Man Says He Missed His Father's Passing After Being Held Back At Work, Wishes Employers Be More Compassionate
"But what pisses me off is that my OM did not allow me to rush down to the hospital immediately, as prompted by the doctor, to witness my father's passing & have my final words & prayers to my father."
It is unimaginable to have a loved one pass away with no one by their side. Unfortunately for one man, he has to live with the reality that he wasn’t able to be by his father’s side before he passed away—all because of work.
Syed Ahmad Sabar Aljoofri shared his story through a Facebook post on Tuesday (October 27) where he recalled the heartbreaking event he experienced 10 months ago when he missed his father’s final moments.
Manager Declines Emergency Leave
Syed was covering another colleague’s shift on December 23 when he received a call from the hospital regarding his father’s unresponsive state. When he was informed that it was highly likely his father was “to leave this world at any point of time,” he knew he had to get to the hospital right away.
Informing his operational manager—whom he referred to as OM—of his emergency, he was told that he is not allowed to leave work before 4 pm. It was then just 9.30 am. He was told he cannot go before clearing up his backlog. He, however, tried to explain his reason.
After a third attempt at making an early leave, the OM finally allowed him to leave and be his father. But on his way to the hospital at 11:42 am, Syed received another call from the doctor to inform him that his father already passed away.
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Syed: ‘I did not manage to whisper my last words & prayers through his ears & be with him for the very last time…’
Syed recalls that neither he nor his mother was able to be by his father’s side during his passing.
But it isn’t the passing that he found more devastating but more of the fact that he was not there when his father passed. According to him, his father’s “ultimate final wish” was for Syed to whisper last words and prayers at his final moments.
Termination notice after just a week of dad’s death
About a week after his father passed away, Syed was terminated by the company after his OM allegedly filed a complaint to their HR for filing too many leave days—which Syed said were denied even though he had explained they were spent to take care of his dad.
For the two weeks, he was by his father’s side, Syed made sure to keep both his OM and the HR updated through letters from a variety of medical specialists who were providing his dad with professional care. He also said he had informed them that he was the only caregiver for his father and that he would return to work once his father is finally admitted.
Despite the what Syed described as “unjustified termination,” Syed figured it was for the best since he had already been planning to leave the company after 5 years of the toxic office culture he had to face.
Syed ended his post saying, “Until today, I cannot & will never forgive my OM for what he had indirectly done to my father.”
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