Man shares what a manager's response to employees taking sick leave reveals

A career counsellor highlighted two contrasting ways managers respond when employees take two or three days of sick leave.Man shares what a manager's response to employees taking sick leave reveals (Photos: Kashi Viswanath/Instagram) A manager’s response to an employee taking sick leave can reveal a lot about workplace culture, a career counsellor said in an Instagram video that has gone viral on social media.Kashi Viswanath highlighted two contrasting ways managers respond when employees take two or three days of sick leave. While some ask employees to submit a medical certificate or question how work will continue in their absence, others call to check if they are feeling better and ask if they need any support.“If you apply for two to three days of sick leave, does your manager ask you to send your medical certificate, or they say, ‘Work has stopped. How will we continue?’ Or they call you up and ask whether you are okay or feeling well, and whether you need any support,” he said in the video.He pointed out that while the difference between the two responses may appear small, it can say a lot about the workplace an employee is part of. The video, captioned “Sick leave tells you about manager and company culture,” prompted several users to share their own experiences with managers and sick leave.One user argued that managers could help reduce fake sick leaves by addressing employees’ concerns and offering proper support: “Managers have to understand that if they address employees’ issues and offer proper support, 90% of fake sick leaves could be avoided. It is ultimately the management’s behaviour that determines the entire environment of any organisation.” Another user shared a positive experience with their previous manager, saying they were encouraged to take sick leave despite not having enough leave balance.However, one of the users described a different experience, saying their manager never asked for a medical certificate but also never checked on their wellbeing.Another comment summed up the discussion with a different perspective: “It's not about the company. It's about the manager.”The responses highlighted how employees can experience very different workplace cultures depending on how their managers handle situations such as sick leave.- EndsPublished On: Sep 9, 2026 18:42 IST