Micromanaging boss cancels his 2-week vacation, devastates employee who was excited to get a break from him: 'He seems relieved he isn’t going on vacation.'

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Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Jun 12, 2026 8:30 PM EDT

Why couldn't he let his employees have a couple of weeks of peace?

Nobody likes a micromanager. I don't know if it's worse to have a micromanager or a manager who doesn't manage at all, but at least you can do whatever you want when your managers don't care about what you're doing. Micromanagers won't even let you go to the bathroom for more than 2 minutes if they think that there's a better use of your time. They want constant updates because they have nothing better to do than think about you and how much or how little you're working. They inherently don't trust their employees, and are always trying to find them slipping up. They're exhausting people to be around constantly, and my heart goes out to everyone who has a micromanager in their life. 

The employee in this story was thrilled that he would have a couple of weeks where his manager and the rest of the C-Suite cronies would be out of town. Unfortunately, the manager canceled his vacation at the last minute, so now he has plenty of time to schedule last-minute meetings with his employees to "check in" on how they're doing, even though he really doesn't care about them or their well-being.

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  • an employee at his desk, who is stressed out that his micromanager is going to be in the office during the weeks he said he'd be out of town on a vacation.
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    An actor pretending to be an employee at his desk, who is stressed out that his micromanager is going to be in the office during the weeks he said he'd be out of town on a vacation.

  • My boss canceled his vacation at the last minute. I am absolutely gutted.

    Any other remote workers really look forward to boss out of office?
    via u/RunnyKinePity
  • My boss is a micro manager, checks Teams status constantly, multiple video calls per day with no warning. He was all set to take his usual 2 week vacation, with added
    via u/RunnyKinePity
  • bonus that almost ALL of the c suite is out next week on some retreat. A perfect storm for me, no worries about calls or urgent requests out of the blue, can easily sneak
    via u/RunnyKinePity
  • in more time with my kids home for the summer, World Cup starting, just a much more chill time period I had circled on the calendar.
    via u/RunnyKinePity
  • an employee watching the World Cup on TV when his annoying boss is out of town on vacation with his wife.
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A model representing an employee watching the World Cup on TV when his annoying boss is out of town on vacation with his wife. 

  • Well he announced Monday he cancelled, two days before the trip. In a cruel twist of fate it looks like it's going to be a rougher two weeks than normal. No one
    via u/RunnyKinePity
  • scheduled meetings with him because he was supposed to be out and c suite buddies aren't going to be there to occupy his time, he is finally free to check in on all of us
    via u/RunnyKinePity
  • constantly. Yesterday I got a taste and far more tasks were dreamed up for me than normal. Help me deal with destroyed expectations, I thought it was going to be the
    via u/RunnyKinePity
  • summer of me but now it's deeper into the trenches!!!!
    via u/RunnyKinePity
  • Extension_Cod_3620 I feel you... When my manager is OOF, I feel much more relaxed (also a micromanager, and one that likes to videocall out of the blue to ask questions). Is the vacation cancelled or just delayed? Either way, my condolences.
    via u/Extension_Cod_3620
  • RunnyKinePity OP He canceled it, not sure why as he is kind of private. I suspect he didn't want to go and wife did and he found some excuse, he seems relieved he isn't going.
    via u/RunnyKinePity
  • the boss who is relieved he gets to go to work and bother his employees instead of spending his precious time on earth with his family
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A representation of the boss in this story, who is relieved he gets to go to work and bother his employees instead of spending his precious time on earth with his family

  • KuchDaddy He loves work to much to go on vacation.
    via u/KuchDaddy

  • What kind of person is excited about going to work and sad about going on vacation? He has clearly got a screw loose.

  • Pepalopolis It's exhausting having to justify your boss' job on top of your own.
    via u/Pepalopolis
  • lineskicat 14 The multiple spontaneous video calls a day is awful.
    via u/lineskicat14

  • I'm sure that 99% of those calls could've been handled via Slack or email.

  • Maleficent_Company_2 I used to have a manager like this at my previous job. It was fucking awful. I was hybrid and she used to ping me and call me even more on remote days and even MORE when a colleague was out on vacation. When she was gone on pto, the work load normal, even lighter. Hope your boss leaves the company or you find a better role. These people are miserable fucks.
    via u/Maleficent_Company_2
  • lincolnsbeer The fact that you're this relieved says a lot about how exhausting your boss has been. If a manager going on vacation boosts employee morale that much, there's probably a bigger issue at play.
    via u/lincolnsbeer
  • I_AM_A_GUY_AMA I had a boss like this and you are spot on. He was fucking horrible to work for and everyone hated him. His rare vacations were always about 3 days shorter than what he would tell everyone. Nothing like coming into the office in a good mood on a Monday morning and seeing your supposedly out of town boss's jacked up pickup in his parking. spot. He would always make the same joke about how "he couldn't wait to be back".
    via u/I_AM_A_GUY_AMA
  • He was obsessed with people thinking that he was a hard worker and would come into the office before 6 am every day and twiddle his thumbs until everyone showed up and say shit like "guess there was traffic today". Fucker would call me "easy money" if I showed up 4 minutes late until I snapped at him one day. I'm so glad I don't work for a boomer boss anymore.
    via u/I_AM_A_GUY_AMA
  • Mediocre-Metal-1796 Micromanagement is exhausting, no argument there. At the same time, when flexibility turns into "sneaking in" non-work during work hours, that can sometimes reinforce the lack of trust from a manager. Feels like one of those situations where both sides end up feeding the cycle.
    via u/Mediocre-Metal-1796

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micromanager employee toxic-workplace c suite wife bad bosses break vacation
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