Boss issues formal warning to employee during her approved vacation in Cabo for missing a meeting added to her work calendar while she was out of the country

A woman comes back from a week in Cabo, goes into the office, and receives a formal written warning for missing a meeting that was added to her calendar while she was on approved vacation and out of the country. Her manager knew she was gone. The meeting went on her calendar anyway

Approved vacation is one of those workplace concepts that seems straightforward until a manager needs something. At that point, it becomes more of a general guideline, a soft suggestion about availability that can be revisited if something comes up. The employee is technically reachable if you call enough times. The calendar is technically still there even if nobody is looking at it. Close enough.

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  • Woman sitting at a table in a modern café or office space, holding a pen and looking thoughtful with a notebook in front of her.
    via Daria Pimkina

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

  • My wife received a written warning for something that happened while we were out of the country on vacation.

    We just got back from a much- needed vacation in Cabo. The whole idea was to truly disconnect for a week.
    via Formal_Aerie9017
  • So we only took our personal phones and made a point to leave our work phones at home.
    via Formal_Aerie9017
  • Crazy, I know. At one point while we were there, her manager kept blowing up her personal phone.
    via Formal_Aerie9017
  • My wife didn't answer right away but saw the missed calls later. It turned out her manager was calling because a meeting was suddenly put on her calendar during her approved vacation.
    via Formal_Aerie9017
  • Of course, she wasn't looking at her work calendar and had no idea this was even happening
    via Formal_Aerie9017

  • What makes a written warning such a specific kind of workplace move is the paperwork. It is not just a conversation or a complaint. It is a document, filed somewhere, attached to a person's record, making the case that they did something wrong. In this situation, something wrong was not attending a meeting they had no reason to know existed, on a day they were not supposed to be working, in a country they were visiting on a trip their manager had approved.

  • Woman in a bikini and sunglasses relaxing in a hammock under a tree, enjoying a sunny outdoor setting.
    via Jordan Bauer

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

  • This meant the meeting was uncovered, and her manager called to chew her out about it while we were trying to relax.
    via Formal_Aerie9017
  • She managed to get past it, and thankfully we enjoyed the rest of our trip. We flew back Sunday night, and she worked on Monday.
    via Formal_Aerie9017

  • The timing is its own separate achievement. Nobody mentioned the meeting on Monday. Nobody mentioned it on Tuesday. Then Wednesday arrived, and suddenly there was paperwork ready to go. Two full working days of silence followed by a formal written warning suggest the warning was not exactly spontaneous. Someone prepared it. Someone decided this was the move.

  • No one mentioned the meeting on Monday or Tuesday. Then she went into the office today and was suddenly given a formal written warning for not ensuring the meeting was covered.
    via Formal_Aerie9017
  • She is transferring to another department in about a month. The commute is a bit longer, but she'll have a new manager, who I hope isn't a total psycho.
    via Formal_Aerie9017

  • The husband wants her to escalate. She does not want to burn bridges before her transfer. This is the calculation that workplaces like this one depend on entirely. The employee absorbs the unfair thing because the cost of pushing back feels higher than the cost of letting it go. The manager issues the warning knowing this. The math works out in one direction consistently, which is probably why the department has a turnover problem and a reputation for destroying people's mental health.

  • Woman sitting on a bed, relaxed, looking at her phone with a slight smile.
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

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

  • I told her she should talk to her manager's manager about this. It's so unfair to be punished for something that happened while on vacation, a vacation the manager knew about.
    via Formal_Aerie9017
  • But she's hesitant to do that, as she doesn't want to burn bridges right before she leaves.
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  • I'm so ped off about the whole thing. She works 55 hours a week at an incredibly stressful job.
    via Formal_Aerie9017
  • She always goes above and beyond, and this situation has been absolutely destroying her mental health.
    via Formal_Aerie9017

  • She works 55 hours a week. She took one vacation. She left her work phone at home, which in a functional workplace would be completely unremarkable. In this one, it became evidence.

  • That's why no one stays in that department.
    via Formal_Aerie9017
  • kmtblk I wouldn't accept that write up and stuff like that can mess up her movement to another dept too. (depending on company rules) I would check employee manual about having to answer and attend meetings on vacation. I always tell people I'm going places that are remote that don't have alot of service.
    via Formal_Aerie9017
  • Random_NYer_18 I would go to the Director/VP and then HR. This is unacceptable. Sorry she's going thru that.
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  • InternationalMany6 This is crazy. She is absolutely justifying ratting out her manager for not covering the meeting. The company needs to know that. What if she was in the hospital, would her manager also have not found a substitute?
    via Formal_Aerie9017
  • KnottaBiggins Yes, she should escalate this. Or it will follow her when she transfers, it will be "one written warning already" on her record. It was wrong, as it was scheduled while she couldn't know it was, and of course she wasn't there - she was on personal time. This is one that should also involve HR. THIS ISN'T ABOUT BURNING BRIDGES. THIS IS ABOUT AN AB IVE MANAGER WHO IS NO DOUBT DOING OTHER SH ΤΟ OTHER PEOPLE.
    via Formal_Aerie9017
  • BirthdayCookie Definitely have her at least put something in her file contesting the writeup!
    via Formal_Aerie9017
  • honey_badger010 Yup, contact HR and say you want a meeting with them to discuss it.
    via Formal_Aerie9017
  • ojisan-X Your wife needs to bring this up to the manager's manager and HR.
    via Formal_Aerie9017
  • mailboy79 Enough with the Al bots, people.
    via Formal_Aerie9017
  • AdRevolutionary8495 ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS BLOCK YOUR WORK CALENDAR FROM PPL BEING ABLE TO EMAIL YOU WHILE ON VACATION! TYPE IT LIKE THIS IF NECESSARY, THAT YOU'RE "AWAY WITH LIMITED TO NO ACCESS TO EMAIL WHILE YOU'RE AWAY". What's happened to your wife is not fair or ethical!
    via Formal_Aerie9017
  • Yankee39pmr That's not burning a bridge, that's standing up for herself. She was on approved vacation and unless the meeting was scheduled prior to that, she's not responsible. I'd be asking who added her to a meeting while on approved time off. They're the ones responsible. I'd take this to HR. Either someone royally f ed up or someone may be targeting her.
    via Formal_Aerie9017

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