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Representative photo of a model portraying an overworked employee handling multiple tasks alone at her desk.
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Boss refusing PTO because I’m the only one in my department left
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Hey all. I’ve been with this company for 5 years, I really like to be loyal and work very hard. There’s been 3 people in my department however ever since the company hasn’t been doing well, they laid off those 2 people, leaving only me in my department. There’s plenty of work - the two other employees kept calling out and did horribly, so their laying off wasn’t a lack of work issue. The problem is my company isn’t even considering hiring a replacement for both of them, not even one of them. This leaves me being the only person in the whole company knowing how to cover this department. Not even my boss knows how to do my duties / role, it’s pretty difficult to learn as well.
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I’m barely managing doing a 3 person job. It also stresses me out because I feel I can’t get sick or take time off since I’m the only person. My job requires very, time sensitive tasks. If something comes in that day - I have to complete the work within 2 hours. Usually get 10-30 tasks a day. It’s very fast paced. I’m sitting here thinking, can I ever take time off? It’s been 3 months since they laid off the 2 others, so I asked for 2 days off in July. Their response was “Well, we’ll see how the volumes are by then” so can I not plan a vacation then? We can’t predict the volumes, it’s very inconsistent how busy or slow we get. It can change by the hour.
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Illustrative photo of a model portraying an overworked employee reviewing documents beside a laptop at a desk.
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I’m not sure how to hand this, I have respect for my boss and the company but I feel disrespected at this point. Thanks all.
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Illustrative photo of a model portraying an overworked employee juggling multiple tasks alone at work.
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For starters, just do your job, not the other 2. If you continue to do all three people's tasks then they will never be replaced and you will always be left to do it all. Secondly, start looking for another job.
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Time to call in sick.
They need to stop acting like one person can handle your role. Only way is to make them feel pain.
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The two-hour limit is really the cherry on top. Time-sensitive tasks, volumes that flip by the hour, a boss who literally cannot cover anything. That is not a job description. That is a permanent emergency with a salary attached. And the person keeping it all from collapsing is being told to check back in July about maybe getting a Wednesday off.
Loyalty is a great quality to bring to work. It also runs out. Five years of genuinely caring about a company that responds to a two-day vacation request with logistical uncertainty is not a partnership anymore. At some point that gap between what someone gives and what they get back stops being a temporary rough patch and starts being the actual arrangement.
The most useful thing someone in this spot can do is start treating their own availability with the same urgency the company treats its deadlines. Funny how fast things get figured out when the one person holding everything together stops being quite so easy to take for granted.
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If they can't afford to have you take a few days off, they really can't afford to fire you. Schedule a vacation in August and tell them that it's non-negotiable.
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I'm curious did you get a raise when the other two got let go?? If not, you should see about that.
I would tell management that you are taking a vacation, not asking. Give them enough lead up time to get someone trained up to help you. If they balk or try to gaslight you then it is time to start looking for a job you can start after your trip.
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