‘You need to find a way’: Employee shares manager’s response after asking to work from home due to flooding

A flooded road, heavy rain and no safe way to reach the office would usually be enough reason to work from home for a day.

However, for one employee, the request received a rather different response from his manager: “You need to find a way.”

The employee shared a post on Reddit, stating that months of late-night messages, weekend work requests and a lack of respect for personal time had left him exhausted.

In his post, the employee said his area had become severely waterlogged following heavy rain, making it unsafe for him to travel to the office. He asked his manager if he could work from home instead of taking leave.

According to screenshots of their WhatsApp conversation, the manager responded, “There are multiple ways,” before adding, “Barish to hote rahega,” or “It will keep raining.”

The manager then told the employee, “Aapse him lambe rahte hai,” suggesting that he lived farther away from the office, and added, “You need to find a way.”

The employee later shared a photograph showing vehicles stuck in heavy traffic on a rain-soaked road.

“The funny part is...I live farther from the office than he does. It’s not a competition. I physically couldn’t get there,” the employee wrote.

He said that instead of understanding the situation, his manager made him feel as though he was not committed enough to his job. The employee also shared another screenshot that he said showed how working outside regular office hours had become routine.

In the conversation, the manager asked him to contact someone regarding an urgent requirement and work on four or five profiles that day. The messages were reportedly sent on a Saturday.

“Have you called,” the manager asked, before writing, “Yarr aap weekend me replies hi nahi karte ho.”

The employee said he did not mind working hard or helping during genuine emergencies. However, he claimed that occasional help had gradually turned into an expectation that he would remain available whenever his manager wanted.

“Every weekend I make plans, I have this anxiety that my phone is going to buzz with another work message,” he wrote.

He added that the issue was no longer only about the workload but also about what he described as a complete lack of respect for employees’ personal lives, appointments and time away from work.

“I’m honestly tired,” he wrote.

Netizens reaction

The post drew reactions from Reddit users, many of whom advised the employee to look for another job and set clearer boundaries around working hours.

“I think you need to keep boundaries for weekend. Say it, ki you're outside and have plans can't connect with them,” a user wrote.

“Have a physical one on one meeting with him for this problem. Lay down everything you have mentioned here, and just ask what’s the expectation. Whether this is temporary or ongoing,” another expressed.