Techie informs manager about his baby admitted to NICU for breathing problems. His response goes viral: ‘He called me and…’

A software developer recently shared a distressing experience on the online forum Reddit, explaining how workplace pressure overshadowed one of the most critical moments of his personal life. Posting in the Developers India community, he described how his manager continued to assign tasks even while he was officially on paternity leave.

The engineer had just welcomed his first child, but the situation was far from smooth. The baby arrived earlier than expected and required urgent medical care, leading to admission in the neonatal intensive care unit due to breathing complications. Despite clearly communicating the emergency to his reporting manager, the employee was repeatedly contacted regarding work responsibilities and deliverables.


What made the situation more frustrating was that the employee had already planned his leave months in advance. Back in December, he had informed both the human resources team and his supervisor about his intention to take two weeks of paternity leave in April. However, even after formal approvals and prior notice, the manager allegedly ignored these boundaries and continued to demand availability.

The developer also recalled a similar incident from the previous year when his wife had fallen seriously ill during pregnancy. At that time, he was still expected to work late into the night, even though his involvement was not critical. Despite successfully leading a major release for a business-sensitive application without any errors—contributing significantly to company outcomes—his performance review failed to reflect his efforts and was rated as merely meeting expectations.

This pattern of behavior led the employee to finally push back. He questioned why he should once again prioritize work over family when his dedication had not been acknowledged earlier. In response, the manager reportedly dismissed his concerns and even suggested that he was easily replaceable, further highlighting what the employee described as a recurring pattern of unprofessional conduct.

The post quickly gained attention, with many users offering advice and support. Several commenters suggested escalating the matter to HR, calling it a direct violation of company policies. Others encouraged the developer to maintain firm boundaries, ignore work-related communication during leave, and consider switching teams or exploring better opportunities elsewhere, emphasizing that toxic management is not worth enduring.