Greater Noida (World Desk): A female employee in Canada lost her job due to a light-hearted joke. This woman had pasted a sticker on the bathroom mirror of her office on April Fool’s Day, which read, “Employees should stop crying before returning to work.” The woman claims that it was just a light-hearted joke and its purpose was not to insult anyone, but to make the office atmosphere a little lighter and encouraging.
The former employee shared her experience on Reddit and told that she had discussed it with the HR department before putting this sticker. HR not only approved it, but also suggested in which bathroom this sticker should be put. The woman wrote, “I had already talked to the team about this joke and everyone knew what I was going to do – except my boss.”
Straight dismissal without warning
The situation changed when the woman returned to work the next day. She noticed that her workplace belongings had already been removed. After meeting with the boss, it became clear that she had been sacked. He immediately apologised, admitting his mistake and saying, “As a leader, I should not have done this.”
She thought she would receive a warning or suspension, but instead she was fired from the job on the spot. The woman also clarified that there had been no disciplinary action against her before and she had been working in the company for the last 10 months without any complaint.
Hidden agenda behind the sack?
The woman suspects that the sticker incident was just an excuse and there are some other reasons behind her sack. She said that she and the boss had previously had a serious disagreement over “currency management”, which may have played a decisive role in this decision.
She expressed grief and said, *”My heart is broken because many employees trusted me as a leader.”* The woman also told that when she was being fired, her boss also had tears in his eyes, seeing which she was surprised.
Mixed reactions on Reddit
After this post on Reddit, people’s opinions were divided. Some users said that they also found this joke funny and they have seen such signs in their offices before. One user wrote, “In our old office, our manager himself had put such a sticker. Everyone liked it.” But some other users also said that perhaps the office was fed up with this woman’s actions and this incident just became a trigger.
Does the woman have any legal recourse?
The woman is now wondering whether she should contact the local Labor Board or whether this will remain just a “he said, she said” case. There was a difference of opinion on Reddit on this too. Some people advised her to definitely take the matter forward, while others advised her not to let it escalate. This incident once again raises the question of how to understand the boundaries between “joke” and “professionalism” in the office, and how important HR’s role is in this.
