**Found:** a real genre of workplace absence. The out of office that claims limited access, names three deputies, and still promises evening mail. The calendar says you are away while the last paragraph still says text me.  You have written this note before a week off. You have also received one, waited until evening, and written anyway because urgent still meant you. ## The dry line If the absence needs a staffing plan and a night shift, it is not leave. Time off did not open a gap in the work. It opened a second clock. Name one person who can decide without you, then stop checking after hours.