HR department announces they will be taking Labor Day off while the rest of the company is forced to work the holiday: 'What about the rest of us?'

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Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Aug 29, 2025 8:00 PM EDT

There is no way to have a functioning workplace where all employees are treated exactly equally. If you've ever tried to be a part of a club or organization where there are no leaders and nobody has more power than anyone else, you know that it doesn't work. You spend half of every meeting doing introductions, and nobody can get anything done because everyone has an equally small stake in the organization's success. 

While not all employees can be paid the same or have the same title, there needs to be some level of uniformity in benefits across the board. One employee shouldn't be able to have better health insurance than everyone else: that would be asinine. An employee with a higher salary might opt for a more expensive insurance option than an entry-level employee, but the option for better health insurance should be available to all employees.

It's incredibly noticeable when some employees are expected to work on National holidays and others aren't. I've never heard of any workplace allowing one department to take off on a national holiday while barring others from doing the same. 

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  • Well, I had never heard of that until today. A non-HR employee recently went viral for sharing a poster that their HR department had put up in the office, announcing that they would be taking off on Labor Day. None of the other departments were allowed to take off on September 1st, which is quite ironic, given that Labor Day is supposedly for them. 

  • 01

    HR gets LABOR day off while the rest of us have to work

    Happy Labor Day * HR WILL BE CLOSED ON MONDAY SEPTEMBER 1ST IN OBSERVANCE OF LABOR DAY. OUR OFFICE WILL REOPEN TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND AT 7AM Happy Labor Day * * *
    via u/ApprehensiveDevice37
  • 02
    FunSwim4247 Don't show up, if someone complains bring up the holiday
    via u/FunSwim4247
  • 03
    Inantricide Hey, if HRs off, Im observing too, right
    via u/Inantricide
  • 04
    Only_Tip9560 HR will be closed and no-one will notice.
    via u/Only_Tip9560
  • 05
    JockBbcBoy At my current job, most of the HR people suspiciously went out of office on Thursday and Friday with emails that they'll return to office on Tuesday or Wednesday. I believe they have one or two personnel working to the end of this week. This is despite a company policy that explicitly restricts going out of office before an observed holiday.
    via u/JockBbcBoy
  • 06
    treedecor Well you know how it is... HR and management can do whatever they want whenever they want, but how dare the rest of us want even one day off (the double standard is real and very infuriating)
    via u/treedecor
  • 07
    TheSeagull666 Make identical signs for your departments, place them on the doors before leaving for the week-end. If confronted say that you saw the sign coming into the office on the 1st and thought that it was legitimate and that you just hadn't read the e-mail --since there'd be no reason to give one dpt preferential treatment... Esp HR!!
    via u/TheSeagull666
  • 08
    The MysteriousOrganis Gives some 1984 vibes
    via u/MysteriousOrganis
  • 09
    uncutpizza I wonder the amount of time they spent making that sign
    via u/uncutpizza
  • 10
    KryDaD That was my thought too, seems like a pretty fancy poster. This would be a black and white print out, with only text in my office.
    via u/KryDaD
  • 11
    WinDrossel007 Why don't you have it like other world - 1st of May?
    via u/WinDrossel007
  • 12
    A group of people sitting on a bench in front of a building on May Day
    via Karollyne Videira Hubert

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 13
    Emm_withoutha_L-88 Specifically to avoid reminding workers about the labor wars and unions America is terrible
    via u/Emm_withoutha_L-88
  • 14
    A woman holding a sign that says "I'm sticking with my union"
    via Manny Becerra

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 15
    Glum_Possibility_367 I worked at a company where 90% of the employees were customer-facing and 10% behind the scenes (accounting, IT, HR). We were open basically every day except for Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving and the 4th of July. The 10% in the office got more holidays off like Labor Day, Memorial Day, etc. The ones office workers traditionally get.
    via u/Glum_Possibility_367
  • 16
    A field full of American flags with trees in the background
    via David Trinks

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 17
    This was a constant cause of conflict, as the office workers were seen as stuck up and given preferential treatment. There was always talk of making the office workers work on those days in solidarity, but that never happened. Office workers were prohibited from working remotely, though, since the majority of employees couldn't. That pred off the office workers, so there was always conflict either way.
    via u/Glum_Possibility_367
  • 18

    Ok, I left HR a message

    Happy Labor Day What about the HR WIest of CLOS us? ON MONDAY SEPTEMBER 1ST IN OBSERVANCE OF LABOR DAY. OUR OFFICE WILL REOPEN TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND AT 7AM * Happy Labor Day
    via u/ApprehensiveDevice37
  • 19
    Verdens Trial Honestly, taking the time to design this poster and print it out in full color feels like gloating. It's so provocative.
    via u/VerdensTrial
  • 20
    Maniick Genuinely, it'd fell like a slap in the face if I walked into work and saw that. Look at us relaxing and celebrating the labor those nerds at the shop are still providing
    via u/Maniick
  • 21
    Jarrus_Kanan_Jarrus Just leave. It's not like HR would notice.
    via u/Jarrus_Kanan_Jarrus
  • 22
    ryaca This is like my husband's job. Management gets Labor Day off, but not the rank n file.
    via u/ryaca
  • 23
    kazein The people that actually make money for the company...
    via u/kazein
  • 24
    kcshoe14 Just curious are there any other office/admin type offices closed that day too, or is it literally just HR? Like finance/accounting, etc
    via u/kcshoe14
  • 25
    ApprehensiveDevice37 OP Nope just HR
    via u/ApprehensiveDevice37
  • 26
    Dancing_Liz_Cheney In my office, HR was writing up the receptionist for violating the dress code while wearing a pair of flip-flops and no socks. When I asked why they aren't getting written up as well, the HR person explained how the dress code policy does not apply to HR department members. They really never progressed past high school.
    via u/Dancing_Liz_Cheney

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hr department workplace-stories day off jobs employee toxic-workplace job work working holiday employees human resources labor day workplace holidays in the workplace
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