“who called in sick with jet lag - they’d been to Ireland” 😂😂😂 you’ve kinda gotta admire the nerve!!
I once had to call in late as my then housemate had accidentally locked me in! Yale lock, she didn’t know you could double lock them and had a bad habit of putting her key in the lock on her way out so she didn’t forget them (previous bad habit!) and lock herself out! She’d then turned the key and unwittingly locked me in! Sodding bank holiday too so couldn’t get hold of either her or landlord. Weirdly boss believed me as they knew housemate, but also knew me and that I wasn’t a flaky cf! What was also lucky was boss knew housemates boss and managed to get hold of her (pre mobile phone days and she had a community based job visiting patients at their homes, her boss knew her call list and managed to track her down)
But the best one I know of was a relative who was caught out. They’d called in sick with upset stomach or whatever - and then appeared on the local bloody news! They were involved in a protest march and AGREED to speak to a reporter covering so not even accidentally caught out! Idiot!
@TerrorWig errr adult humans can get colic! I’m an ex nurse, Google “biliary colic” can be incredibly painful and to be honest even with your painfully obviously backtracking updates it just sounds like you didn’t like this person full stop and if they were genuinely ill you wouldn’t have believed them. Even stomach upset and painful “gas” can be incredibly painful and debilitating. I have ibs and if I eat something that triggers it accidentally what happens is strictly speaking “just” indigestion but it’s damn painful! Trapped wind can be painful enough to convince people they’re having a heart attack I’ve seen this happen and they’re genuinely shocked when a massive burp or fart massively relieves the pain. I’ve had trapped wind many times myself, I also have endo and a physical disability and that has at times been more bloody painful than the endo!
That isn’t a ‘fucking idiot’ thing to do in the slightest. Anyone who lived through the days of IRA bombs would know that. totally agree! Especially as someone who was an army brat in those years and witnessed the devastation of the losses of several friends fathers.
On the flip side I had a wonderfully understanding boss when I had my 2nd mc who when I eventually went back to work after several weeks off (it was very complicated and I had to have 3 surgeries in the end a long recuperation period plus the emotional stuff) and I was still in probationary period too. She actually had a rep as a “dragon lady” but I got on great with her. When I went back she asked if I was absolutely sure I was ready, wasn’t phased when through tears I said I needed the distraction actually, and said to me if at any point I felt I’d come back too early to come straight to her office, bypass supervisor and she’d get me home and sort any issues. When a few months later I suffered an ovarian torsion (possibly due to surgeries) she was in my office when the pain struck and literally caught me as I fainted. When I came around she’d called an ambulance, I was worried it was another mc/ectopic and was in bits, then dh was proving hard to contact and she promised to stay with me in the ambulance if he didn’t get there in time. Fortunately he did. Again when I went back she was lovely and very concerned when I got pregnant with dd about a year later she was very protective of me and had me moved into an office where I wasn’t alone. When I had to leave that job due to ex’s posting (he was army) I was heartbroken.
One time for me was really weird, I went into managers office to say I was going home sick and I honestly replied “I don’t know I just don’t feel right at all” normally you’d expect resistance but he took one look at me and offered to drive me home! I didn’t know it at the time but I had a dreadful case of flu but didn’t have normal symptoms I just didn’t feel “right” wasn’t until the next day I got classic symptoms including lots of vomiting! When I went back and asked him why he’d believed me and taken me home he said himself he couldn’t put his finger on it I wasn’t particularly pale or anything (I’m very pale anyway colouring wise) but he just had a strong feeling I wasn’t at all well. He came down with the same himself a few days later and his wife had a similar experience the morning he first called in sick, he didn’t look or have obvious symptoms of being ill she just really strongly felt he shouldn’t go into work - which possibly saved him from serious injury or worse as we worked in a factory and he operated one piece of heavy machinery with rotating blades!!