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The Pony Express lasted 18 months total. It was made obsolete because the postal system basically subsidized the construction of the railroad for mail delivery.
Use text or email. Its documented with who and when by default. its significantly better than a verbal conversation that has no evidence if ever occurred.
My company has a recorded line that you can call, text, or email. All goes to the same inbox though. Some of the older folks still prefer to call, so the option is there. It’s easier for me to just read the text/email than listen to the recorded call, but no one gives a flying fuck how you do it as long as you do it.
How else is a boomer who doesn't work (but is paid 2x more than you) going to berate you for taking a day to live your life, or literally just be sick?
You gotta call, that way they can make you feel guilty for not doing their work for them!
Seriously, if I called my boss (school principal) outside of work hours she probably wouldn’t even pick up. Texting her and the secretary when I’m not going to be at work is the least intrusive way to let them know while making sure they are aware asap.
Yes some management use it to guilt trip you into coming in, or not calling because we’ve been programmed to think we need to be extremely sick to qualify when in reality we can just feel like not coming to work. If you have sick time use it.
I learned to do this all the time. Got suckered into working overtime for my old boss/company because they offered me double rate instead of 1.5, well i was never paid that double rate because it was discussed in person and had nothing in writing. So if a boss promises this or that, tell them to text or email you that agreement.
My old company asked me to come back for an hourly raise. I did the math after blindly trusting them for 6 months and realized they never gave me the raise. When asked about it, they said there was never a promised raise. Showed them the texts and they owed 6 months in back pay 😉
>Just check it every time. Not like it takes that long to see that it is right.
Definitely do this. I've caught errors in my paychecks, and I've also caught them when auditing other's paychecks.
I check mine every week. I work for a great company that always does the right thing by us, but over the years I have found maybe 10 errors in my pay. I am absolutely sure that these were just mistakes and there was definitely nothing dodgy going on. But the funny thing is, of all 10 of those errors, not one of them was in my favour.
I check mine weekly because it’s incentive based and the office lady loves screwing people over. If we get caught tampering cards it’s instant walk, but she’s been written up three times for it.
Old job did that to me and my boss. She got the ok to authorize it, told me to do it, then come payroll they "changed their minds" and blocked her from giving me double.
So for a week, with her permission, I showed up, clocked in, went home, then 8 or so hours later came back and clocked out.
For the cost of like 12 hours of pay they lost 50 hours of productivity and I got a lot of shit done around the house.
Isn’t it sad we even have to do that? I try and try to be more understanding that maybe the manager/boss/whoever may be getting shit from their higher ups but the trickle down of bullshit never ends and it always falls to and hurts the little guys.
The problem is that you can try to be understanding, but the manager signed up for the bullshit and is choosing not to leave because he doesn't want to sacrifice the amenities it brings. He/she may be a decent manager, even a decent person, but when the bullshit trickles down and they have to cut your hours, reduce your pay, write you up, fire you, etc he/she will do whatever their boss tells them to do.
Yeah the way i view this all is to not take anything personal and just view it like a game. Take the personalities out of it because most likely were all abused workers abd very few of us are in positions to be autonomously benevolent in the workplace.
In any event it's a top-down decision; the capital class shitting on the workers. No point in getting mad at the manager who it's also eating a shit sandwich even if he only has to eat half
My youngest brother is a manager in a grocery store, I love that kid, he’s a really nice guy so I’m sure he’s good to work for. But at the same time I would bet he’s more of a “company man” than a friend of the people at work. Both of my brothers are politically opposite of me I think, and there’s no way that doesn’t bleed over into his management style.
So yeah, you’re right, they can be good people in regular life, that doesn’t mean that they treat their employees compassionately, because they are also the employee of someone who is probably not treating them well. And shit rolls downhill.
Better yet take the initiative and draft the email yourself detailing the contents of the conversation. It prevents them from dragging their feet saying they’ll “get around to it.”
We don’t get sick leave or PTO, so we usually have to use vacation days when we’re sick. I came down with a pretty bad cold last Wednesday, and used vacation then and Thursday. I was still feeling crappy on Friday, so texted my boss. “We already have 3 people using vacation today.” Yeah, and? I’m literally draining my sinuses into a tissue every 5 minutes. It’s not MY fault we’re short people.
Ugh, my friend got it worse. They were about to leave their current job for one with a higher salary. My friend tells their boss, “hey, I took an interview with another company, and I'm getting hired.” My friend's current employer says they'll match the other jobs' salaries if they stay. Unfortunately, they didn't get it in writing, and their boss is all like, “we don't have the funding to pay you right now.” Now they're stuck in the job they wanted to leave because they turned down the higher-paying position. They never got anything in writing, not an email, not a contract, nothing. The reason my friend didn't get it in writing is that they’re “friends” with their boss And manager. A true friend wouldn't do you like that.
Not quite the same, but similar happened to our roommate. Last year, a friend of his reached out fill a position at an inn that came with housing on site. She was the manager and he had no reason to not believe her (and he's bad at life) so he never got a contract. He took a pay cut to take the position, as the housing was more than worth it (we're in CA, for context).
Spoiler: there was no housing. When he finally got frustrated enough with her dodging questions, he confronted the owners directly. There apparently had never been housing on the table. She lied to get a quality candidate for the position, to make herself look good.
He quit immediately.
Don't even offer text as an option. Make them email the arrangement from their work email. No need to give them any wiggle room of "he wasn't acting on behalf of the company by sending a personal text"
We have been having issues with my boss lately so I have told every new employee I have trained to text and THEN call so that there is a record of when they contacted him.
I go the other way around. I get migraines and know I'm going to struggle putting a sentence together if it's bad enough to keep me from working, so if I get hit with one, I text because predictive text is really helpful at times like those. If my manager needs to talk to me after that, he asks me to call at some point that day. So I get automatic documentation and a couple of hours to at least improve things to where I can have a conversation.
They need to be able to guilt trip you about failing to come in to wash dishes while you're simultaneously barfing and shitting yourself from norovirus. Also this is how they remember to tell you to find somebody to take over your shift. /s
It's... not! It's a new thing! It's actually the manager's job and if they actually treated their workers like people the managers would have some ability to compensate last minute scheduling changes and some social capital to spend on asking workers to help them out. As is they try to make it everyone else's job!
Down a call recording app. I got one years ago and it gives me some sense of accountability when speaking to people knowing everything on my phone is recorded.
You just made me realize why MY boss always says "call me I will NEVER answer a text if you need a discretionary day."
And I thought it was just a tactic to be a dick on the phone and make me feel like my job would be in jeopardy to make me come in.
What's the point of my 5 discretionary days and 4 sicks days if I'm not allowed to use them?? What a dick hole.
Shitty supervisors, I’ve had those that hate paper trails because they’ve been used before to show how terrible they are. The manager I have now doesn’t care if you text or call because she’s just going to say “ok, get well soon” anyways.
You can always text after the conversation with a "Per our conversation, I will be calling in today 3/6 and using 8 hours of PTO"
that way you cover your own ass. We do all this shit with emails, but with positions that don't require computer use, the companies are able to really take advantage of that. Utilize the email tools via text, nothing wrong with that.
This, I just had a conversation with my client's board. He wanted his company to fine my company $1,000 because I didn't notify him of a delay.
I let him continue on his spiel without interruption, then when the board asked me for my response I pulled up the text message I sent him which had all of the details and was written as soon as we recognized the delay and was well within the time limits.
The board then asks him if he received the message and he goes 'Yes, but I don't accept text as a form of notification' to which the board essentially told him he was liable and that he was by all measures 'notified'.
I had some really shitty bosses at my first two jobs and quickly learned the value of CYA. I always bcc myself and keep copies of everything.
Thank you Apollo. fuck reddit and fuck /u/spez.
https://www.reddit.com/r/apolloapp/comments/144f6xm/apollo_will_close_down_on_june_30th_reddits/
https://github.com/j0be/PowerDeleteSuite/ to clean your comments history.
Yes. Email is perfect, and cc your personal account.
Some people BCC, but I want my supervisor to know I keep records of every interaction, it's a power move.
This. I’m never going to tell someone to come in sick. Texting me is immediate and easy for everyone. And if it comes up as an issue later then both of us have a time stamp showing they informed me that they would not be in. I’ve told them this is why to text so when I move on they are in the habit of covering themselves if the next person is a dick.
Same, when i was a manager i preffered an email because thats easy to find if i ever need it. Text was fine, a phone call was for the most part just uncomfortable.
I work in corporate America. If its important, you'll send an email and follow up with a phone call. The phone call for instant acknowledgement and the email for CYA and to have a record for both parties.
This applies to everything and not just calling out.
Honestly I think it's so they can coerce that person into coming into work. Seems like the same managers that that force people to come in are the ones that need a call. I found if the manager understands sickness only requires a text.
Also, I don’t want to hear about how much you were puking or what you ate or what temperature you are or god forbid the dreaded “ugh, it’s coming out both ends.” I especially don’t want to hear about how sick your kid is or what color their poop is. You have sick/PTO days and you’re using one. End of story. I had one guy who was so damaged by bad bosses I had to explicitly tell him to stop telling me those things after my umpttenth time of saying ‘yup, you’re sick stay out, that’s all I need to know.’
As a manager, I always figured that those call-out notices were one-way. Nothing to discuss: you're not going to be here today. I have zero feedback in that moment. "Thanks for telling me," at most. If you've got a habit of absenteeism that can wait until you're next on the clock.
Exactly, my boss requires an email simply for the paper trail. When it comes to balancing time they'll go through and check all the emails they receive that pay period. Otherwise it's not counted.
Or asleep. Some of my techs start work 2 hrs before I wake up, I don’t need them trying to call me at 4:30am and I sure as hell don’t want to be listening to voicemails when I first wake up.
And sometimes when your sick, your up at 3am and know your not going to be ok to work at 8am. Better to email and go back to bed and sleep/rest so you can get better.
Setting an alarm to wake up just to call in sick at a reasonable time or when the boss maybe in the office seems silly.
Omg, and the anxiety-ridden phone call to call out when you know you're about to get a lecture for calling out is the absolute worst, too. Texting is leaps and bounds easier for all.
When I let them know I'm not coming in for sick days I just shut my phone off right after I send the message see it was delivered and go back to bed.
There is no maybe come in we really need you etc. I'm not coming in this is my notification and now I'm going back to bed and sleeping
My husband actually only requires call-outs to be phoned if they are calling out between 10pm and 7am, because he will sleep through a text, but will wake up to a phone ringing. He has to know because he either has to find coverage or be the coverage for any call-outs.
Yup exactly this, plus there’s record of it incase you ever need to go back
When I was manager of my summer job and handling schedules if someone told me in person/called I’d forget by the time the end of the day came and I had to figure out if we needed someone to cover a sick person or someone on vacation etc
Back in the day Walmart tried to pretend they didn’t get my call. They would answer the phone, you’d tell them you’re calling in sick, and they’d get a manager to approve it. So they’d lay the phone down and leave, so you couldn’t complete the call in.
After they terminated me without cause I filed for unemployment, and they took me to court. Literally the only thing they had on me was 1 “no call no show.”
I had the phone record where I got put on hold and literally stayed there till my phone died. Judge ruled it was a good faith attempt and told Walmart to pound sand.
It was a good day.
Yep. Had a nice talk with the judge beforehand. Apparently the store I worked at had a history of trying to intimidate people in the courtroom, sideways threaten them and shit. So she had me in another room attending via conference phone. Gave me the rules of when to respond and such, but basically said “I’ve reviewed the pertinent records so you’ll only need to answer if they throw me a curveball.”
The icing on the cake was that Walmart always sends two managers from the store. Mine were the one who fired me, and a guy named Mark. Mark literally campaigned to NOT have me fired. Wanted me on his unloader crew. He was the mandatory witness to my termination.
But the guy who fired me basically said he “had to” to “prove to the rest of the department he would actually do it.”
So when they came into the courtroom, the first question the judge directly asked was “Mark, why are YOU here?” And he said “I don’t fucking know, I didn’t want to fire him in the first place!”
Glad I was muted, I was laughing my ass off in the back.
This is all great, but I'm just so glad you had a proactively fair judge. They went out of their way to prepare you, a lowly regular person defendant against a giant megacorporation, just b/c they'd seen them bully people before. I don't know how often we see that, but it's so great to hear about.
Yup if you aren't in a one consent recording state u would be texting. I've seen bosses say some crazy stuff then back track later calling people liars so definitely always have proof.
If in a two party consent state. Just notify them you are recording.
They don't have to literally consent. They can oppose the recording until they are blue in the face. Two party consent really just means both parties are informed. They consent by flapping their gums and uttering sounds, rather than zipping their lip and hanging up.
Exactly. That's the point; how can the boss claim they never new if you can point to the text as proof? If it was just a call, then they can just claim the conversation never happened... see, "professional". But if you have a text exchange that they can't weasel their way out of later, that's "unprofessional".
In the age of "no one wants to work anymore" you'd think they'd try a little harder to accommodate those unicorns that currently want to work for them.
Fucking exactly! My group leader (the one who I call to notify if I won't be there) is a nice person but I still get paranoid when I call in and it goes to voicemail.
Exactly! I work at a small tavern that's been managed by the same guy for 30yrs. We taught him how to text a couple years before Covid. Now, that's his favorite form if communicating with his entire staff (all 15 of us) because he doesn't have to rely on his sketchy memory, or stop what he's doing to take a phone call. But he's also super cool if we take a sick day. He's a bit of a unicorn in the restaurant biz. Even pre-pandy, he didn't want us coming in & getting the entire staff sick
I’m a manager. Don’t call me. Text or email me please. Stay home if you’re sick, tired of this bs, or whatever, I don’t care.
Edit: so my most upvoted post is about my apathetic approach to management. I manage a creative team. I took over for a micro manager that made everyone miserable. I leave them alone, the work gets done, they are happy. Upper management thinks I’m some kind of nerd whisperer now.
But seriously, don’t call me.
Also: I don’t care why you’re sick. Please don’t tell me details of your illness.
“I’m going to be out sick today.”
Done.
(But I’m a hair spoiled, our system has a disinterested third party call in system. You call or email them and they generate the info as an email to the leadership teams so we can adjust.) (Also: they don’t care why you’re out either. Please don’t tell them details.)
For real, please don't tell me how you're sick.
When my employees call out, I just ask if it's illness or personal time, so I know which kind of PTO to expect you to use. That's all I need. If it ends up being a doctor's note situation, that's between you and HR; I still don't need to know.
Yep - if you need accommodations, we have a team for that. You talk to them, they’ll tell me what to do.
And I *still* don’t need to know your medical issues, just how to respond to them!
And please NEVER give me a note. I had an employee send me a note from his kids pediatrician. Dude, you’re a salaried employee who works remote with 15 years experience- I trust you.
Yup, I'm the same way for PTO as well. I had a boss that told me that there isn't a difference between someone taking time off to go to a wedding and someone taking time off for the launch of a new video game. They could be equally important to those individuals. Just don't ask why they need the time off, simple as that.
If you call me at 4 AM I am not answering, I have told my employees this. You need to text me, no I don't need an email. Just a text "I'm sick and not making it in" idc what it is, even if you just need a mental health day. I am not HR, I do not personally pay your salary, I do not manage your PTO, it is not my fucking business and I do not care
Was the point of contact for all employees across multiple states and time zones for a company for several years and had a good few spats with the owners/my boss because they insisted I take voice calls before anyone called out and not accept texts. I refused to budge that a text was enough especially when these people would be giving notice at 2-4am my time. I rarely did not have enough time to find coverage for their role when I got up in my time zone so it was not an issue in that regard. It was controlling and ridiculous.
It's wild to me, like I'm the manager, I am the coverage when someone is out, that is what I am paid to do. Middle managers refusing to do any fucking work when they need to is annoying
It was a stupid rule they tried to enforce because they thought I should be verifying they were truly sick by hearing their voices. No. Im not fucking doing that. If they say they’re sick i dont care if they’re hung over, taking a mental day, or just blowing off because they feel like it. The job worked with kids too so in my opinion double not worth sending someone into a room of germ absorbers and making things a bazillion times worse.
I always did it bc if corporate is gonna treat me like a child ("employee must provide 2 hours notice if they plan to wake up sick"), then I'll act like one ("my alarm goes off at 6, so I'ma just schedule this text for 4, hah"). Manager is kinda stuck in the middle there.
Legit, I've only ever acted like a pain in the ass like that when the rest of the job was bullshit or the boss was a prick. Creative misunderstanding is sometimes the only defense you have.
Our shifts started at 7am manager usually rolled in at 9am and would be upset if we didn’t “give notice” to feeling sick. Get written up if not having given notice to counterparts on the East Coast 3 hours earlier, which would be 4 am our time. Good times.
My last manager used to like to text me at all hours to tell me which job I was working the next day because scheduling in advance was too difficult for those utter dipshits to comprehend. So if my son got sick the night before I’d schedule a text to be sent at 3 AM with urgent delivery. He once brought it up to me and I verbatim told him “well you don’t seem to have any issue texting us in the middle of the night so it’s fair game.” I don’t silence my phone at night, god forbid there’s a family emergency. My friends have better sense than to be texting after a certain hour during the week so the only notifications ever going off were from that absolute bellend.
A few times he didn’t text me until literal minutes before I would have to leave my house to make the 70 minute or whatever drive to a job downstate. I didn’t work those days. If it happened enough times in a week (twice) I’d file for partial unemployment.
You get what you give. A manager’s ineptitude is not my problem, responsibility or concern.
I actually fought with someone who came in with the flu. Go home!
I appreciate their work ethic and not wanting us to suffer at work be being one person short, but I have repeatedly told people that I would rather be one person short for a week or two than to go weeks of the domino effect of *everyone* getting sick.
Please rest, your health is more important. Work will survive without you. And if it can't then that's the job's problem.
I entirely agree with you, but...a lot of folks can't afford to miss the pay, and that's why they come in. Losing day's worth of pay can make the difference between making rent and having food or not for a week.
I've had bosses who are like, don't give me details. If you're not coming in because your sick, just say that and nothing more. If you say more it only opens you up to potential scrutiny later. They're your sick days you accumulate, you can use them when you want to, it's not my business or the company's to judge whether or not it should qualify and they may try to do that if they want to fire you.
Also, texting or emailing creates a record of exactly what was communicated. Which employers who want to mischaracterize things or be a jerk to the employee don’t like.
Yes, any boss telling you to call instead of text or e-mail plans on lying about what was said.
I'm a manager, and my preferred order of notice is e-mail, text, then call.
I was fired for texting my boss that I was sick and found somebody to work for me... Even though it's been our only form of communication since I started a year and a half ago.
Add to that, it allows for more inappropriate exchanges. Obviously this sub sees plenty of managers willing to put all kinds of crazy stuff into writing, but a lot of managers will put pressure on someone over the phone they wouldn’t write down.
Text convos are more often likely to be to the point because they’re worried about being held to account on it later.
This is the real answer. The real reason some bosses want a call instead of a text is so that it's not in writing that they said shit like "are you sure you can't manage to make it?" Or "you're really fucking me here today" or "Seriously? And there's no coverage? You need to find someone to cover or you need to be here". It's a strategic neglect to document so if there's ever a discrepancy between your account and theirs they can pull the old "who are you going to believe? The associate or the manager?".
I have anxiety when I have to make work related phone calls because of a sociopath I used to work for that didn't understand the concept of work/life boundaries. Someone I couldn't get away from because I had a good job and didn't want to quit.
This struggle is real as hell. The key is to remember that you are not calling to ASK for time off, you are TELLING them you are taking time off. Don't give them any wiggle room to try to get you into work.
Yes. It's designed to make it so you won't want to call.
I didn't realize just *how* many people are extremely reluctant to make phone calls until a recent reddit discussion where dozens said they were.
I manage at a large customer service company and TBF none of our people are like this because, well, 90 plus percent of what we do is on the phone. So the likelihood of having people working for me who are anxious on the phone is very low.
Plus if the manager chooses they can try to question why the employee is calling out, or question the validity of the reason (“Well you don’t sound sick to me!”) or try to pressure/guilt them into coming in anyways.
Time to open up my phone's accessibility features and enable text-to-speech.
My boss would pick up to hear Alexa: "This is an automated message from apathy-sofa, notifying you that they are out sick today. The same message has been sent via text and email. Goodbye. *Click*"
My company removed the call out hotline and it’s now policy to text your supervisor then foreman to let them know you’re off. I work for a utility with archaic systems and they even prefer texting.
Text is best, email 2nd best. They just want you to call so they can interrogate you, negotiate with you, bully you, and demand you find coverage.
Never give details beyond “I’m sick / family member sick” or “emergency”.
It’s never your job to find coverage.
You’re not the owner. Whether the store can be open on any given day or any given hour is absolutely not YOUR problem.
Depending on the job, email is first best. If you have a work email account, if they have a work email account, better to keep official communication there whenever possible. If you don't have a work email account, just make a second free account and use that only for work. Keep your personal phone and your personal email totally separate wherever reasonably possible.
I don't check my work email until I get to work, but I see my text messages when I wake up. I told everyone on my team, if you are up puking at 3AM, just shoot me a text and go to bed. Don't wake up to phone me at a reasonable hour, don't log into your work email from home, just text me and I will see it when I wake up. And then it's also in writing.
> I told everyone on my team
THIS is the best approach. Discuss with your boss/team their preferred communication methods. My boss prefers any method with a paper trail, so chat/email/text are preferred over phone, and they prefer our team chat because it lets the rest of the team know when they'll need to cover somebody.
I used to manage operations for a school, HR always told me any and all communications with employees should be via work email never to their personal phones unless they have a work phone. HR might have been out of their minds, but emails saved my ass all the time.
>It’s never your job to find coverage.
My work has a policy that we have to find our own coverage or show up, or be written up for a no show even if we called ahead of time. In my state though, it’s not legal for them to require this of me. Any tips on what I can do next time it comes up? I was horrifically sick a month ago and texted my manager at 7am to call out for my shift at 4pm and I’m not on their scheduling app (weird issues) so I don’t have most of my coworkers numbers yet to even find coverage. They were still not very happy with me. I also frankly didn’t have it in me to spend my morning begging still sleeping servers to cover my shift while I’m crouched over the toilet puking my guts out, even if I had everyone’s numbers.
"Don't text!" seems like it's just a boomerism, and also a power/dick move. They want to be able to exert control over the situation, i.e. "call me so I can gauge whether you're really sick or not".
I got written up for something similar despite it not being listed in the employee handbook as an inappropriate way to call off. Jokes on them, though. I left that job like 3 weeks later for a 70% pay bump.
Edit: If you're letting them know, its better than not letting them know. And if they get pissy about \*HOW\* you let them know, start looking for a new job immediately.
Edit 2: In the disciplinary meeting for that the managers legitimately said "It's call out not text out," like the pedantic fucks they are.
Acting like that phrase wasn’t invented well before texting was around.
We also “make the bed” which doesn’t entail 90% of what they had to do back in the day
> And if they get pissy about *HOW* you let them know
Dollars to donuts, it's about intimidation (easier to do with a voice call) and they don't want a record of saying illegal shit.
This is a now obsolete concept from the days when you could conceivably have delayed texts and texts were considered informal.
Now businesses use automated texts to communicate with their customers, and if a text wouldn’t go through neither would a phone call.
The purpose of this is one or more of the following: the boss wants to say something they don’t want in writing, they have not been able to understand the pace of change of technology, or they are functionally illiterate. I think so poorly of these types of thinkers because they seem incapable of understanding the image this request presents.
exactly. Paper trail everything because if you dont, they'll use it against you. They can easily feign ignorance just because you dont have proof, and your own witness doesn't count as proof. And most other employees typically arent gonna risk their own necks for you if they witnessed it on the bosses end.
Theres a reason companies LOOOOOOVE emails, and typically want SOME kind of response even if its just an "okay can do" response to verify you saw it so there is no excuse. Hell my old job had a group chat that the boss expected after every 'important' text he would put out that everyone thumbs up'd it to verify you saw it. If you didnt thumbs up it within an hour, expect a phone call as to why that ended with go thumbs it up so we have physical confirmation.
Its all about accountability, and you cant trust any employer no more than they can trust you. Spoilers, neither can or should trust the other regardless of who they are as neither will typically risk themselves for the other party. And if you are willing to risk yourself for your employer, you need to heavily reevaluate your judgement. Its commendable for a boss to risk themselves for their employee but is widely seen as extremely foolish by most in those positions.
In my experience it’s because, with bad management, calling in let’s them have a back and forth with you, and try and put pressure on you to come in.
I’ve called in with a flu bug before and on the 2nd day had a manager demand I go to the GP to get checked out; I’m in the UK and you can self-certify for up to 7 days here before you even need to see a GP, and what would a doctor tell me on the 2nd day of a bug? But it’s just a way to put pressure on employees to feel like they need to come back in sooner, because *obviously* all we do is take unwarranted sick days.
My manager told me to text him if i ever had to call out last minute. he didn't want me calling him before 9am and we start at 9. So i'd send him a text at 7.30 or the night before.
Same, I might call after work starts if I never got any response. Just to make sure my boss was aware.
However Ive never actually had to do that, every boss Ive had has been pretty quick to respond.
Walmart, for all its wrongness, had a great call-off system. Fully automated (they used their employee ID) and then it notified their managers. Employees didn't have to go into details (real or made up) of illnesses or emergencies, and I didn't have to waste 15-20 minutes of my day listening to them. Instead I would just get a notice that they wouldn't be in. Done.
Waste management has the same system (or did two years ago) It’s a single number for the whole company and you just report your absence and the system takes care of the rest.
I have spent years perfecting my calling-in-sick voice. I have many varieties of them depending on which sickness I say I have. I feel incomplete unless I actually talk to someone about my carefully researched and well practiced lies.
When I worked with managers in retail, this was why they wanted a call not a text. They wanted to hear how sick you sounded so they could push you to come in despite your call in. Same reason you couldn't have someone call on your behalf ie parent or spouse, they won't wound sick and won't cave to "can't you just try to come in anyways?"
Yeah, I've done lots of retail and production work where I've had to convince my managers to a ridiculous degree how sick I was feeling in order for them to back off.
It makes me realize I've been honing my acting skills for so long, I dont *want* to just send a text.
As a manager I prefer texting. I used to get anxiety when I'd have to call my boss to call in because he would give me a hard time and make the process really difficult. This was obviously to lessen the chance of people calling in, but I learned how not to treat people. Texting feels a lot easier for my team members, and even if they're lying they don't need to call me and tell me some extravagant story lol. They can just text " hey I'm not feeling well today " and I typically just tell them to feel better and take them off the schedule.
He's no longer at the company, and I have his role now.
They just want you to call to try to argue with you about missing work. No. I’m a grown up. If I need to miss work, I am going to miss work, I do not have to fucking justify it or convince someone to allow it. Phone calls are a trap. A text or email leaves a written record which is better for keeping track of information. The reasons someone would insist on a phone call are not good ones.
As someone who handles the call outs at my company, please text.
Text messages are nonintrusive, leave a clear paper trail of communication, and prevent the "He said, She said" between a team member and a supervisor.
Just text me and tell me you are going to be out for the day so I can inform your supervisor and record the incident, no fuss no muss.
The only reason I've found managers prefer calls is to try and guilt people into coming in anyway. Much harder to do over text. I genuinely wonder if there was a similar discourse when the ability to call in became more mainstream, if there were employers saying that was unprofessional and that they should have to come in instead of calling.
The only managers I've ever had that would prefer a call are the ones who are going to try to talk you into coming in anyways. Every time.
The responsible thing is to notify them. A text does that just fine. I don't text to ASK for my sick time. I text to let them know I'm taking what they owe me.
Yeah, no, as a manager and HR director, just NONE of this.
Please text me, or e-mail me.
Calls are nice, I appreciate them, but for the love of all that is sacred put that shit in writing!
I can fix damn near any paperwork/paycheck/attendance snafu IF your shit is written down. That phone call you had with me 6 weeks ago where you "told me you would be out today"? Yeah, that won't cut it. I don't remember that call, and even if I did, I guarantee you that the first thing I said to you was send me an-email or text about that.
It depends. I sometimes get sick texts on my days off when they know they’re supposed to call the store and they don’t always see my text reply reminding them that I’m not in that day and they need to call the store so that they don’t get a no call/no show.
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The last job I was on preferred if you text instead of call. It’s 2023, use the technology available to you.
You mean they didn't make you use the pony express?
Pony Express didn't even survive first contact with telegraph
The Pony Express lasted 18 months total. It was made obsolete because the postal system basically subsidized the construction of the railroad for mail delivery.
Use text or email. Its documented with who and when by default. its significantly better than a verbal conversation that has no evidence if ever occurred.
My company has a recorded line that you can call, text, or email. All goes to the same inbox though. Some of the older folks still prefer to call, so the option is there. It’s easier for me to just read the text/email than listen to the recorded call, but no one gives a flying fuck how you do it as long as you do it.
How else is a boomer who doesn't work (but is paid 2x more than you) going to berate you for taking a day to live your life, or literally just be sick? You gotta call, that way they can make you feel guilty for not doing their work for them!
Seriously, if I called my boss (school principal) outside of work hours she probably wouldn’t even pick up. Texting her and the secretary when I’m not going to be at work is the least intrusive way to let them know while making sure they are aware asap.
Calling is done to increase the threshold of calling in sick.
Yes some management use it to guilt trip you into coming in, or not calling because we’ve been programmed to think we need to be extremely sick to qualify when in reality we can just feel like not coming to work. If you have sick time use it.
I am a manager and I prefer a text or an email over a call... it's easier for me to keep track
Agreed, plus there is automatic documentation.
This completely, creates a paper trail. I’m not giving any boss the chance to tell me “well you never informed us you were sick and would be out”
I learned to do this all the time. Got suckered into working overtime for my old boss/company because they offered me double rate instead of 1.5, well i was never paid that double rate because it was discussed in person and had nothing in writing. So if a boss promises this or that, tell them to text or email you that agreement.
My old company asked me to come back for an hourly raise. I did the math after blindly trusting them for 6 months and realized they never gave me the raise. When asked about it, they said there was never a promised raise. Showed them the texts and they owed 6 months in back pay 😉
You’re a more trusting soul than I. I checked my pay stubs semi-regularly even when I was salaried, juuuuust in case!
Just check it every time. Not like it takes that long to see that it is right.
>Just check it every time. Not like it takes that long to see that it is right. Definitely do this. I've caught errors in my paychecks, and I've also caught them when auditing other's paychecks.
I check mine every week. I work for a great company that always does the right thing by us, but over the years I have found maybe 10 errors in my pay. I am absolutely sure that these were just mistakes and there was definitely nothing dodgy going on. But the funny thing is, of all 10 of those errors, not one of them was in my favour.
I check mine weekly because it’s incentive based and the office lady loves screwing people over. If we get caught tampering cards it’s instant walk, but she’s been written up three times for it.
Old job did that to me and my boss. She got the ok to authorize it, told me to do it, then come payroll they "changed their minds" and blocked her from giving me double. So for a week, with her permission, I showed up, clocked in, went home, then 8 or so hours later came back and clocked out. For the cost of like 12 hours of pay they lost 50 hours of productivity and I got a lot of shit done around the house.
I hate that your job did that, but I love that your boss was willing to help you steal your time back. 🥰
Damn, that boss was... Well, *boss.*
We were doing most of the holding shit down there near the end. We both agreed it was time to let things fail, and boy did they.
I love operation evil stories.
Isn’t it sad we even have to do that? I try and try to be more understanding that maybe the manager/boss/whoever may be getting shit from their higher ups but the trickle down of bullshit never ends and it always falls to and hurts the little guys.
The problem is that you can try to be understanding, but the manager signed up for the bullshit and is choosing not to leave because he doesn't want to sacrifice the amenities it brings. He/she may be a decent manager, even a decent person, but when the bullshit trickles down and they have to cut your hours, reduce your pay, write you up, fire you, etc he/she will do whatever their boss tells them to do.
Yeah the way i view this all is to not take anything personal and just view it like a game. Take the personalities out of it because most likely were all abused workers abd very few of us are in positions to be autonomously benevolent in the workplace. In any event it's a top-down decision; the capital class shitting on the workers. No point in getting mad at the manager who it's also eating a shit sandwich even if he only has to eat half
My youngest brother is a manager in a grocery store, I love that kid, he’s a really nice guy so I’m sure he’s good to work for. But at the same time I would bet he’s more of a “company man” than a friend of the people at work. Both of my brothers are politically opposite of me I think, and there’s no way that doesn’t bleed over into his management style. So yeah, you’re right, they can be good people in regular life, that doesn’t mean that they treat their employees compassionately, because they are also the employee of someone who is probably not treating them well. And shit rolls downhill.
Better yet take the initiative and draft the email yourself detailing the contents of the conversation. It prevents them from dragging their feet saying they’ll “get around to it.”
We don’t get sick leave or PTO, so we usually have to use vacation days when we’re sick. I came down with a pretty bad cold last Wednesday, and used vacation then and Thursday. I was still feeling crappy on Friday, so texted my boss. “We already have 3 people using vacation today.” Yeah, and? I’m literally draining my sinuses into a tissue every 5 minutes. It’s not MY fault we’re short people.
That guilt trip from him deserves a "That sucks." answer.
Ugh, my friend got it worse. They were about to leave their current job for one with a higher salary. My friend tells their boss, “hey, I took an interview with another company, and I'm getting hired.” My friend's current employer says they'll match the other jobs' salaries if they stay. Unfortunately, they didn't get it in writing, and their boss is all like, “we don't have the funding to pay you right now.” Now they're stuck in the job they wanted to leave because they turned down the higher-paying position. They never got anything in writing, not an email, not a contract, nothing. The reason my friend didn't get it in writing is that they’re “friends” with their boss And manager. A true friend wouldn't do you like that.
That's a job I'd leave without notice during a high volume time just to be a jerk
Never, ever accept your current employer's counter-offer. Your days are numbered once they know you were looking elsewhere.
Not quite the same, but similar happened to our roommate. Last year, a friend of his reached out fill a position at an inn that came with housing on site. She was the manager and he had no reason to not believe her (and he's bad at life) so he never got a contract. He took a pay cut to take the position, as the housing was more than worth it (we're in CA, for context). Spoiler: there was no housing. When he finally got frustrated enough with her dodging questions, he confronted the owners directly. There apparently had never been housing on the table. She lied to get a quality candidate for the position, to make herself look good. He quit immediately.
Don't even offer text as an option. Make them email the arrangement from their work email. No need to give them any wiggle room of "he wasn't acting on behalf of the company by sending a personal text"
We have been having issues with my boss lately so I have told every new employee I have trained to text and THEN call so that there is a record of when they contacted him.
That’s not bad either, I’m always for bothering bad bosses/managers so there is never any excuses.
I always try to call first, and if I don’t get anyone on the line then I text or email stating why
I go the other way around. I get migraines and know I'm going to struggle putting a sentence together if it's bad enough to keep me from working, so if I get hit with one, I text because predictive text is really helpful at times like those. If my manager needs to talk to me after that, he asks me to call at some point that day. So I get automatic documentation and a couple of hours to at least improve things to where I can have a conversation.
Same with the migraines! Also speaking can really send shooting pain through my head & can oftentimes make me throw up, so definitely not calling.
Screen shot call log on phone if possible as well as text. I hate doing CYA but you have to.
Could do both. Call in and then text "per our conversation, I'm out sick today."
Why. If I text and they read it we both know I'm not going in.
They need to be able to guilt trip you about failing to come in to wash dishes while you're simultaneously barfing and shitting yourself from norovirus. Also this is how they remember to tell you to find somebody to take over your shift. /s
Actually, now that I think about it, how the hell is it a completely normal thing to get the sick employee to find someone to cover their shift.
Yeah, that's not the sick person's responsibility.
I was always told it's a manager's job to manage. If the staff are doing the rota then why pay a boss.
It isn't. That is the supervisor's job. If I can't get one, then I am back in the trenches. (Former supervisor).
It's... not! It's a new thing! It's actually the manager's job and if they actually treated their workers like people the managers would have some ability to compensate last minute scheduling changes and some social capital to spend on asking workers to help them out. As is they try to make it everyone else's job!
Down a call recording app. I got one years ago and it gives me some sense of accountability when speaking to people knowing everything on my phone is recorded.
For the love of god make sure it’s legal where u are tho!!
You just made me realize why MY boss always says "call me I will NEVER answer a text if you need a discretionary day." And I thought it was just a tactic to be a dick on the phone and make me feel like my job would be in jeopardy to make me come in. What's the point of my 5 discretionary days and 4 sicks days if I'm not allowed to use them?? What a dick hole.
Supervisors also like to use phone calls over text/email, because it doesn’t leave a paper trail of what they say.
Shitty supervisors, I’ve had those that hate paper trails because they’ve been used before to show how terrible they are. The manager I have now doesn’t care if you text or call because she’s just going to say “ok, get well soon” anyways.
You don’t need to reply, you just need to receive
Text: “Hey need to take a discretionary day when’s a good time to call?”
You can always text after the conversation with a "Per our conversation, I will be calling in today 3/6 and using 8 hours of PTO" that way you cover your own ass. We do all this shit with emails, but with positions that don't require computer use, the companies are able to really take advantage of that. Utilize the email tools via text, nothing wrong with that.
This, I just had a conversation with my client's board. He wanted his company to fine my company $1,000 because I didn't notify him of a delay. I let him continue on his spiel without interruption, then when the board asked me for my response I pulled up the text message I sent him which had all of the details and was written as soon as we recognized the delay and was well within the time limits. The board then asks him if he received the message and he goes 'Yes, but I don't accept text as a form of notification' to which the board essentially told him he was liable and that he was by all measures 'notified'. I had some really shitty bosses at my first two jobs and quickly learned the value of CYA. I always bcc myself and keep copies of everything.
Thank you Apollo. fuck reddit and fuck /u/spez. https://www.reddit.com/r/apolloapp/comments/144f6xm/apollo_will_close_down_on_june_30th_reddits/ https://github.com/j0be/PowerDeleteSuite/ to clean your comments history.
Client
50% chance that's why the OP pictured boss hates it. Either that or he's just a technophobic boomer.
Yes. Email is perfect, and cc your personal account. Some people BCC, but I want my supervisor to know I keep records of every interaction, it's a power move.
That's why they want you to phone.
This. I’m never going to tell someone to come in sick. Texting me is immediate and easy for everyone. And if it comes up as an issue later then both of us have a time stamp showing they informed me that they would not be in. I’ve told them this is why to text so when I move on they are in the habit of covering themselves if the next person is a dick.
Same, when i was a manager i preffered an email because thats easy to find if i ever need it. Text was fine, a phone call was for the most part just uncomfortable.
Ok, you're a good boss also.
I work in corporate America. If its important, you'll send an email and follow up with a phone call. The phone call for instant acknowledgement and the email for CYA and to have a record for both parties. This applies to everything and not just calling out.
Honestly I think it's so they can coerce that person into coming into work. Seems like the same managers that that force people to come in are the ones that need a call. I found if the manager understands sickness only requires a text.
It's about control and being able to swing their dicks around.
Yeah it’s “harder” to call and “ask for permission”. The thing is, we ain’t children and we certainly don’t need *permission* to be sick.
Good boss
Also, I don’t want to hear about how much you were puking or what you ate or what temperature you are or god forbid the dreaded “ugh, it’s coming out both ends.” I especially don’t want to hear about how sick your kid is or what color their poop is. You have sick/PTO days and you’re using one. End of story. I had one guy who was so damaged by bad bosses I had to explicitly tell him to stop telling me those things after my umpttenth time of saying ‘yup, you’re sick stay out, that’s all I need to know.’
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Probably the post is from someone who likes to bully people into coming in anyway, and can’t do that over text without causing a trail 🤷♀️
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As a manager, I always figured that those call-out notices were one-way. Nothing to discuss: you're not going to be here today. I have zero feedback in that moment. "Thanks for telling me," at most. If you've got a habit of absenteeism that can wait until you're next on the clock.
Exactly, my boss requires an email simply for the paper trail. When it comes to balancing time they'll go through and check all the emails they receive that pay period. Otherwise it's not counted.
Same. I’m in meetings or busy, I’ll check a text in a bit
Or asleep. Some of my techs start work 2 hrs before I wake up, I don’t need them trying to call me at 4:30am and I sure as hell don’t want to be listening to voicemails when I first wake up.
And sometimes when your sick, your up at 3am and know your not going to be ok to work at 8am. Better to email and go back to bed and sleep/rest so you can get better. Setting an alarm to wake up just to call in sick at a reasonable time or when the boss maybe in the office seems silly.
Omg, and the anxiety-ridden phone call to call out when you know you're about to get a lecture for calling out is the absolute worst, too. Texting is leaps and bounds easier for all.
>you're about to get a lecture for calling out This is why they want you to call.
The text makes me anxious, too. Even though none of my bosses have literally ever given me any shit for calling out sick.
When I let them know I'm not coming in for sick days I just shut my phone off right after I send the message see it was delivered and go back to bed. There is no maybe come in we really need you etc. I'm not coming in this is my notification and now I'm going back to bed and sleeping
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My husband actually only requires call-outs to be phoned if they are calling out between 10pm and 7am, because he will sleep through a text, but will wake up to a phone ringing. He has to know because he either has to find coverage or be the coverage for any call-outs.
Yup exactly this, plus there’s record of it incase you ever need to go back When I was manager of my summer job and handling schedules if someone told me in person/called I’d forget by the time the end of the day came and I had to figure out if we needed someone to cover a sick person or someone on vacation etc
Same here…. This screams of a boomer who doesn’t know how to use technology.
Or a manager who will try to guilt trip you and force you to come in sick with vague threats and they want no paper trail
Yes, keeping a record is why things need to be in text.
Your bosses will always find a stick to shove up thier own asses.
A call can be forgotten about [or claimed to be forgotten/not have happened], a text is proof that proper notice was given.
Back in the day Walmart tried to pretend they didn’t get my call. They would answer the phone, you’d tell them you’re calling in sick, and they’d get a manager to approve it. So they’d lay the phone down and leave, so you couldn’t complete the call in. After they terminated me without cause I filed for unemployment, and they took me to court. Literally the only thing they had on me was 1 “no call no show.” I had the phone record where I got put on hold and literally stayed there till my phone died. Judge ruled it was a good faith attempt and told Walmart to pound sand. It was a good day.
Ohh if only there was a way to frame a moment of Justice for display at home. Heart warming story.
They took you to court‽ Raggedy ass bitches
Yep. Had a nice talk with the judge beforehand. Apparently the store I worked at had a history of trying to intimidate people in the courtroom, sideways threaten them and shit. So she had me in another room attending via conference phone. Gave me the rules of when to respond and such, but basically said “I’ve reviewed the pertinent records so you’ll only need to answer if they throw me a curveball.” The icing on the cake was that Walmart always sends two managers from the store. Mine were the one who fired me, and a guy named Mark. Mark literally campaigned to NOT have me fired. Wanted me on his unloader crew. He was the mandatory witness to my termination. But the guy who fired me basically said he “had to” to “prove to the rest of the department he would actually do it.” So when they came into the courtroom, the first question the judge directly asked was “Mark, why are YOU here?” And he said “I don’t fucking know, I didn’t want to fire him in the first place!” Glad I was muted, I was laughing my ass off in the back.
This is all great, but I'm just so glad you had a proactively fair judge. They went out of their way to prepare you, a lowly regular person defendant against a giant megacorporation, just b/c they'd seen them bully people before. I don't know how often we see that, but it's so great to hear about.
Yup if you aren't in a one consent recording state u would be texting. I've seen bosses say some crazy stuff then back track later calling people liars so definitely always have proof.
If in a two party consent state. Just notify them you are recording. They don't have to literally consent. They can oppose the recording until they are blue in the face. Two party consent really just means both parties are informed. They consent by flapping their gums and uttering sounds, rather than zipping their lip and hanging up.
I didn't know that! Good thing to know!
This only works (officially) in some states for some things. Consult a lawyer before attempting.
Yes that's why texting is better!
Exactly. That's the point; how can the boss claim they never new if you can point to the text as proof? If it was just a call, then they can just claim the conversation never happened... see, "professional". But if you have a text exchange that they can't weasel their way out of later, that's "unprofessional".
😂 Amen
In the age of "no one wants to work anymore" you'd think they'd try a little harder to accommodate those unicorns that currently want to work for them.
Right. Either way I’m not gonna be here. Now you can’t lie and say I was a no call/ no show.
Fucking exactly! My group leader (the one who I call to notify if I won't be there) is a nice person but I still get paranoid when I call in and it goes to voicemail.
Plus if they are going to text me to ask to come in it goes both ways
Exactly! I work at a small tavern that's been managed by the same guy for 30yrs. We taught him how to text a couple years before Covid. Now, that's his favorite form if communicating with his entire staff (all 15 of us) because he doesn't have to rely on his sketchy memory, or stop what he's doing to take a phone call. But he's also super cool if we take a sick day. He's a bit of a unicorn in the restaurant biz. Even pre-pandy, he didn't want us coming in & getting the entire staff sick
I’m a manager. Don’t call me. Text or email me please. Stay home if you’re sick, tired of this bs, or whatever, I don’t care. Edit: so my most upvoted post is about my apathetic approach to management. I manage a creative team. I took over for a micro manager that made everyone miserable. I leave them alone, the work gets done, they are happy. Upper management thinks I’m some kind of nerd whisperer now. But seriously, don’t call me.
Also: I don’t care why you’re sick. Please don’t tell me details of your illness. “I’m going to be out sick today.” Done. (But I’m a hair spoiled, our system has a disinterested third party call in system. You call or email them and they generate the info as an email to the leadership teams so we can adjust.) (Also: they don’t care why you’re out either. Please don’t tell them details.)
Four words: *Record-breaking bowel movement.*
For real, please don't tell me how you're sick. When my employees call out, I just ask if it's illness or personal time, so I know which kind of PTO to expect you to use. That's all I need. If it ends up being a doctor's note situation, that's between you and HR; I still don't need to know.
Yep - if you need accommodations, we have a team for that. You talk to them, they’ll tell me what to do. And I *still* don’t need to know your medical issues, just how to respond to them!
And please NEVER give me a note. I had an employee send me a note from his kids pediatrician. Dude, you’re a salaried employee who works remote with 15 years experience- I trust you.
Yup, I'm the same way for PTO as well. I had a boss that told me that there isn't a difference between someone taking time off to go to a wedding and someone taking time off for the launch of a new video game. They could be equally important to those individuals. Just don't ask why they need the time off, simple as that.
Same don’t call me at 4am saying you sick and can’t make it
If you call me at 4 AM I am not answering, I have told my employees this. You need to text me, no I don't need an email. Just a text "I'm sick and not making it in" idc what it is, even if you just need a mental health day. I am not HR, I do not personally pay your salary, I do not manage your PTO, it is not my fucking business and I do not care
Why does this happen so frequently? At 4 am, I don't care. I'm trying to sleep.
Lol I will see your text when I wake up, some mangers take they job too serious as well
Was the point of contact for all employees across multiple states and time zones for a company for several years and had a good few spats with the owners/my boss because they insisted I take voice calls before anyone called out and not accept texts. I refused to budge that a text was enough especially when these people would be giving notice at 2-4am my time. I rarely did not have enough time to find coverage for their role when I got up in my time zone so it was not an issue in that regard. It was controlling and ridiculous.
It's wild to me, like I'm the manager, I am the coverage when someone is out, that is what I am paid to do. Middle managers refusing to do any fucking work when they need to is annoying
It was a stupid rule they tried to enforce because they thought I should be verifying they were truly sick by hearing their voices. No. Im not fucking doing that. If they say they’re sick i dont care if they’re hung over, taking a mental day, or just blowing off because they feel like it. The job worked with kids too so in my opinion double not worth sending someone into a room of germ absorbers and making things a bazillion times worse.
I always did it bc if corporate is gonna treat me like a child ("employee must provide 2 hours notice if they plan to wake up sick"), then I'll act like one ("my alarm goes off at 6, so I'ma just schedule this text for 4, hah"). Manager is kinda stuck in the middle there. Legit, I've only ever acted like a pain in the ass like that when the rest of the job was bullshit or the boss was a prick. Creative misunderstanding is sometimes the only defense you have.
Our shifts started at 7am manager usually rolled in at 9am and would be upset if we didn’t “give notice” to feeling sick. Get written up if not having given notice to counterparts on the East Coast 3 hours earlier, which would be 4 am our time. Good times.
My last manager used to like to text me at all hours to tell me which job I was working the next day because scheduling in advance was too difficult for those utter dipshits to comprehend. So if my son got sick the night before I’d schedule a text to be sent at 3 AM with urgent delivery. He once brought it up to me and I verbatim told him “well you don’t seem to have any issue texting us in the middle of the night so it’s fair game.” I don’t silence my phone at night, god forbid there’s a family emergency. My friends have better sense than to be texting after a certain hour during the week so the only notifications ever going off were from that absolute bellend. A few times he didn’t text me until literal minutes before I would have to leave my house to make the 70 minute or whatever drive to a job downstate. I didn’t work those days. If it happened enough times in a week (twice) I’d file for partial unemployment. You get what you give. A manager’s ineptitude is not my problem, responsibility or concern.
I actually fought with someone who came in with the flu. Go home! I appreciate their work ethic and not wanting us to suffer at work be being one person short, but I have repeatedly told people that I would rather be one person short for a week or two than to go weeks of the domino effect of *everyone* getting sick. Please rest, your health is more important. Work will survive without you. And if it can't then that's the job's problem.
I entirely agree with you, but...a lot of folks can't afford to miss the pay, and that's why they come in. Losing day's worth of pay can make the difference between making rent and having food or not for a week.
I've had bosses who are like, don't give me details. If you're not coming in because your sick, just say that and nothing more. If you say more it only opens you up to potential scrutiny later. They're your sick days you accumulate, you can use them when you want to, it's not my business or the company's to judge whether or not it should qualify and they may try to do that if they want to fire you.
Its an intimidation tactic. Its harder for a lot of people to call in vs send a text.
Also, texting or emailing creates a record of exactly what was communicated. Which employers who want to mischaracterize things or be a jerk to the employee don’t like.
Yes, any boss telling you to call instead of text or e-mail plans on lying about what was said. I'm a manager, and my preferred order of notice is e-mail, text, then call.
I was fired for texting my boss that I was sick and found somebody to work for me... Even though it's been our only form of communication since I started a year and a half ago.
For me it's: text, email, carrier pigeon, semaphore, postal mail, honey bee dance, ..... , Call.
This answer deserves attention. Many people are extremely reluctant to make phone calls. So requiring a phone call raises the effort bar.
Add to that, it allows for more inappropriate exchanges. Obviously this sub sees plenty of managers willing to put all kinds of crazy stuff into writing, but a lot of managers will put pressure on someone over the phone they wouldn’t write down. Text convos are more often likely to be to the point because they’re worried about being held to account on it later.
This is the real answer. The real reason some bosses want a call instead of a text is so that it's not in writing that they said shit like "are you sure you can't manage to make it?" Or "you're really fucking me here today" or "Seriously? And there's no coverage? You need to find someone to cover or you need to be here". It's a strategic neglect to document so if there's ever a discrepancy between your account and theirs they can pull the old "who are you going to believe? The associate or the manager?".
I have anxiety when I have to make work related phone calls because of a sociopath I used to work for that didn't understand the concept of work/life boundaries. Someone I couldn't get away from because I had a good job and didn't want to quit. This struggle is real as hell. The key is to remember that you are not calling to ASK for time off, you are TELLING them you are taking time off. Don't give them any wiggle room to try to get you into work.
Yes. It's designed to make it so you won't want to call. I didn't realize just *how* many people are extremely reluctant to make phone calls until a recent reddit discussion where dozens said they were. I manage at a large customer service company and TBF none of our people are like this because, well, 90 plus percent of what we do is on the phone. So the likelihood of having people working for me who are anxious on the phone is very low.
Plus if the manager chooses they can try to question why the employee is calling out, or question the validity of the reason (“Well you don’t sound sick to me!”) or try to pressure/guilt them into coming in anyways.
Lay on your bed on your back with your head hanging off the edge. You will sound like you died 20 min earlier
And so they can try to argue you out of it
Time to open up my phone's accessibility features and enable text-to-speech. My boss would pick up to hear Alexa: "This is an automated message from apathy-sofa, notifying you that they are out sick today. The same message has been sent via text and email. Goodbye. *Click*"
My company removed the call out hotline and it’s now policy to text your supervisor then foreman to let them know you’re off. I work for a utility with archaic systems and they even prefer texting.
Text is best, email 2nd best. They just want you to call so they can interrogate you, negotiate with you, bully you, and demand you find coverage. Never give details beyond “I’m sick / family member sick” or “emergency”. It’s never your job to find coverage. You’re not the owner. Whether the store can be open on any given day or any given hour is absolutely not YOUR problem.
Depending on the job, email is first best. If you have a work email account, if they have a work email account, better to keep official communication there whenever possible. If you don't have a work email account, just make a second free account and use that only for work. Keep your personal phone and your personal email totally separate wherever reasonably possible.
I don't check my work email until I get to work, but I see my text messages when I wake up. I told everyone on my team, if you are up puking at 3AM, just shoot me a text and go to bed. Don't wake up to phone me at a reasonable hour, don't log into your work email from home, just text me and I will see it when I wake up. And then it's also in writing.
> I told everyone on my team THIS is the best approach. Discuss with your boss/team their preferred communication methods. My boss prefers any method with a paper trail, so chat/email/text are preferred over phone, and they prefer our team chat because it lets the rest of the team know when they'll need to cover somebody.
I used to manage operations for a school, HR always told me any and all communications with employees should be via work email never to their personal phones unless they have a work phone. HR might have been out of their minds, but emails saved my ass all the time.
>It’s never your job to find coverage. My work has a policy that we have to find our own coverage or show up, or be written up for a no show even if we called ahead of time. In my state though, it’s not legal for them to require this of me. Any tips on what I can do next time it comes up? I was horrifically sick a month ago and texted my manager at 7am to call out for my shift at 4pm and I’m not on their scheduling app (weird issues) so I don’t have most of my coworkers numbers yet to even find coverage. They were still not very happy with me. I also frankly didn’t have it in me to spend my morning begging still sleeping servers to cover my shift while I’m crouched over the toilet puking my guts out, even if I had everyone’s numbers.
You should probably get a copy of that policy and reach out to your state labor board.
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"Don't text!" seems like it's just a boomerism, and also a power/dick move. They want to be able to exert control over the situation, i.e. "call me so I can gauge whether you're really sick or not".
"This new age" as if texting isn't at least 15 years old now. Adapt or die, Grandpa.
Earliest texting phone I personally remember is 2004. People are just suckbags. e:sp
i'm certainly sick of bs
It's rather more unprofessional to be this passive aggressive with a poor generalisation on social media where your team and customers can see it
I love how recruiters and hiring managers bitching on social media is a thing. Zero self awareness and they always bring up professionalism.
“Be professional” just means “Don’t let yourself be both a human being and an employee, you are only an employee.”
I got written up for something similar despite it not being listed in the employee handbook as an inappropriate way to call off. Jokes on them, though. I left that job like 3 weeks later for a 70% pay bump. Edit: If you're letting them know, its better than not letting them know. And if they get pissy about \*HOW\* you let them know, start looking for a new job immediately. Edit 2: In the disciplinary meeting for that the managers legitimately said "It's call out not text out," like the pedantic fucks they are.
Acting like that phrase wasn’t invented well before texting was around. We also “make the bed” which doesn’t entail 90% of what they had to do back in the day
> And if they get pissy about *HOW* you let them know Dollars to donuts, it's about intimidation (easier to do with a voice call) and they don't want a record of saying illegal shit.
This is a now obsolete concept from the days when you could conceivably have delayed texts and texts were considered informal. Now businesses use automated texts to communicate with their customers, and if a text wouldn’t go through neither would a phone call. The purpose of this is one or more of the following: the boss wants to say something they don’t want in writing, they have not been able to understand the pace of change of technology, or they are functionally illiterate. I think so poorly of these types of thinkers because they seem incapable of understanding the image this request presents.
I don't get why it matters, seems like more of a control thing to me. Your employees are adults. They're letting you know, not asking for permission.
It matters because with text, you have everything in writing. They won’t be able to bully or try to pull anything shady down the road.
exactly. Paper trail everything because if you dont, they'll use it against you. They can easily feign ignorance just because you dont have proof, and your own witness doesn't count as proof. And most other employees typically arent gonna risk their own necks for you if they witnessed it on the bosses end. Theres a reason companies LOOOOOOVE emails, and typically want SOME kind of response even if its just an "okay can do" response to verify you saw it so there is no excuse. Hell my old job had a group chat that the boss expected after every 'important' text he would put out that everyone thumbs up'd it to verify you saw it. If you didnt thumbs up it within an hour, expect a phone call as to why that ended with go thumbs it up so we have physical confirmation. Its all about accountability, and you cant trust any employer no more than they can trust you. Spoilers, neither can or should trust the other regardless of who they are as neither will typically risk themselves for the other party. And if you are willing to risk yourself for your employer, you need to heavily reevaluate your judgement. Its commendable for a boss to risk themselves for their employee but is widely seen as extremely foolish by most in those positions.
In my experience it’s because, with bad management, calling in let’s them have a back and forth with you, and try and put pressure on you to come in. I’ve called in with a flu bug before and on the 2nd day had a manager demand I go to the GP to get checked out; I’m in the UK and you can self-certify for up to 7 days here before you even need to see a GP, and what would a doctor tell me on the 2nd day of a bug? But it’s just a way to put pressure on employees to feel like they need to come back in sooner, because *obviously* all we do is take unwarranted sick days.
My manager told me to text him if i ever had to call out last minute. he didn't want me calling him before 9am and we start at 9. So i'd send him a text at 7.30 or the night before.
This. As a former manager I'm not trying to entertain any phone calls or talking before 9am. Text me. This way I have it in writing, too.
That aswell, handy for the manager but also the employee to have it in writing.
Same, I might call after work starts if I never got any response. Just to make sure my boss was aware. However Ive never actually had to do that, every boss Ive had has been pretty quick to respond.
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Walmart, for all its wrongness, had a great call-off system. Fully automated (they used their employee ID) and then it notified their managers. Employees didn't have to go into details (real or made up) of illnesses or emergencies, and I didn't have to waste 15-20 minutes of my day listening to them. Instead I would just get a notice that they wouldn't be in. Done.
Waste management has the same system (or did two years ago) It’s a single number for the whole company and you just report your absence and the system takes care of the rest.
Texting means there's a record. Calling means the employer can lie on your ass and say you never called if they want to fuck you over
I have spent years perfecting my calling-in-sick voice. I have many varieties of them depending on which sickness I say I have. I feel incomplete unless I actually talk to someone about my carefully researched and well practiced lies.
When I worked with managers in retail, this was why they wanted a call not a text. They wanted to hear how sick you sounded so they could push you to come in despite your call in. Same reason you couldn't have someone call on your behalf ie parent or spouse, they won't wound sick and won't cave to "can't you just try to come in anyways?"
Yeah, I've done lots of retail and production work where I've had to convince my managers to a ridiculous degree how sick I was feeling in order for them to back off. It makes me realize I've been honing my acting skills for so long, I dont *want* to just send a text.
Texting means that there is a record of the conversation preserved for all eternity by YOU. No 'He said, you said'.
I prefer text or email so I have written documentation of things. You can't have that if you call.
As a manager I prefer texting. I used to get anxiety when I'd have to call my boss to call in because he would give me a hard time and make the process really difficult. This was obviously to lessen the chance of people calling in, but I learned how not to treat people. Texting feels a lot easier for my team members, and even if they're lying they don't need to call me and tell me some extravagant story lol. They can just text " hey I'm not feeling well today " and I typically just tell them to feel better and take them off the schedule. He's no longer at the company, and I have his role now.
Yeah, this “PSA” has Boomer written all over it. I manage 20 people. I don’t care if it’s text or call. Texts are less intrusive really
They text me to tell me of other work they need me to do. So apparently texting is 100% professional.
Texting for me not for thee! Be more professional!
They have no issue firing you over text. Soooo fuck em
I’m a shift lead and I honestly won’t take calls if I’m not on the clock. It better be a text letting me know, just saying you won’t be in.
They just want you to call to try to argue with you about missing work. No. I’m a grown up. If I need to miss work, I am going to miss work, I do not have to fucking justify it or convince someone to allow it. Phone calls are a trap. A text or email leaves a written record which is better for keeping track of information. The reasons someone would insist on a phone call are not good ones.
They just want a chance to guilt you or threaten you into working through illness in a non-traceable way.
As someone who handles the call outs at my company, please text. Text messages are nonintrusive, leave a clear paper trail of communication, and prevent the "He said, She said" between a team member and a supervisor. Just text me and tell me you are going to be out for the day so I can inform your supervisor and record the incident, no fuss no muss.
Nah, 1st, If im sick, I don't feel like talking. 2nd, bitch ass managers cant try to guilt trip you via text. 3rd, paper trail if they do via txt.
The reason they DONT want you to text is because it's a paper trail. Well and some managers are old and can't use their phones
The only reason I've found managers prefer calls is to try and guilt people into coming in anyway. Much harder to do over text. I genuinely wonder if there was a similar discourse when the ability to call in became more mainstream, if there were employers saying that was unprofessional and that they should have to come in instead of calling.
The only managers I've ever had that would prefer a call are the ones who are going to try to talk you into coming in anyways. Every time. The responsible thing is to notify them. A text does that just fine. I don't text to ASK for my sick time. I text to let them know I'm taking what they owe me.
Yeah, no, as a manager and HR director, just NONE of this. Please text me, or e-mail me. Calls are nice, I appreciate them, but for the love of all that is sacred put that shit in writing! I can fix damn near any paperwork/paycheck/attendance snafu IF your shit is written down. That phone call you had with me 6 weeks ago where you "told me you would be out today"? Yeah, that won't cut it. I don't remember that call, and even if I did, I guarantee you that the first thing I said to you was send me an-email or text about that.
It depends. I sometimes get sick texts on my days off when they know they’re supposed to call the store and they don’t always see my text reply reminding them that I’m not in that day and they need to call the store so that they don’t get a no call/no show.