'Got in trouble for having a life outside of work': Boss chews out employee for taking time off during the summer

JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor

Jun 16, 2026 9:00 PM EDT

Should you be punished for having a life?

Absolutely not, and anyone who makes you feel that way should seriously reconsider how they're moving through the world. That's what happened to this employee, though, who shared their story on the antiwork subreddit. They were living their life the way they would like, and making sure to keep their boss abreast of their plans. This didn't go the way they had hoped, though, and brought out some pretty ugly feelings that were hard to ignore. When your business is threatening to fail the minute someone calls out of work, then there is a bigger issue at play. It's not the worker's fault for taking the time off that they need to take off. It's the employer's fault for not building a sustainable business. The blame here should never fall on the employee's shoulders. But it often does. If your scheduling time off is causing a ricochet through the business that you can't ignore, then there is something bad afoot. You should be able to live your life and take the time off that you need, provided that you clear it with your supervisors in a correct amount of time. That's what this employee did, but they still faced the consequences.

via Vitaly Gariev

An employee talks with her boss outside a modern office building
Got in trouble for having a life outside of work.

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A boss shows something to her employer on an ipad
There is no excuse for anyone talking to you in a tone other than respect, especially at the office. No boss should make you feel worthless. There is a way to dole out critique and criticism without hurting feelings or hitting below the belt. Because that anger is often deeply misdirected. The boss in this story was clearly upset about something else, and they let that affect the way they talked to their employee. They were frustrated with how the business was going, and they let that blend into everything else. But the employee knew that this was wrong, and they did everything they could to get past it. It's hard to stay at a job where you're not respected, especially knowing that you did nothing wrong. Keep reading to see how the details of this story shook out.
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