Being a working parent means that sometimes we have to call in late or even not show up at work at all if our kids aren't feeling well. As one mom found out not too long ago, bosses aren't always sympathetic.
She writes on Reddit that she was late to work because her son was sick. She texted her boss to let him know, but when she got to work he said he didn't have a text and demanded to see her phone. She refused, and things got a little weird.
Her boss said he never saw the text.
"I arrived to work later and my boss requested to see me in his office. He started questioning me about being late but I told him I already sent him a text telling him why. He said he didn't recieve anything but I assured him that I sent it. He told me to hand over my phone so he could check but I refused."
She wants to protect her privacy.
"I asked him to check his phone but he again denied recieving anything and said there was no point in checking his inbox. He asked that I hand over my phone to see the text I sent but I still refused and suggested that I open the text and show it to him because I have private messages with my boyfrirnd that I [didn't want] anybody to see, let alone my boss."
He accused her of lying.
"He refused to let me show him saying I might be faking it but I already have the time and date of the text(?). He got mad and insisted that I hand it over. I declined and said no, this is my privacy and he does not get to violate it just because he has authority over me."
His assistant got involved.
"He got more upset and told me to step outside. Aftee making me wait for 30+ minutes. He had his female assistant try to convince me to let him 'have a quick look' but I refused. The argument escalated and I was told to go home til this is figured out. My boss is angry with me and his assistant is claiming that it was such a weird hill to die on and that if I truly did send him a message then I should just let him have a look."
Her boyfriend disagrees with her.
"I mean I offered him alternative way to see the text but he insisted on checking it himself. I'm an extremly private person and the thought of him peeking at private, vulnerable conversations with my boyfriend makes uncomfortable. My boyfriend thinks I should've just given it to him without making a scene."
People are super on her side.
As one person put it, she needs to get HR involved.
The commenter wrote: "You suggested a very reasonable compromise that would give him all the information he needed from you and he refused. He just wanted to pry. This was creepy, inappropriate, and most probably illegal. I would report to HR depending on your area's privacy laws."
They suspect the boss of other motives.
Someone else explained what they suspect the boss of: "He definitely was going to delete it so he could claim she never sent it. He couldn’t do that without getting his hands on it."
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