Kansas This article is more than 1 year oldOlive Garden manager fired for time-off message: ‘If your dog died, bring him in’
This article is more than 1 year oldKansas manager’s missive – which claimed workers were calling in sick ‘at a staggering rate’ – caused an uproar online
A manager of an Olive Garden restaurant in Kansas was out of a job after warning subordinates to look for other work if they requested time off.
In an unusually harsh message that went viral online, the manager – whose name was not publicly released – complained that staffers at her eatery in Overland Park were staying off work “at a staggering rate”.
Therefore, “we are no longer tolerating ANY EXCUSE for calling off,” the manager wrote. “If you’re sick, you need to come prove it to us.
“If your dog died, you need to bring him in and prove it to us. If it’s a ‘family emergency’ and you can’t say, too bad. Go work somewhere else.”
The manager’s message exalted her own work ethic, saying she had gone in for shifts when ill and even once after her car was destroyed in a crash.
“I hope you choose to continue to work here, and I think we [management] make it as easy as we can on y’all,” the message said, concluding with gratitude to employees who arrived to work punctually, adding: “I wish there were more like you.”
The casual Italian dining chain, whose slogan is “When you’re here, you’re family”, had dismissed the manager by Tuesday, according to a local news station, KCTV.
A representative of Olive Garden told the station the manager’s message was “not aligned with [the] company’s values”.
“We strive to provide a caring and respectful work environment for our team members,” the representative said. “We can confirm we have parted ways with this manager.”
The terminated manager’s missive caused an uproar online. One of the most shared reactions to the note came from the Twitter account Fuck You I Quit, which spotlights abuse from employers.
“These power-tripping people are unreal,” the account said on Wednesday. “Who doesn’t think twice before hitting send on something like this?”
The Olive Garden manager’s downfall came in a US labor market demonstrating signs of thinning patience toward bad bosses.
The McKinsey consultancy firm has estimated that up to 40% of workers in the US are ready to leave their jobs, in part because increasing opportunities after the coronavirus pandemic leave fewer reasons to tolerate abusive managers.
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