Decades ago I worked in an office with an older co-worker who had pretty much killed off almost every member of her family for bereavement leave.
The others knew her to be an alcoholic who periodically went on binges, had participated in company-mandated rehab…twice.
Her absence meant extra work for us, often rushed because of deadlines.
The end came when the boss received a tearful call from our colleague reporting that she wasn’t coming to work because her dear mother had passed away.
Our boss had to advise her that miraculously, her late mother had stopped by the office that very morning, looking for her, and had asked her to please get back in touch with her family. 😳
