Delhi Manager Rejects Employee's WFH Plea, Says 'Everyone Is Suffering From Pollution'

A Delhi-based employee's request to work from home (WFH) due to health concerns stemming from the city's severe pollution was denied by their manager. Instead of granting the request, the manager advised the employee to take a leave but still complete their assigned tasks.

The employee shared screenshots of the conversation in a viral Reddit post titled, "Denied WFH despite health issues from Delhi pollution," and asked if it was "too much to expect empathy" from the bosses.

"I'm in Delhi and like many others here, I've been struggling with severe headache for the past two days likely due to the AQI crisis. Despite this, I've been reporting to the office regularly. In fact, I stayed back till 8:45 PM yesterday, well beyond my work hours, purely due to project commitments, all while managing my health," the user wrote in the r/IndianWorkplace subreddit.

"Today, I finally requested for work from home for just one day -not leave- simply to avoid making things worse and still continue working. My senior replied that “everyone is suffering from pollution” and WFH is “difficult to allow” since others are coming in," they added.

The employee revealed that they had been requesting air purifiers for the office, but the management refused, citing vague reasons.

"It's beyond me how basic health concerns are being brushed aside like this. Is it too much to expect empathy when you're literally offering to work through sickness, just from a safer environment?"

Check The Viral Post Here:

Denied WFH despite health issues from Delhi pollution and asked to ‘take Leave and complete work'
byu/Dazzling_Delivery_96 inIndianWorkplace

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'Please Find Another Job'

As the post gained traction, social media users empathised with the individual, advising them to quit and find a company with better policies.

"Hideous that he pulled the ‘I have headaches too!!! How dare you rest and take care of yourself when I don't do that," said one user, while another added: "At this point, being a taxpayer middle class is choosing between two evils of government and inhumane managers."

A third commented: "What the hell did I read. Take a leave but work- that does not even make sense. Please find another job that has some relaxing policies."

A fourth said: "Health cannot be compromised, please try a good quality pollution mask and wear it inside office too as a silent protest."