Chelsea Carney: Millennial calls out infuriating boomer boss act

A millennial worker has taken aim at an infuriating question her boomer bosses continue to ask her and need to stop asking.

Chelsea Carney is now self-employed, but after years of working “for the man,” she still can’t understand one thing bosses do.

The 34-year-old had a groundbreaking “little thought” for employers.

“Just a little thought for employers. Maybe before asking staff a question about why they’re taking leave, consider that it could be personal. It could be mental health-related, and you don’t need to know,” she said.

“The reason people have that leave is to take it.

“Employers should let people live and not ask why staff simply use their basic entitlements.”

The entrepreneur added that “people need to live” and “have their privacy respected”.

“Leave is to be given and used as people see fit. It is an entitlement and should be treated as such,” she said.

Carney added that power dynamics between a boss and an employer should dictate that it’s up to the staff member to be willing to share details despite how innocent a boss’ inquiry may be.

“Life happens, and sometimes these life events are private, traumatic or otherwise, and don’t need to be communicated to an employer,” she said.

“I absolutely think that there is generational change occurring with respect to setting boundaries, but we still have a long way to go,” she said.

“I also think this is highly dependent on workplace culture and expectations. Sometimes staff might be good at setting boundaries, but this does not mean those boundaries will be respected.”

An advocate of setting work boundaries with her employers, Carney said it had come about because of prying questions from bosses when she was younger.

“In my twenties, I was absolutely put through the wringer, with management taking my reason for leave, which was private, and sharing it with other staff,” she said.

“Now, if I were asked and I wasn’t willing to share, I would be very happy to say, ‘My reason is a private matter, and I would appreciate it if you could respect that’.”

Despite receiving a lot of positive feedback, not everybody was on board with Carney’s revolutionary idea.

“When I put in for sick leave due to an upcoming surgery and confirmed I’d have a medical certificate to provide them with, and they asked what surgery I was having,” one wrote.