19-year-old employee gets called to boss's office and told off for refusing to come in on a day off, employee holds his ground: ‘Why should I be expected to come in?’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Apr 12, 2026 1:45 PM EDT

If you don't come in to work on your day off, are you really a good employee?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Yes, you don't have to give in to your boss's every whim and demand to be considered a good employee. Being a "team player" doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your entire personal life for the job, and if your boss expects you to do just that, the best thing for you to do is simply ignore them.

The young employee in the story below currently works at an electronics store as he decides what it is he wants to do in life. He has Tuesdays off every week, and in the four months he has been working at that store, his boss has called three times asking him to come in on his day off.

Every single time the boss called, the 19-year-old employee told him he had plans and couldn't come in, and it seemed like the boss was fine with it. However, the last time it happened, the employee was called in to the boss's office the next day for a reprimand. The boss lectured that if this employee wanted to succeed in life, he must be a team player, which apparently means he should come in on his day off when he is asked. Then, the boss went on to say that he himself has missed birthdays, vacations, and all sorts of other plans because he was oh-so-needed at work.

Safe to say, the employee was not impressed with this lecture, but he didn't want to argue with the boss. Keep scrolling to read the rest of the story…

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  • A young man wearing glasses sitting in front of a laptop
    via Tai Ngo

    A young man wearing glasses sitting in front of a laptop.

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

  • Told my boss I couldn't come in on my day off, got lectured today for "not being a team player"

    19M, I work in a medium sized electronics store, been here for about 4 months. Still trying to decide what career I want to do so this just has helped provide income in the meantime.
    via VentureCatalyst00
  • Tuesday is one of my days off. My boss asked if I could come in, since we had someone call out sick.
    via VentureCatalyst00
  • I was in the middle of watching a movie and really didn't feel like going in so I said "no sorry I have plans".
    via VentureCatalyst00
  • He texted me back saying "No worries, see you tomorrow" So all was fine. Keep in mind I've not ONCE called out for a shift yet in my entire 4 months here.
    via VentureCatalyst00
  • This is the third time he's asked me to come in on my days off. Then today, I get near the end of my shift and he asks me to come into his office.
    via VentureCatalyst00
  • He then begins to lecture me about how I have not once come in on my days off when we're short staffed.
    via VentureCatalyst00
  • He told me that if I want to succeed in life I need to be a "team player" and he went on about how he's missed family birthdays, vacations and all sorts of other things planned because work needed him.
    via VentureCatalyst00
  • I didn't know what to say, I'm not an argumentative person so I just said "OK I understand".
    via VentureCatalyst00
  • Two people talking inside an electronics store
    via Fenghua

    Two people talking inside an electronics store.

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

  • I've since been thinking about it all evening and it's been me off. I feel like I've been a good and hardworking employee my entire time there so far and like I said I've never called out sick.
    via VentureCatalyst00
  • Why should I be expected to come in on my days off? And also, how is it a flex that my boss has missed out on many joys of life just so our CEO can get a bigger bonus?
    via VentureCatalyst00
  • Lol that blew my mind. Anyways thought I'd share.
    via VentureCatalyst00

  • Your workplace will always try to take more of you than what you are willing to give, and it is up to you to set boundaries and ensure you don't lose yourself and your personal life for the sake of your job.

    That is the general advice the comments below gave this young employee, and we couldn't agree more. You don't have to give in to your boss's demands to be a good employee; you simply have to learn to say ‘no’ without ending up getting fired.

    Easy peasy, right?

  • barfridge0 Your attitude is perfect. Their lack of coverage is not your problem. Enjoy your time off without giving work a second thought
    via barfridge0
  • mikezulu90 Ask him if he had the same conversation with the person that called out.
    via mikezulu90
  • thegloracle - Next step do not answer your phone/texts on your days off. ETA: depending how salty you are feeling about this, you may want to send him a follow up email or text just confirming he implied you may have your hours, possible promotions or raises affected by NOT coming in on your scheduled days off, as per your 'meeting' of today's date.
    via thegloracle
  • Ok_Issue6908 You should have told him that you feel sorry about him missing birthdays, vacations etc for his family!
    via Ok_Issue6908
  • No_Satisfaction9609 You said the perfect answer. Why would you? Your boss missed life moments for an electronics store. Cool flex. You watched a movie and had a good day off. Perfect.
    via No_Satisfaction9609
  • Loisalene It's retail. You can be a team player at a different place now that you have experience.
    via Loisalene
  • Nighthawk1911 Get a 2nd number and turn off your work number when you're not at work. If they want an On-call, they better pay for it. Also 19M is still at College age. So if he asks, tell him you're studying. it's an electronics store, not an Emergency Room. They can deal with being short staffed. Your boss was just venting on you under the guise of a "lecture". Your relationship starts and ends with a paycheck. Nothing more. He had no right to lecture you on anything that is not work related.
    via Nighthawk1911
  • No-Attention9721 My recommendation is to ignore texts like that if you're not taking the shift, then when your manager asks the next day you're in, just say you were out of town, or better yet, out of state. Tell none of your coworkers this. It only takes a single card to fall to bring the house down. Best of luck my friend
    via No-Attention9721
  • Abspara Boss here. Sw them. Enjoy life and let them deal with it.
    via Abspara

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