An unusual leave request from a young employee has become the centre of a light-hearted discussion on changing workplace culture, after an Associate Director shared the incident on LinkedIn.

His post, filled with humour and disbelief, quickly struck a chord with social media users who related to the generational gap it highlighted.

“I think this might be the moment I officially realised I am getting old,” the caption of the post reads.

‘Sicko leave’ for Travis Scott concert:

Gaurav Sharma from Delhi, an associate director at a company, explained that he received an email from a team member requesting “Sicko Leave.” Assuming it was a simple typing mistake, he called the employee in to clarify.

To his surprise, the employee calmly confirmed that it was intentional; he needed the day off because Travis Scott was performing in Mumbai.

“Sicko Mode” is a 2018 track by Travis Scott, released on his album Astroworld.

Sharma wrote that he reread the email twice because the term sounded so unusual. He reflected on how, in earlier years, employees often felt pressured to give more “serious” reasons for taking leave.

“Back in our day, if you needed a day off, you came up with a solid reason. Fever. Family function. Dead Grandparent. Apparently, attending a concert is now a valid reason to apply for leave.”

HT.com has reached out to the user for a comment. This report will be updated when he responds.

The surprising email request:

The email caught Sharma’s attention immediately. The employee wrote that he wanted a leave on November 19 because Travis Scott was performing in Mumbai and he already had tickets. He jokingly called it a “Sicko Leave.”

“While it’s important to work, it’s just as important to vibe. So please consider this my official application for one day of Sicko Leave,” the email further adds.

Check out the post here:

How did the social media react?

The post quickly gained attention online, with many social media users finding the email hilarious.

One of the users commented, “Honestly, it’s completely okay, it’s his casual leave after all, part of his CTC.”

A second user commented, “I believe you have fostered the right work culture, when your team member has been able to openly tell you the truth of his actual reasons for taking a leave.”

“The evolution of the ‘dead grandparent’ excuse to ‘Travis Scott is performing’ is truly the ultimate metric for measuring how times have changed,” another user commented.

The humorous email sparked a lively discussion about generational differences and evolving attitudes toward work-life balance.