Durga Puja celebrations are in full swing across the country, but a Mumbai-based employee has found themselves in trouble after lying to the manager to seek leave. In a social media post, the fresher detailed that they wanted to go to Kolkata to attend the Durga Puja festivities, but since they had no paid leave available, they decided to find an alternative.
As taking time off would mean requesting unpaid leave, the employee lied to their manager about their grandfather’s illness and sought permission to travel to Kolkata. “Now my manager has asked me to send an email with medical documents attached. “What would you do in my situation? Should I admit that I made a mistake and ask for unpaid leave, or is there another professional way to handle this? Has anyone been in a similar situation? I’d appreciate honest advice. As the post gained traction, social media users were divided, with a section stating that the fresher should not have lied, while others highlighted that the issue was an indictment of how corporates behave in India. “You’re a fresher, you’ve exhausted your leave quota, and you decided to lie about an ill grandfather rather than take unpaid leave. You don’t even know how much managers lie to us on a daily basis. If they can, why not us? A third commented: “That’s the problem in India. People are compelled to lie for personal leave. In a healthy work environment, you don’t need to give reasons for taking leave. Whenever we have doctor appointments, we put an away message and let the team know at work. If it takes even half hour late at the doctor’s appointment, the doctor asks himself if you need a letter to show at work.”
The problem is that there isn’t actually a medical emergency, and I don’t have any documents to provide,” they said. Really wanting to visit Kolkata for the pujo, the fresher said they were scared of coming out clean in front of the manager, as it might create a bad impression or put their job at risk. “I am willing to take unpaid leave, but I don’t know how to approach my manager now that she’s asked for proof,” they said. The only reason your manager is asking for proof is that they know you’re lying,” said one user, while another added: “You don’t have to feel guilty about it. A fourth said: “Not related, but I live in the US.
