It's not all easy days with on time departures. An airline is just naturally a CYA type of mindset. When there are issues, they have to be put on someone and everyone wants to avoid it being put on them.
From my personal experience it's hard to get a straight answer from the inflight offices on not just company protocol, but union protocol when it comes to things like medical leave and workers comp. You need to know your contract very well and be able to call the company out if it's not being followed.