Update: Boss denies employee's July PTO request because it aligns with her vacation, employee refuses to cancel her trip, finds better job at competitor

This woman's boss lost a valuable employee, thereby jeopardizing the health and stability of the company, all because of a PTO request that was submitted months in advance.

It's remarkable what some employers choose to prioritize when it comes to management. This employee was highly regarded across her short-staffed team and earned a strong reputation for taking on the workload of multiple people at a time without ever complaining or asking for additional support. 

You would think that a hard-working team member like that would be treated fairly when it came time to take her well-deserved time off. Well, it turns out that at this company, hard work does not beget high rewards. It just begets more hard work. 

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Author image for Ben Weiss Ben Weiss
Add as a preferred
source on Google
Advertisement
  • A professional businesswoman signs a document while sitting at her laptop in her private office.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    A professional businesswoman signs a document while sitting at her laptop in her private office.

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

  • Notified my work weeks ago I'm leaving for a family vacation in July, tickets were bought, non-transferrable, and they are panicking, begging me to cancel

    This whole situation is absurd and I need a sanity check. I work in admin in a niche but important, multi-national industry. I am a knowledgeable, reliable cog, and I pick up alot of slack as we are incredibly short- staffed with plans to add more because "its working out fine for right now" blah blah.
    via educatedvegetable
  • My boss is going on vacation, and she and I were comparing dates and realized they line up. She immediately told me I had to cancel. I told her I can't, things are non-refundable, since I am a cog, I never considered my manager's schedule. That is not my job. She told me she could deny my PTO, and if I go, I would be released.
    via educatedvegetable
  • A female employee hovers over her boss's shoulders as she assists her.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    A female employee hovers over her boss's shoulders as she assists her.

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

  • There should be a hard and fast rule when it comes to PTO in the workplace, regardless of whatever industry we're talking about. If there is a limit to the number of people that can be on vacation simultaneously, then priority should go to the individual who requested the time off first. It should not be hierarchical. If an executive assistance wants a week off in May and a more senior member of the same team has requested the same dates, it should not matter whose job is “more important." All that should matter is who was organized enough to get that request in first.

     

  • Great. I go to her boss, and say "lets make a plan". They say "ok great" and I build a schedule for task coverage, including him taking a few hours each day to sit at my desk and doing my in person job of fielding industry questions (or taking their info and I'd follow up later), and I offer to log in (paid) for a couple hours every day to help support. He says "Cool, I'll present this to the higher ups."
    via educatedvegetable
  • My bosses boss told me that the higher ups think that he's "too important and high paid" to sit at a front admin office for any amount of time. Then the board comes up with a great idea, we'll just offer to reschedule MY VACATION. They offered a few
    via educatedvegetable
  • hundred bucks to cover scheduling fees. I calculated the fees, they are way more than a few hundred dollars. Talking thousands as hotels, travel, transport, everything for 4 I book in advance so I can just relax. We
    via educatedvegetable
  • do this because it's not just my life, but my partners summer schedule and his two kids, and their crazy schedules with sports, split custody, their bio mom's vacation plans, a whole thing.
    via educatedvegetable
  • They asked me to cancel it and go some other time. I said a firm no. The kids are finally old enough to comfortably travel internationally, they are excited, and I'm not telling them we can't go because "work won't let me". HUH???
    via educatedvegetable
  • My thing is, I'm a cog. Should I have double checked everyones calander before scheduling? Sure, but I'm not a managing party. I haven't experienced something like this in my entire working life. I've previously notified upper management of my vacation time at the beginning of the year just like this and they just say "ok great thanks for letting us know".
    via educatedvegetable
  • Why is my leaving for 7 working days leaving the office in SUCH A PANIC? There are options to resolve this, like having someone come from another department for a couple days here, another a couple days there, and I offered to support remotely. Also, my vacation is scheduled for JULY?? I tell you in February???
    via educatedvegetable
  • Also, shouldn't this be a reasonable indicator of how short-staffed a department is if TWO people being out for any extended period of time throws a wrench into everything?
    via educatedvegetable
  • Did I do something wrong? Is there something I'm not seeing? Any insight or advice would be amazing. ETA: I am a woman.
    via educatedvegetable
  • A disappointed female employee puts her head in her hands as she works at her desk.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    A disappointed female employee puts her head in her hands as she works at her desk.

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

  • This employee followed up with an update months after her initial confrontation with her boss. After listening to members of this online community, she refused to back down and continued to commit to her week-long vacation in July. The problem was that there were now far too many supervisors at her company who were concerned with this request. 

    Look, it should go without saying, but if everyone in charge panics when a lower-level employee is out for five days, then maybe management is the problem here.

  • Update #1

    Interesting update in this saga (OG post linked, hopefully), and I need another sanity check. Summary: I notified my workplace in March that I would be going on vacation in July. Dates overlap with my boss's, who panicked and told me she would deny my leave and it would be job abandonment. Cool.
    via educatedvegetable
  • So, some time has passed, and upper management is absolutely begging me to reconsider, reschedule, cancel, anything so that I am here for the time our dates overlap. Overlapping time? 5 work days.
    via educatedvegetable
  • They keep telling me they have to consider the needs of the business, that they will pay for rescheduling fees (in the thousands), they keep asking me to pull up or answer for my personal calander to conjole me into rescheduling to come back early to cover some of the time,
    via educatedvegetable
  • they keep saying "but you know how busy it gets, look at your metrics!". On top of this, we had two people leave the department in as many months, and we are being told no additional personnel will be hired. The reason why no one is being hired? Is because I've absorbed most of the workload and "see, it's fine, we don't need more people!" Great.
    via educatedvegetable
  • The thing is, know how busy it gets. That's why I booked a family vacation during the slowest time of the year and told ya'll in March that I wouldn't be here. I wasn't asking.
    via educatedvegetable
  • I feel like I'm going crazy with 6 people telling me I'm being. unreasonable, inflexible, and "putting them in a bad position." I even made a temporary schedule for other departments to cover my work for that time (again, 5. days) and was told it's not going to be considered, because other departments are already short- staffed. It just really is making me feel like all personnel issues are falling onto me
    via educatedvegetable
  • The thing is, I'm looking at the job market right now, and it is BLEAK out there, recession indicators waving red flags. Sure, I could get a new job, but not at my pay scale or in my field right away. I'm seriously considering making my part of my family trip shorter so I can come back early.
    via educatedvegetable
  • Do I hold strong, or do I let them b me into changing my vacation plans so I have job security? Seriously asking, because I feel like I'm actually going crazy from the stress.
    via educatedvegetable
  • An intense businesswoman sips her coffee while sitting in her private office.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    An intense businesswoman sips her coffee while sitting in her private office.

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

  • As for the employee's final update, it seems like she took more advice from folks online and began looking for work elsewhere. Who knew that a standard PTO request made in March would lead to a better employment opportunity for her down the road?

  • Update #2

    After some reflection and your encouraging comments, I decided to look for another job in the industry I work in. It's pretty niche so the major players know of or have met each other. I
    via educatedvegetable
  • reached out to a vendor of the company I currently work for and they immediately offered me a position, fully remote and at the same pay scale. They said I can start now, later, whenever; they are stoked to have me on the team. They mentioned I have a great reputation, and all of our vendor interactions have been positive, and because they were a vendor they couldn't approach me, but they were happy I reached out to them.
    via educatedvegetable
  • I'm over the moon! I gave my current position a month's notice, am training my replacement over the next two weeks, taking a short break, and then starting my new remote position. And, I get to keep my vacation with no hassle :)
    via educatedvegetable
  • All in all, I'm really happy how this all worked out and not sure if I would have persued anything new without my current position treating me so poorly, so honestly, kind of have to thank them for opening my eyes.
    via educatedvegetable

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

workplace-stories employee toxic-workplace job PTO Horrible Bosses job interview employment vacation
Scroll Down For The Next Article

Also From FAIL Blog

Friend group's default driver refuses to go on a lake trip after no one chips in for gas up front, friends blame him for cancelling the trip: ‘[We] already bought food’

Friend group's default driver refuses to go on a lake trip after no one chips in for gas up front, friends blame him for cancelling the trip: ‘[We] already bought food’

Trending Now

Tenant changes Wi-Fi password to block freeloading neighbor, he guesses the new one and offers to split the bill: '[It was your dog’s name with 123 at the end]'

Tenant changes Wi-Fi password to block freeloading neighbor, he guesses the new one and offers to split the bill: '[It was your dog’s name with 123 at the end]'

01
Company owner demands employees fill out anonymous survey about work, only to turn it into a public loyalty test: ‘Everyone in the room realized this was a test’

Company owner demands employees fill out anonymous survey about work, only to turn it into a public loyalty test: ‘Everyone in the room realized this was a test’

02
Couple wakes up at 5am for a full-day lake trip, mother-in-law shows up late with her dog, demands to leave after two hours, and costs them hundreds of dollars in wasted rental time: 'She's invited to absolutely nothing again'

Couple wakes up at 5am for a full-day lake trip, mother-in-law shows up late with her dog, demands to leave after two hours, and costs them hundreds of dollars in wasted rental time: 'She's invited to absolutely nothing again'

03
Employee of 37 years gets a $58k offer from a rival company, and their employer suddenly finds room for a 12% raise the moment they start considering leaving

Employee of 37 years gets a $58k offer from a rival company, and their employer suddenly finds room for a 12% raise the moment they start considering leaving

04
Friend group's default driver refuses to go on a lake trip after no one chips in for gas up front, friends blame him for cancelling the trip: ‘[We] already bought food’

Friend group's default driver refuses to go on a lake trip after no one chips in for gas up front, friends blame him for cancelling the trip: ‘[We] already bought food’

05
Minnesota land owner now faces a hefty lawsuit after selling off classic car bodies for $600 over 6 years ago, when the cars had already been left on the property by the previous owner for 8 years: 'I sold them for a whopping $600 in May of 2020'

Minnesota land owner now faces a hefty lawsuit after selling off classic car bodies for $600 over 6 years ago, when the cars had already been left on the property by the previous owner for 8 years: 'I sold them for a whopping $600 in May of 2020'

06
Advertisement