A 22-year-old retail employee's Reddit post about being guilt-tripped by her manager for not covering a shift on her day off is sparking conversations around toxic workplace culture and employee boundaries.
The viral post, shared by user 'AliceWillxo', details how her manager attempted to shame her for not coming in on her day off, despite recent layoffs that had drastically reduced the store's workforce. The incident, which took place at a small clothing store in a shopping mall, has garnered over 22,000 upvotes in just four days.
With only three employees left after corporate layoffs, the pressure to pick up extra shifts has intensified. "I was scheduled off Thursday - the first one in over a week. I had errands, a doctor's appointment, and planned to sleep in," she wrote.
But at 8 AM that morning, she received a message from her manager asking her to come in because the store was "slammed." She declined, citing prior commitments. The manager didn't respond - but later posted an Instagram Story that read, "Some people only care about themselves," which the employee felt was a passive-aggressive dig aimed at her.
When she returned to work the next day, the manager confronted her, questioning her reliability and stating that "real team players step up when it's hard."
The employee's calm yet firm response has won applause online: "Sorry, but I'm paid $15 an hour. I don't get benefits, I don't get paid time off, and you fired half the team. You don't get to guilt me into unpaid loyalty."
The manager has reportedly been giving her the silent treatment since.
My manager said I "Wasn't a team player" for not coming in on my day off after they fired half our team
byu/AliceWillxo inantiwork
Reddit users have overwhelmingly supported the employee. "Yeah, the whole thing of giving your availability, and then they schedule you on your unavailable time, but you're the bad guy for 'not being flexible, '" a user wrote on Reddit.
"$15/hr doesn't leave a lot of room for flexibility," another user wrote.
"Can the boss even make the threat of firing you, considering that would leave only her and the part-timer to cover shifts? Maybe remind her of this. btw- this won't get better. 3 employees to cover 60 hours will always be a problem," the third user commented.
