Many many years ago I worked a job where we had to keep an eye on the call center call queue/employees call status on the phone.
Someone always has to keep an eye on it, so if you need to go for a break, even just to use the washroom, if you’re the only one on shift, you asked one of the team leads to watch it.
Had been like that for years.
Well, we had a brand new manager for our team who was an offsite manager at another call center, and my other coworker was in a very long meeting that day so I was all alone watching things.
I was really hungry, feeling sick from it, so I asked one of the team leads as usual to watch things while I took a break and went across the street to grab some fast food and come back.
Well, while I was gone for like 10minutes, the manager had called our desk (we have voice mail) and realized no one was there.
He reamed me out for having left the desk unattended, and how I should have waited for my coworkers meeting to end which wasn’t ending anytime soon.
Didn’t care that I’d had a TL cover for me as we’d always done.
Next day, HR calls me into their office and puts me on formal notice for it.
I quit the next day. Fuck that shit.
Ya that’s our employment insurance. Glad you were able to get back on your feet!