“The boss kept mocking him and even talked behind his back, saying, ‘your cat dying is like a wife dying, it’s just a cat — you want to be sad over that?’”
A Malaysian netizen has sparked an online discussion after sharing an incident involving a boss who allegedly mocked an employee for taking half-day emergency leave (EL) following the death of their pet cat.
In a post shared on Threads, the Malaysian man that an office colleague’s cat had died, prompting the employee to apply for half-day emergency leave in order to bury the animal.
However, instead of showing empathy, the boss was said to have allegedly mocked the employee, even making remarks behind their back.
“The boss kept mocking him and even talked behind his back, saying, ‘ (is) your cat dying is like a wife dying, it’s just a cat — you want to be sad over that?’”
The commenter said they were left stunned by the remarks, adding that he too is a cat owner and found the response deeply inappropriate.
The incident quickly drew reactions from netizens, many of whom criticised the boss for lacking empathy and professionalism.
“It depends on the individual. I have cats too, but I wouldn’t be sad if one of them died. Some people treat their cats like life partners, so of course they would be devastated,” wrote @zrthbdlmtlb90.
“Your boss is upset because they know nobody would take half a day off to mourn them,” said another.
“For me, that’s red flag as a boss,” said a netizen.
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