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A Reddit post is gaining a lot of attention online after a worker was "caught" doing pushups while on the clock by his boss and given "homework" in the form of a one-page essay on how pushups would help customers.
The original poster (OP) revealed: "My boss caught me doing pushups at this nearly empty garage I was working in without sitting for hours, and decided to give me homework."
The post was shared to the subreddit "Antiwork" on February 1 by u/Traditional-Cow-6325. It has over 30,000 upvotes so far with over 2,400 comments as well.
In the short post, the OP asked Redditors if they should write the essay or give their boss a two-week notice, and people didn't hold back with their recommendations.
According to Statista, 152.72 million people were employed in the United States in 2021. That number is expected to rise in 2022 to 159.82 million employed people.
One Redditor didn't think bosses can give out homework "like you're a f**king child who's one step from detention." They also added, "So there's your opening sentence."
Another had advice on how to handle the boss in the situation. "I'd buy him a book on micromanagement and give it to him with a note that said, 'If you need something to read, start with this,'" the Redditor explained.
A comment received over 25,000 upvotes on its own telling the OP to "do nothing." They also continued: "If he asks for it just say, 'I thought you were joking, because asking an employee to do work outside of hours would need overtime pay, and I didn't think you'd want to spend company money on that,' or something like that."
Other people got real about how they'd handle the situation if they were the OP. "Homework?" someone asked. "Really? I mean if my boss treated me like a child, it's over."
Another wouldn't just complete the homework. "If my boss assigned me work he expected completed after-hours, I'd bill him for it," they added.
Some didn't think the OP should complete the work at all. "Just don't do it, and let them fire you," a user wrote.
A Redditor asked the OP if they get paid to write essays, saying, "If not then ignore it, if he cares enough to fire you then let him."
One thought the OP should "demand to be clocked in for the entire night you have homework. You never know how long these essays can take to research."
While another thought the poster should do the essay, but at work instead. "Your time is your time," they wrote. "Do not quit. Make him fire you."
The jokes kept rolling in as well. "Write it on your back," a Redditor suggested. "Then make him read it while you do more pushups."
Newsweek reached out to u/Traditional-Cow-6325 for comment.
