A boss has been slammed online after they demanded money from an employee for a co-worker's leaving gift.
The wild interaction between the two was shared by Ben Askins, a workplace commentator from the United Kingdom - and let's just say, this anonymous reading managed to spark a pretty intense reaction online.
It all started when the boss texted the employee writing: "Hey! I noticed you haven’t put in the leaving present for Josh yet. Can you send £50 today? I want to put the purchase in by the end of the day."
Bear in mind that this amount is equivalent to approximately $62, which is a lot of money per person for a leaving gift.
“Can I ask why it is so expensive?” the employee responded. "Money is a little tight right now and to be asked to put in so much feels like a lot."
The boss seemingly didn't take too well to the comment, doubling down on his point.
"Josh has left the company for 3 years now and I think it is a nice gesture to show our appreciation," they said, to which the employee pointed out that it was a pretty large amount to give to someone especially when they earned more money than them and they didn't really know each other in the business.
Suddenly, the demand was branded "compulsory" by the boss who also added: "...It's not fair for me to ask some people and not others. Besides it isn't that much all things considered."
At this point, Askins, who was already pretty appalled by the boss' lack of empathy and understanding about people's financial situations, said: "That's a really callous comment because it might not be much for him but it's clearly a lot for this person."
"It's just not fair what [the boss] is doing," he added.
And others also agreed with hundreds of TikTok users taking to the comments to write leave their opinions on the matter.
"I mean £5 I get, but £50!! What the hell are they buying?" questioned one person while another added: "Employees should never be asked to gift up the food chain! They make way more money than the people lower on the totem pole."
A third chimed in stating: "COMPULSORY HE SAYS. Shouldn’t be a manager if he thinks that’s a legitimate contractual term."
And this user was also shocked, adding: "Some people can’t even afford to spend £50 on their own family let alone a colleague they don’t even really work with."
According to Employment Hero’s head of people and culture, Liam D’Ortenzio, this kind of entitled act from a boss can be detrimental to the team morale.
“Managers play a vital role in building team morale, and recognition is a big part of that. However, asking employees to contribute a significant, mandatory amount for a gift is not the way to go,” he said, as per News.com.au.
“It’s more likely to breed resentment than foster appreciation, which is the opposite of what you want," he added.
What do you think about this situation?
