Some workplace rules make so little sense, you can’t help but follow them to the letter, just to prove the point. An emergency physician recently shared a story that perfectly captures how out of touch some employers can be when it comes to sick leave.
When a visibly ill woman came into the ER asking for a doctor’s note, the physician expected a serious issue. Instead, the woman just needed proof for her job that she was too sick to work. After waiting five and a half hours for a note, the doctor decided to give her exactly what her employer wanted, and a little more.
An ER doctor, annoyed by an employer’s demand for a doctor’s note, grants a sick woman two weeks of paid leave after her five-hour wait for a cold
When employers require medical notes for short-term illness, they not only waste healthcare resources but also undermine employee well-being.
According to a 2023 report by the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization, work-related stress and poor health management contribute to over 2 million deaths annually, often preventable through supportive workplace policies.
Forcing sick employees into emergency departments for proof of illness, especially during seasonal health surges, is a symptom of managerial distrust rather than a legitimate necessity.
In healthcare, this behavior creates systemic strain. Emergency physicians like the one in this story are trained to prioritize critical patients, not paperwork.
Studies from The Journal of Emergency Medicine have shown that non-urgent visits, including those for administrative purposes like sick notes, can account for up to 30% of ER traffic during flu season.
Each unnecessary visit increases wait times, reduces access for truly ill patients, and adds stress to medical staff already operating under high-pressure conditions.
Psychologically, this dynamic erodes morale. Dr. Adam Grant, organizational psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, writes that “when companies operate from a mindset of suspicion rather than trust, they create a culture of disengagement.”
Employees treated as potential liars rather than responsible adults are less likely to stay loyal or motivated. This echoes the physician’s frustration, he wasn’t angry at the patient but at a system that treated her illness as something to be verified rather than cared for.
From a public health and management perspective, the solution is simple: trust and autonomy.
Employers should replace mandatory doctor’s notes with self-certification policies, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and numerous labor boards in the U.K., Canada, and Australia. These systems reduce unnecessary medical visits while maintaining accountability.
See what others had to share with OP:
These Redditors criticized workplaces that force sick or injured staff to chase medical notes
![[Reddit User] − About ten years ago I had to go to the ED for the same reason.](https://dailyhighlight.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/wp-editor-1761534440902-35.webp "Employer Didn’t Believe Worker Was Sick, So Doctor Wrote A Note To Teach Her Boss A Lesson")
This group applauded OP’s empathy, saying more doctors should balance care and humanity
These commenters shared painful examples of companies pressuring employees to work through illness
This employer argued that sick days should be granted freely and notes are an invasion of privacy
So, what do you think? Was the doctor right to hand out a two-week note as a lesson to the employer, or should workplace policies be more understanding in the first place? Share your take below. Have you ever been forced to “prove” that you were too sick to work?
