Employee stands up for himself after being shamed by inconsiderate boss for taking paternity leave

Salary is not the only factor that drives employees' motivation. A progressive work environment, growth prospects, recognition, flexibility and most importantly, an optimistic leader are crucial for an employee to love his job. But, the universal problem of having bad bosses never goes out of trend. The internet is full of stories about red flags in managers who overwork, manipulate or disrespect the employees. Chris Donnelly (@donnellycss), an entrepreneur and start-up coach, shared on TikTok one such story of a toxic boss responding to an employee's parental leave intimation. Adding this story to his "Most Toxic Companies" series, Donnelly pointed out the boss' red flags and people couldn't agree more. 

"This boss is shaming their employee for taking parental leave because they're a man," Donnelly began. He read out the exchange between the boss and his employee where the latter shared his exciting news saying, "My partner and I are expecting a baby in 6 months and we're gonna do shared parental leave." The employee wanted to notify their boss quite early so that their absence wouldn't create an issue. But the inconsiderate boss responded, "Paternity leave? Are you sure you need that? Shouldn't she (the employee's wife) be taking maternity leave?" Donnelly mentioned that this was one of the weirdest messages he ever read.

The employee replied to their boss that their wife was taking parental leave too, but they just wanted to support the new mother and bond with their child during the first few crucial months. "Just, traditionally the father works while the mother takes care of the child," responded the boss. Then, the boss simply started being manipulative saying, "I don't want taking extended time off to hurt your career here. You're a key player on the team." The employee validated that though his role is important, he wanted to focus on his family and pointed out his right to use parental leave as it was a part of the company's policy.

As the employee stated the fact, the boss half-heartedly complied and said that taking parental leave was a "modern way" of spending time with family. "Happy for you and the misses. But it can have an impact on your career if you are gone for extended periods," the boss added. Discouraged by this statement, the frustrated employee said firmly, "This feels like I'm being insulted. I'm taking time off to spend with my baby but my commitment to work hasn't changed." Not giving up his responsibility as a father, the employee stood his ground on taking paternity leave. But the boss went out of line saying, "I have four kids myself, so of course I support it. Just make sure you think about it. Generally, though, you won't even want to be around the kids the whole time."

Seeing the boss' final insensitive remark, Donnelly resented the man's leadership calling him, "out of time" and "old-fashioned." "If this guy treats you like this when you're having a kid, what if your kid is ill or what if you have another kid or you have complications?" asked Donnelly and mentioned that such bosses will never learn to be considerate ever. With over 436K views, this viral video stirred the internet. "'Wouldn’t want it to hurt your career,' sounds like a threat and I hope the employee documented it," commented @m0nigheand0nn. "The boss just created a potential legal nightmare. The employee will have an easy case if he isn’t promoted or disciplined on his return," pointed out @nanalashola. "I'd be using those parental leave months to search for another job as well as having time with my new child," suggested @alfieplop.