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An important lesson to learn in life is that family is more important than work, even though you have to do your best while working.
What would you do if you had been working very long shifts for months at your job, but when your grandma was very sick, you wanted to take a day off to spend with her, but your manager refused to let you?
That is what happened to the friend of the guy writing this story, so since he was only 17, he reported his long hours to HR and got his manager fired.
It is amazing that this young man knew how important work-life balance really is, and he took action to protect it. Read through the full story below and see if you think he did the right thing.
This happened to my friend last week and he gave me permission to post here.
Alright, so my friend, let’s call him J, is a senior in high school working at a photography studio.
He is working a lot of hours.
J is often scheduled 13 hour shifts without a food break at this job, which he doesn’t mind because it’s good money and he’s a hard worker. This becomes important later on.
J came home from work on a Wednesday and was told by his mom that his grandmother is on her last leg of life, and that they’re going to see her for what will probably be the last time before she dies that upcoming Saturday. So, 3 days away.
Taking a day off shouldn’t be a big deal, especially for such an important reason.
Unfortunately, J’s work schedule was already posted and he was scheduled to work all day that Saturday.
So, J did what any good employee does. He messaged his manager explaining the situation and says he needs someone to cover his shift that Saturday as he will not be coming in.
The manager should find someone to cover for him.
Manager gave him a list of people who weren’t working that day for him to text and ask if they can pick up the shift. J sends messages out to all of them and is told by every single employee off that day that they are busy Saturday and cannot work.
So, J reaches back out to his manager to let him know he can’t get a cover. J is then told by his manager that if he does not come in that day, he will be fired.
Wow. Absolutely heartless.
When he states that it will likely be the last time he ever sees his grandma alive, she says that she does not care and that he better come into work that Saturday.
This is where the revenge begins. J didn’t take so well to being told his manager didn’t care about his grandma dying, so he decided to pay a little phone call to HR.
Good for him. Honestly, he should have told HR long before this.
Remember those 13 hour shifts without breaks J works? Well, J is 17 and in his state, people under 18 cannot work more than 9 consecutive hours – ESPECIALLY without a break.
J explains all of this to HR on top of the situation concerning his grandma. J also puts in his 2 weeks on top of this. HR tells him that he’ll follow up with him soon and that something will be done about all of this.
The manager definitely deserved to be fired.
That Friday, J came into work and his manager was gone, replaced by a new manager from another store. J also had been asked by the new manager if he would consider staying and he agreed to it.
So, now J is still employed and much happier, and his manager is without a job. After he finished texting me all of this, he added “don’t mess with me and I won’t mess with you.”
It is crazy that the manager was having him work so much to begin with. Honestly, HR should have caught this long before it was reported. Better late than never, though.
Read on to see what the people in the comments have to say about this story.
Grandma would be proud.
That manager was a terrible human being.
HR knew they had to fire the guy.
This kid could have sued the company.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this postabout a man who thought he was staying with his brother for a month in his 1-bedroom Tokyo apartment, then got hit with a list of local hotels.
The rules are strict when it comes to underage workers.
You have to be a special kind of heartless to not let someone see their dying grandmother.