Restaurant Manager Fired After Exploding On Workers Who Called Off

"Olive Garden has parted ways with a manager who told workers to prove they were sick if they called out of a shift.

In a message seen by KCTV5, an Olive Garden manager in Johnson County, Kansas, censured employees for taking time off and said that if they needed to do so, "you might as well go and look for another job."

The manager began the message by saying people were calling out at a staggering rate, then said calling out sick was mostly inexcusable."

***

The largest online progressive news show in the world. Hosted by Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian. LIVE weekdays 6-8 pm ET.

If you want to watch more videos from TYT, consider subscribing to other channels in our network:

#TYT #TheYoungTurks #BreakingNews

221208__TB01_Restaurant_Manager_Fired

[nerdytechgamer]

These employees are supposed to have this level of commitment for a part time, low wage, and no benefits jobs. He's delusional.

[MrGovtCheese]

That manager worked 11.5 years and never called out. She worked weekends, came in sick, gave up time she could have spent with her family, and even made it to work on time after a car wreck. And after all that, they kicked her ass to the curb without a second thought. No warning, suspension, demotion, or retraining. She just learned the hard way that in corporate America, loyalty is a one-way street.

[KimJungGooner]

As a customer I do not want sick people serving me my food. If a resteraunt forces sick people to work, I will take my patronage elsewhere.

[singingwordwright]

My life changed the day I realized, as a salaried manager for a fast food chain that was required to work a minimum of 50 hours per week, and usually ended up working 60-70, that I was making less per hour than the minimum wage workers I was managing. I spoke to the regional manager about the problem and was told I was "looking at it wrong."

I left that job a few weeks later, slept for the better part of two months until I was finally no longer exhausted and depressed, and vowed to do right by myself as I looked for a new job.

[davidthill]

Chef of 16 years here. You would not believe just how par for the course this is for restaurant management and owners. Employee abuse is unbelievable in the service industry.

[laurataylor]

I worked at Olive Gardens through college. I was the person in the kitchen who, in addition to other prep work, made the breadsticks and salad all day. One time I called in sick. I had a terrible cold, coughing, sneezing, aches, fever.... my boss wanted me to come in and sneeze on the breadsticks. My guess is he was trying to "call my bluff" because I was a college kid he assumed wanted to go out on a Friday night. Please, if I wanted to go out I went out after work at 11 pm. I was a hard working college kid with a bad cold. I didn't get fired but really lost the desire to continue working there.

[Pattiecakes]

Over my years in restaurants, I've worked for MANY restaurant managers just like this. It's sadly VERY common in this industry. Now that I'm in management, I use empathy and common sense. If an employee calls out sick, I tell them to drop a message in the text group that their shift is available, then get some rest and call me if they're going to miss their next shift. It's part of the reason the retention rate at the restaurant I work at is DOUBLE the industry average. You have to realize people work to live, not live to work.

[lisakukla]

That manager wasn't fired until the statement went public. How many years were they allowed to manage this way without corrective action?

[MegaFortinbras]

Some years ago, a woman came in to work with the flu. She infected everyone in my computer administration group except for my boss and me (we were at a meeting all day). The two of us did the work of nine people for most of a week. That's what coming in sick can do.

[catsncats]

This is notoriously common in the hospitality industry. From the people who put sheets on your bed to the people who prep or cook your food this policy is not that unusual. I live in an area where tourism drives the economy. Hourly workers and their managers are pushed to be at work no matter what their circumstances. This is a big reason there is a shortage of workers in this industry.

[TahoeNevada]

She’s the embodiment of “hustle culture” and she’s *still* only an Olive Garden shift manager…

[joelvining]

We’ve got terrible managerial culture in this country

[MartinJames]

I wouldn't be surprised if lots of people made up excuses because they couldn't face another day around her.

[scoobydoo]

I am ashamed now, but 15 years ago, I was just like this guy. I went to work sick, no matter what. And as a Supervisor, I only missed about 7 days in 25 years. 3 of them, when my wife had breast cancer, because my manager told me to go take care of my wife. God, I was so F'd up about it. I am so sorry now. People have actual lives, and get sick. Yes, there are some few, who seem to have an excuse every week, especially on Mondays. But let's not treat everyone like a piece of machinery because of those few. I did get better, and treated people better my last 15 years out of 35.

[mistorWhiskers]

I'm an overnight manager for a retail store and I take my fair share if call outs through the night for people that won't be able to make it in the next day. I never once have asked why and it really pisses off some of the other managers, if you can't make it in you can't make it in. It's that simple

[annic.]

I bartended for ten years and it’s actually ridiculous. I was in the ER once and they told me my hospital bracelet wasn’t sufficient evidence- as I was unconscious and didn’t even get a chance to ask for one when in hospital.

[sarakotila]

Part of the problem is the older generations are part of the hustle culture generation and if you're not hustling, you're lazy. The other problem is that the manager's bonuses are tied to certain productivity and financial benchmarks for the restaurant, which leads them to think of their staff as nothing more than cogs in the wheel and the employee's sole purpose is to produce so they can make bonuses.

[rebeccarebeccaa]

I remember when I got a new boss and she said you come in whether your sick or not. She said a lot of stupid things. Oh she was a republican and a magat

[mlu]

You know what's worse than a replaceable employee with an unimportant job? A replaceable employee with an unimportant job who thinks their shit smells better than their subordinates'.

[wickedninja]

It's surprising she was fired. Usually this is encouraged in corporations. She probably got fired for putting it in writing rather than just leaving it spoken.