Employer denies PTO to a remote employee with 90 hours accrued, desperate to care for his declining mom, pushing the worker to find fresh job offer and consider the most satisfying way to walk out: “for as much financial security as I can get”

Author image for Etai Eshet
Etai Eshet • Editor
May 6, 2025 1:00 PM EDT

Corporate America has a unique talent for transforming Paid Time Off into Schrödinger's Benefit: simultaneously dangled in front of you as a symbol of work-life balance, yet mysteriously unavailable the moment you actually need to use it.

For many employees, the dance is predictable: accrue a heroic mountain of PTO while management polishes speeches about self-care, but the moment you hint at actually stepping away, some higher-up appears like a tiered clerk with a "Sorry, computer says no" and a magical ability to make empathy disappear. But this is only a reminder that In the modern workplace, your value is measured less by your output and more by your willingness to act like PTO is just Monopoly money you collect, never spend.

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  • Here, we see the greatest hits of the “corporate care” playlist: being expected to move mountains for vague business needs, being denied time off for family emergencies, and discovering that even when you offer to work through your vacation, you’re still a liability for wanting a few days of basic humanity. The bigger the company, the easier it is to get lost in the shuffle. 

    So remember: you can always find another faceless cubicle to man, but you can’t get back the moments management so cheerfully denies. take that PTO and tell management to take a walk.

  • "Employer denied time off request but I have a new job lined up"

    "At this point it does not matter to me because it is absolutely imperative that I visit my mother"
    via sanjeri

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Hey all, I'll give a basic rundown of my situation and am looking for advice on how to proceed in a situation I have never found myself in before.
    via FewSleep9329
  • I currently work at a company that has target closing dates for the prior month, so the beginning of the month is typically busy for all of us. I currently have 90 hours
    via FewSleep9329
  • of PTO saved up because I rarely ask for time off. I have been working remote since an accident and am expected to return to in office work as of May 1st. I now live in a different city than which my job is located but within the same state.
    via FewSleep9329
  • Cheezburger Image 10500323840
    via Monkey Business Images

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • I have already secured a new job that starts on May 12th.
    via FewSleep9329
  • My original plan was to take PTO for a week, starting this coming Thursday and ending the next Thursday (May 1st - May 8th). Two reasons for this being because:
    via FewSleep9329
  • 1. I don't currently live in the same city as my job and they expect me in office on the 1st, and
    via FewSleep9329
  • Cheezburger Image 10500324096
    via Monkey Business Images

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 2. To visit my mother who has been very sick for quite some time but has been in an extreme decline in health over the past month.
    via FewSleep9329
  • My employer has been aware of my mother's sickness since | began there but do not know any updates because I like to keep my personal life separate from work.
    via FewSleep9329
  • On this coming Monday (March 5th) I was planning on putting my two weeks in even though I would be on PTO that day. When
    via FewSleep9329
  • that week of PTO was up, I was going to head into the office on Friday May 9th to complete the workday and turn in my computer and access card. Following that I
    via FewSleep9329
  • was planning on putting the last 40 hours of PTO in during the second week of my two week notice to begin my new job and not having a lapse in pay.
    via FewSleep9329
  • I made it clear that during the first week of PTO that I was more than happy to be available and accessible while also working on closing duties even though I was
    via FewSleep9329
  • on PTO, because I did not want to leave my manager hanging but also needed the flexibility of being able to care for my mother
    via FewSleep9329
  • during that time. I also was looking to use some PTO instead of letting it go to waste.
    via FewSleep9329
  • I spoke to my manger today and he was fine with the PTO request, and asked me to out it in so he could approve it. Unfortunately his manager told him to deny the
    via FewSleep9329
  • request. At this point it does not matter to me because it is absolutely imperative that I visit my mother before I begin this new job.
    via FewSleep9329
  • I know people may criticize my plan as being unfair to the employer however I do want to clarify that this company has about 1,500 employees and I
    via FewSleep9329
  • have been here for a year and a half, in which time the company has demonstrated multiple times that they could care less for me
    via FewSleep9329
  • as an employee and wouldn't hesitate to fire me which was what prompted me to search for another job.
    via FewSleep9329
  • From my perspective I have three options: 1. Firmly state that I will be taking that time off regardless of the consequences and submitting my two weeks notice on Monday as planned anyway;
    via FewSleep9329
  • 2. Put in my two weeks notice tomorrow morning and also firmly stating I will be taking that time off regardless;
    via FewSleep9329
  • If both those options were to fail then on to option 3: 3. Submit my resignation letter effective immediately.
    via FewSleep9329
  • I am asking for input as I know companies can make moves erratically and am looking for the best way forward to not leave my manager hanging and for my own befit of not wasting 90 hours of PTO while also having overlapping paychecks for as much financial security as I can get.
    via FewSleep9329
  • I would appreciate any and all input, advice, and opinions. Thank you in advance!
    via FewSleep9329

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management boss workplace-stories hr toxic-workplace manager bosses work PTO managers supervisor workplace Horrible Bosses work-life balance
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