Boss repeatedly asks employee to work shifts while they're on leave to enjoy the birth of their first child, employee quits instead: 'How about I take a permanent vacation...'

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Sep 3, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

"Most employees don't quit their jobs....they quit their bosses!"

This phrase has been bandied about in internet employment discussions for some time and remains steadfastly true. Any job—well, almost any job—is tolerable to a certain level just as long as you enjoy the people you're working with. Even the most grueling work at odd hours can be managed as long as you have solid, reliable leadership and coworkers whom you enjoy. In these types of workplace cultures, the work itself is almost secondary to the relationships and camaraderie that form.

On the other hand, it's easy to know when you're in a situation where you and your time are not being respected by leadership. You'll find that even when you're off, they expect you to be willing to drop everything and work at a moment's notice… even shortly after the birth of your child.

That's how it was in this classic malicious compliance story, where this boss relentlessly tried to get an employee to come in and work shifts after the birth of their child… They chose instead to take a permanent vacation. 

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    Cheezburger Image 10398283008
    via Aditya Romansa
  • 02
    Boss is going to keep asking me to work shifts when I take time off? How about I take a permanent vacation... L Disclaimer: I tried to keep it as short as I could but it still turned out pretty lengthy. No TLDR...read it or don't. This is the story of my former employer. I work in the northeast US and my employer at the time was a very small company (Boss and 5 employees) in a very specific industry where 90% of our work was on construction sites and finding a well- qualified person in this very
    via u/Tautochrone1
  • 03
    My boss was the kind of boss that every employee hates. Corners were cut every possible way in order to keep overhead costs down. On top of that he would constantly overbook on jobs (like signing contracts for 6 projects during the same week knowing full well that he only has 5 employees) which would result in the employees often working 14 hour days or more....which when you're on salary (no really overtime).
    via u/Tautochrone1
  • 04
    His worst attribute by far was approving time off and then during your time off calling or texting you asking if you would be willing to work a day or cut your vacation short. Sometimes he'd even ask you to move your time off to the next week or next month "when the workload lightens up" (hint: it never lightened up due to his constant overbooking).
    via u/Tautochrone1
  • 05
    After working at this company for 6 years I got used to all the aforementioned annoyances. But then things changed, my son was born. In the months leading up to his birth I made it very clear that I would be taking a 5-week unpaid leave of absence once he arrives. The state we're in allows new parents to take up to 8 weeks of unpaid leave. I told my boss that I know 8 weeks would be a huge strain on such a small company so I was willing to take 5 weeks but those 5 weeks would be completely "off
    via u/Tautochrone1
  • 06
    Fast-forward to my son's birth. He was born on a Friday and after a short stay in the NICU (don't worry, he's fine) was released on Monday and we took him home. Tuesday morning (yeah...the next day) I wake up to a missed call, an email, and 3 texts all from my boss asking me to call him back ASAP. For reasons still unknown to me to this day I call him back and he tells me there's a slight emergency (code speak for he screwed up the scheduling and has a job with no employee at it) and asks if I c
    via u/Tautochrone1
  • 07
    I lost it. I literally felt something in my neck snap and unleashed a verbal assault on him that I still feel bad about now, a year later. I ended my rant with an apology...as much of a move it was for him to be calling me in that situation it was still completely unprofessional of me to say what I said to him. Obviously he wasn't a big fan of what I said and after a small rant of his own ended with the sentences that made this whole story possible.
    via u/Tautochrone1
  • 08
    He said, "You've got a pretty good gig at this company that most people your age would be thankful for. I'd be impressed if you could find a better job in this field because I've been doing this for 30 years and I know how small this industry is and trust me, good jobs. like yours don't come along very often. Think about that." So we ended the call and I did what he said. I thought about it. After thinking about it for about 30 seconds I got out of bed, sat down in front of my computer and start
    via u/Tautochrone1
  • 09
    5 weeks later my time off came to an end and my first day back I came in to work, walked into my bosses office and handed him a piece of paper. Boss: "What's this?" Me: "I thought about what you said about how you be really impressed if I could find a better job than the one I have here. ...so I did."
    via u/Tautochrone1
  • 10
    My boss reads over what I handed him...a job offer from a competitor for the exact same job I was performing but at a 25% higher salary, an extra week of paid vacation compared to what I had AND a stipulation that company policy was that work hours are capped at 8 per day meaning that once I hit 8 hours on a job I pack up and leave it until tomorrow. No exceptions.
    via u/Tautochrone1
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    Boss: "Well then...ummm...can I have the day to crunch some numbers to come up with a counter-offer? Me: "No, don't bother. I just wanted you to see it because I know you wouldn't have believed me otherwise." Gave my two week notice and left for whatever job site I was on that day. That was a year ago and I could not be happier with my new job. I get to spend lots of time with my boy and that's the best job perk there is.
    via u/Tautochrone1
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    For all you bosses and managers out there. Dont with your employees...especially the good ones. Treat them how you'd want to be treated. Most employees don't quit their jobs....they quit their bosses!
    via u/Tautochrone1
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    blackjesushiphop My company has a line in my contract that if anyone calls me and asks me to work on a scheduled day off I am to be paid for 8 hours that day and I keep my day off. I assume to curb like this.
    via u/Tautochrone1
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    • radioaktvt 5y ago Most employees don't quit their jobs....they quit their bosses! So true. Congrats on your son and the better job!
    via u/Tautochrone1
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    alankel 5y ago • Congratulations on the new job! I was in a similar situation a few years ago after my daughter was born but my boss went the opposite way to your old one. Mine was full of apologies, I got an extra couple of days of paid holidays and took my wife out for a nice dinner in a restaurant on the company's expense account. There were a couple of things over the years that I've been annoyed with but overall the place I'm with now are pretty decent.
    via u/Tautochrone1
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    | alphalegend91 love this. As a small business owner I can't understand why a boss would treat their employee like and expect them to stick around. Your boss sounds like a nightmare and I'm so happy you left for greener pastures.
    via u/Tautochrone1
  • 17
    slightlyassholic Yeah, people in charge sometimes forget that skilled employees, especially in a niche field, are often very hard to find or replace and if they are shorthanded odds are that several other prospective employers are as well and will be all too happy to hire away someone from them.
    via u/Tautochrone1

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workplace discussion workplace-stories jobs job malicious compliance work workplace workplace malicious compliance employment in the workplace
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