A boss learned a hard lesson about enforcing rules without understanding the context after insisting an employee turn on their camera during a video meeting, only to be surprised by an unexpected situation. In a viral Reddit post titled “Turn my camera on? Fine...”, the employee narrated the encounter with their boss named Mark, who was a “real stickler for the rules.”

Recounting the incident from 2021, the employee began the post by describing Mark's personality: “He was the kind of man who wouldn't allow chitchat in his team and loved an office day more than anything, despite the fact that our team was external and all of us lived crazy far away.”

The employee then shared that they had a chronic illness that required regular hospital infusions. “Seeing as Mark didn't want to chitchat, he wasn’t aware that I live with this disease,” they explained.

One day, the employee was working remotely from their hospital bed when Mark insisted they turn on their camera during a virtual meeting. The employee initially refused to avoid any explanations: “We had our daily meeting planned and I figured it would be fine to call in without my camera, as they could still hear me just fine, and I didn't want to freak anyone out with the infusion line in the picture and what not.”

Mark, however, insisted on a one-on-one discussion during the call and proceeded to reprimand the employee for not following the camera-on policy. Reluctantly, the employee turned on the camera, leaving their boss utterly shocked.

“I turn on my camera and watch his face go from red to white, as he sees me in what is very clearly a hospital room. I tell him I'm uncomfortable being on camera while I'm getting treatment (also not elaborating on what it's for). His sweaty little face still brings me joy,” the employee recalled, concluding: “It was a really nice moment to bask in, and I think about it pretty often when I get managers who like rules just a little too much.”

Netizens Reaction

The post quickie went viral with multiple responses from internet users. “The only way that could’ve been better is if you turned it on in the meeting and caused him to get sweaty face in front of everybody on the call,” wrote one of the internet users.

A second user added, “I once had an admin tell me I couldn't leave work for dialysis on days that we had faculty meetings. That I'd just have to "skip treatment" on those days. I talked to my Union Rep and that admin member didn't talk to me again until he retired.”