I Refuse to Be Treated Like a Liar for Calling in Sick at Work

Workplaces talk a lot about trust. But sometimes, trust isn’t given equally and the cost of that imbalance can add up in ways no one expects. Our Bright Side reader, Carla (24, F), wrote in to us about an office rule that seemed to only apply to her and how she dealt with it.

Here’s her letter:

Dear Bright Side,

I’ve been working at my current organization for about 8 months and everything is great here...except the leave policy. Calling in sick at my job wasn’t simple.

Each time I stayed home, my boss asked for a doctor’s note. Not as a formality but as a requirement. Even if it was just for one day.

This rule didn’t apply to everyone.

I’d drag myself to clinics with fevers, migraines, stomach bugs—just to get proof that I wasn’t lying. In six months, I spent nearly $400 on appointments I didn’t need, except to satisfy her rule.

What made it worse was watching senior employees call in sick freely. No notes. No questions. Just a quick text.

I gathered the courage to question my boss.

At first, I assumed this was company policy, but when I realized it wasn’t, it really started to bother me. One afternoon, I asked my boss why I was required to provide proof when others weren’t. She didn’t hesitate. “They’ve earned my trust,” she said. “You haven’t yet.”

There was nothing to argue with. So I nodded and let it go. I kept bringing the notes. I kept paying out of my pocket. I didn’t ask again.

Eventually, there came a day when I couldn’t keep up.

Weeks later, I woke up genuinely sick. Feverish, dizzy, barely able to get out of bed. Going to a clinic felt impossible. I messaged my boss to let her know I wouldn’t be coming in. Her reply came quickly: “Send me the doctor’s note and then apply for a sick day on the portal.”

I was so sick, that I finally snapped. For the first time, I didn’t rush to explain or apologize. I simply told her I was too sick to travel and that, if necessary, I would explain the situation to HR.

The conversation ended there.

She panicked and didn’t reply for a while. When she finally did, her message was brief: she told me to rest and take the day off. She didn’t mention a doctor’s note. She never did again.

I never meant to threaten her.

That’s when I realized that HR never knew what my boss had been doing to me. This was a power play that was completely against company policy. I never meant to threaten her, I was just too sick to go to the doctor’s office.

Nothing about my health had changed. Nothing about my role had changed. What changed was that the rule could no longer stay private. As long as it existed only between us, it was easy to enforce. The moment it risked being explained to someone else, it quietly disappeared.

Work is just not the same anymore.

I love my job and the team I work with, but I don’t feel as comfortable as I used to. Knowing how easily something unfair can exist as long as it stays quiet has changed how I look at things.

If you were in my place, would you let it go and move on or would you start paying closer attention to what you’re being asked to accept?

From,
Carla

Thank you, Carla, for sharing your story with us. This is definitely a tough place to be in and we applaud you for thinking so clearly. Here’s our take on the situation:

• If a rule applies only to you, it’s worth asking where it’s written: Policies are an extremely important part of ensuring that an organization works fairly. They usually sound very different when they’re put on record.

• Unequal treatment often relies on silence: It may seem like a small thing, but having different rules for different team members is a form of workplace abuse. Speaking up can put an end to it. The moment it’s explained out loud, it becomes harder to justify.

• Trust shouldn’t come with a price tag: Especially not one you’re paying alone.

Favoritism and unfair treatment exists both in the workplace and in families. Here’s another story a reader shared on why she refuses to be held responsible for the parents who abandoned her.