Boss refuses to approve employees PTO because they laid off everyone else on their team, leaving them stranded

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Jun 8, 2026 9:00 PM EDT

When you're doing the work of 3 employees, shouldn't you get 3x the PTO?

An employee, who shared their woes on the antiwork subreddit, found themselves in a sticky situation. They were good at their job, and yet they were being punished. Sometimes, if you're too good at your job and you outpace your peers, you end up with way more than you signed up for. It's sort of a backwards incentive. If you constantly do the bare minimum, then that's what your employers will expect from you. If you're going above and beyond from day one, you might just wind up with more on your plate. It's an unfortunate thing that happens constantly, and can lead to burnout. The best managers know how to mitigate these circumstances and reward good workers with perks other than more work. But that's not what happened here. What happened here was a classic case of employee burnout. 

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  • Cheezburger Image 10637297152
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    A man puts his head in his hands at a cafe

  • Boss refusing PTO because I'm the only one in my department left.

    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
    via MissMerida2121
  • 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.
    via MissMerida2121
  • 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
    via MissMerida2121
  • 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.
    via MissMerida2121
  • 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.
    via MissMerida2121
  • **EDIT: I woke up this morning to see an amazing supportive and helpful comment section. Thank you everyone! I will be staying in planning a vacation so I will be home those days. If that's denied I will be working until then and then never go back on the days I requested. Appreciate you all, it can get easy to get stuck in the weeds.
    via MissMerida2121

  • Taking a vacation is a vital thing. It might seem like a luxury, but time off is actually a necessity. It keeps you from going nuts. If you never took time off, then you would have nothing left to give your workplace. Sometimes you need to step away and refocus to keep from going off the deep end. Plus, if your company offers a PTO package, it's your right to use it. It's what it's there for. If you give enough notice, there should be no reason that you don't get to use it. That's not what happened here, though. In this story, the employer didn't quite know the right way to treat their hardest worker. And they might not have known it, but they were on the verge of losing them. If you take someone for granted, then it might end up turning on you. The boss in this story might have thought that this employee wasn't going anywhere, but that wasn't true. Keep reading to see what happened here and see what you would have done in this employee's situation.

  • Cheezburger Image 10637297664
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    A frustrated employee puts his head in his hands

  • Commenters agreed that they needed to find a way around this.

    Wide-Chemistry-8078 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.
    via Wide-Chemistry-8078
  • JakobWulfkind 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.
    via JakobWulfkind
  • kendr75 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.
    via kendr75
  • VictoriousSloth What have you actually done to make them understand the problem? From your post you've just gone ahead and picked up the work of two other people and avoided taking sick days. Of course your employer is
    via VictoriousSloth
  • happy with this - it's a fantastic outcome for them. You have to show them why it doesn't work. Stop doing extra work, call in sick etc. so they realise that they're too reliant on you.
    via VictoriousSloth
  • rangersnuggles Why would they give you vacation or hire more help if you're just gonna do it all and not say anything?
    via rangersnuggles
  • Arinvar If you can't take PTO because you're "too valuable", then they sure as heck can't afford to fire you or have you quit. Use that leverage to get what you're entitled to, and if they still don't play ball (and even if they do to be honest) just stop doing extra work.
    via Arinvar
  • Walter CanFindToes 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
    via WalterCanFindToes
  • 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.
    via WalterCanFindToes
  • Electrical-Call-6160 Well, it sounds like they can either approve your PTO and plan for it, or they may have to plan to recruit an entire department and start from scratch.
    via Electrical-Call-6160
  • Good Milk_GoneBad The only thing working hard leads to is more work for the same pay. Take your days. Stop doing all the work. Start looking for a different job. They plan on sucking you dry and you're letting them.
    via GoodMilk_GoneBad
  • LetterPerfect_throw At my work, if my boss was able to lay off two employees and get me to do the work of three people, my boss would get a huge bonus that year based on payroll saved. I would get a pizza party.
    via LetterPerfect_throw

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