‘What are you busy with?': Employee 'irked' after boss mocks her for not doing work during annual leave

Independent Singapore

19-07-2025

SINGAPORE: An employee was caught off guard when her boss asked, 'What are you busy with?' shortly after she returned to work from her annual leave — apparently because she had not completed the tasks he had sent her during her time off.
In a post on Reddit's 'AskSingapore' forum on Friday (July 18), the employee shared that she had taken two days of approved annual leave, which had been signed off by her supervisors, including the boss in question.
Despite this, she said she received a message from her boss on the first day of leave, asking her to look into suppliers for 'Item A, B, and C' via her work phone.
'I didn't respond as I wanted to disconnect from work,' she said. 'It's not something that I can sort within five minutes, researching requires time and minimally three hours in my case.'
On the second day, her boss followed up again with a message that read, 'Please let me know, thanks.' She then responded, 'Allow me to follow up tomorrow,' making it clear that she would only be able to address the matter once she was back at work.
However, the following morning, she was met with immediate pressure.
'Less than a minute after I arrived back at work the next morning, he asked if I had any updates yet. I replied that I was starting to look into it now, and he responded sarcastically, 'Wah, so busy ah? What are you busy with?' (gave a fake laugh,) which kinda irked me,' she explained.
Hoping to set healthier boundaries between work and personal time, she turned to the community for advice on how to approach the situation.
'How can I respectfully and professionally bring up to my boss that I'd prefer to keep work matters separate on my off days, without sounding uncooperative or guilty?'
She added, 'I'd also like to express that expecting immediate updates the moment I return doesn't feel very reasonable, especially when I haven't had a chance to properly settle back in.' 'Ignore that snarky comment.'
In the comments, one Singaporean Redditor recommended that the employee simply switch off her work phone the next time she goes on leave.
'Just turn off your work phone when you're on leave and don't reply. Sometimes, before going on leave or in the handover doc, I'll put 'will have intermittent wifi and not bring work phone overseas. For anything urgent, please reach out to XX'. If your contract doesn't mandate you to be on call on your work phone, you don't need to reply.'
Another Redditor suggested, 'I think you should always say you are travelling overseas and may not have internet connection, etc. If he texts you, then you reply slowly and say you are overseas now and will look into this when you are back from leave.'
A third said, 'Either you don't respond to him at all, or just respond to him again the same, that you will follow up when you're back in office. Ignore that snarky comment. The more you respond, the more BS they will say.'
They added that their own manager and colleague used to do something similar when they were new on the job.
'[They] did something similar during my lunch break when I first started. But I kept my boundaries, and they didn't like it. But I just continue to do so. They finally get the idea that I won't do any work during my break time.' Are employees expected to respond to their bosses while on leave?
This question has been raised before on HRSingapore's community forum, where several HR professionals shared their insights.
The general consensus is that employees are not obligated to respond to work-related matters while on approved leave. One HR professional explained that unless the situation is truly urgent, companies should refrain from calling or messaging staff who are on break.
If an employee chooses not to reply, they should not be held accountable or penalised, as they are entitled to fully disconnect during their time off.
However, not everyone agreed that the lines are always so clear. Some HR professionals noted that expectations can vary depending on the circumstances.
For example, if someone in senior management reaches out about something critical, it's generally expected that the employee at least acknowledges the message or offers help if they can.
Read also: 34 yo mum shares she's starting over with just S$2k after husband allegedly took most of her money
Featured image by freepik (for illustration purposes only)