‘Death Is A Death’: Gen Z Employee Gives Lecture On ‘Human Decency’ To Toxic Boss, Internet Says ‘High Salute To The Guy’

A WhatsApp conversation between a Gen Z employee and his manager is going viral for showing how the young generation refuses to tolerate toxic work culture. The chat began when the employee informed his boss about his uncle’s passing and he needed time to be with his family. Instead of showing understanding, the manager reminded him about an important client meeting and asked him to attend it first. The employee explained that his uncle was like a second father and attending the meeting is impossible.

Despite this, the manager continued to prioritise work but the employee reminded the boss that he had already worked long hours before and one day to mourn was reasonable. The conversation escalated as the manager threatened to take action by marking

leave without pay and demanded a death certificate.

Gen Z Employee Stands Up Against Toxic Work Culture

As per the screenshot shared on X (Formerly Twitter), the Gen Z employee told his boss, “Sir, I just informed you that my uncle passed away last night. I need to be with my family today.” To this, the manager replied, “Today is client meeting. It’s vertigo important. You can attend the meeting and then go. It’s like he is not your parent.” Shocked by his words, the worker explained, “Excuse me? With all due respect, a death in the family is still a death. He helped raise me he was practically a second father. You can’t expect me to sit in a meeting pretending everything’s normal.”

“I’ve worked late nights, weekends and given everything to this job. But right now, I need one day to be with my family. If that’s a problem, maybe you should reconsider how you treat your employees,” the young man added

Agitated by his juniors’ reply, the boss told him to mind his language and that he was “overreacting.” But the employer dismissed his claim saying, “No, I’m not. I’m standing up for something basic human decency. If you can’t understand that, maybe I’m working for the wrong person.”

The boss ended the conversation saying, “Maybe you won’t be working anymore. Speak to me tomorrow with HR. This is getting out of hand. I don’t want to talk to you. You don’t respect your seniors. I am marking you LWP for today and Monday. Get a deaths certificate for your uncles to clear this and to be marked as PTO.”

In the caption, the X user wrote, “Only Gen Z can change the toxic Indian Work Culture. Salute to this guy.”

Only Gen-Z can change the toxic Indian Work Culture

Salute to this guy pic.twitter.com/5xFLzvB7i7

— Oxygen 💨 (@WhateverVishal) November 15, 2025

Social Media Users Praise Employee For Showing Courage

Reacting to the post, a user wrote, “Any boss who says ‘client won’t wait’ when someone’s relative has died shouldn’t be managing people, he should be managing Excel sheets in a dark room where no human interaction is required. And threatening HR? HR should be calling this manager for therapy, sensitivity training, and probably an exorcism. Salute to the employee.”

Another shared, “I manage 11 people team and these kind of issues comes often. I still remember that for many members, I approved an emergency vacation by explaining the situation to top management. If I request my team for any kind of work, they are always ready to help me. Never let me down. It’s mutual.”

“Clients are actually quite understanding. It’s the employer/manager who has an issue,” a comment read.

An individual stated, “If words get out which company this is, the manager can get fired only for the first response, forget about the whole conversation.”

Another mentioned, “I have worked for Indian clients and foreign clients as well in consulting. Indian clients are the worst. They treat you like s**t and not as humans. This behaviour is very real.”

Not everyone supported the Gen Z employee. One felt that he went too far. He claimed they would have stopped the conversation instead of arguing back and would have replaced the employee quickly.