A heated Reddit post by a frustrated manager has ignited widespread debate about the misuse of work-from-home privileges, as employees allegedly use recurring "power cut" excuses to avoid work responsibilities.
Manager Calls Out Repeated Absences
The manager expressed strong frustration over two team members who regularly disappear during work hours, marking their Slack status as "network issue" or "electricity outage" before going offline for extended periods. "Can't hop on a call because of no electricity is an excuse that I absolutely can't stand," the manager wrote in the viral post.
Out of a seven-person team, these two employees have made this a consistent pattern spanning several weeks. The manager questioned the legitimacy of these claims, particularly given that both employees earn over ₹1.5 lakh monthly after taxes. "What kind of a kanjoos person cannot afford a UPS for 1k?" the post read, suggesting that basic backup power solutions are easily affordable at their salary level.
Questioning Tech Excuses
The manager also dismissed laptop battery failures as valid excuses, noting that the company provides MacBook Pros to all employees. "If someone says their battery died, they're either careless or lying," the manager stated, arguing that repeated technical failures indicate either negligence or dishonesty.
While acknowledging that occasional connectivity issues are understandable, the manager emphasized that persistent problems warrant action, such as switching internet providers. The post warned that continued absenteeism could prompt management intervention, adding, "If tomorrow management takes action, the same people will say they have no work-life balance".
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Online Reactions Split
The post quickly went viral, generating polarized responses from Reddit users. Many supported the manager's stance, arguing that some remote workers exploit flexibility and undermine policies for everyone else.
One user shared, "My company had a 2-day WFH per week policy and it got revoked 6 months ago (5 days WFO now) all because of 3 (2 mainly) who every single time: Power cut - connected on hotspot". Another commented, "This is a real concern; few of my teammates do this very frequently, and the manager won't approve leaves for the rest of us, stating shrinkage or pending tasks".
One particularly telling example came from a user who caught an employee reusing screenshots: "One time, one of my team members posted a screenshot of no internet connection. When I closely checked the screenshot, it was the same screenshot that was pasted 2 days before by the same team member".
However, some users criticized the manager's harsh tone, arguing that genuine infrastructure challenges exist in smaller towns and cities where power cuts and poor internet connectivity remain common issues.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. 10Tracker.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
