quietly work through. So, she spent hours throwing up while trying to help customers and make it through her shift.

Then a manager approached her with a request she never expected to hear.

Read on to see what happened next.

“Can you please stop throwing up? You’re making the customers uncomfortable.”

When I worked for a big box retail store, we had black out days around the holidays where unless you were literally hospitalized, you were written up twice and at risk of losing your job if you didn’t show up to work .

I, unfortunately, came down with a virus or the flu mid-season and was throwing up constantly. I tried to call in when I was threatened with the above action so I dragged myself into work and set up a stool and trash can next to me.

I would have to stop mid-interaction with customers to vomit into said trash can, and this went on for a few hours before one of my newer managers approached me.

As if it wasn’t pretty obvious what was going on, the manager asked what she was doing.

M: What are you doing?

Me: Trying to tough it out until closing.

M: Well…can you please stop throwing up? I’m getting customer complaints and it’s making them uncomfortable.

Thankfully, the general manager was a little smarter.

Me: …I’ll get right on that.

I was so blown away, all I could do is just sit there in shock. I ended up calling my general manager and had the assistant repeat what he just asked me and my GM was like, “What the **** is wrong with you, send her home.”

My shift manager argued he had no one to cover and my GM made him cover my shift so I could leave. I don’t miss retail.

Wow! And shame on those people who complained about her.

If you enjoyed this post, check out this post about a hardworking employee whose management refuses to give them one single break.

Let’s check out if the readers over at Reddit have ever dealt with something similar.

This sounds scary for customers.

This doesn’t sound good at all.

Here’s a reader who dealt with a similar policy.

It usually works out this way.

The whole thing is just ridiculous.

Nobody wants to spend a shift throwing up into a trash can.

The employee already showed up when most people would’ve stayed home, and somehow that still wasn’t enough for this manager.

At least the general manager had some common sense. If someone is actively throwing up at work, sending them home shouldn’t require a debate.