Can I Ask for Time Off When My Supervisor Is Busy?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges of requesting time off from a supervisor who prefers not to grant leave on busy days, specifically Mondays and Fridays. Participants explore the dynamics of workplace relationships, the appropriateness of escalating issues to higher management, and the potential consequences of such actions.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest attempting to negotiate with the supervisor regarding time off, while others emphasize the supervisor's authority to dictate when employees can take leave.
  • One participant describes a situation where they felt compelled to escalate their request by including higher management in communications, which led to mixed reactions from their supervisor.
  • Concerns are raised about the potential negative impact of involving Human Resources or higher management, with some arguing it could lead to retaliation or further complications in the workplace relationship.
  • There is a discussion about the fairness of the supervisor's preferences, with some noting that other employees take time off on the same days without issue.
  • Participants express differing views on whether the actions taken by the original poster are justified or if they are perceived as confrontational.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally disagree on the appropriateness of escalating the issue to Human Resources and the potential consequences of such actions. There is no consensus on whether the supervisor's behavior is reasonable or if the original poster's approach is justified.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the influence of seniority on time-off requests and the subjective nature of workplace dynamics, including perceptions of fairness and authority. The discussion reflects a variety of personal experiences and interpretations of workplace policies.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for individuals navigating workplace dynamics related to time-off requests, particularly in environments with hierarchical structures and varying interpretations of authority.

Omega Supreme
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My night supervisor is telling me he'd prefer that I not take Monday's or Friday's off because they're busy. He wants me to take a random day off in the middle of the week.

But he takes Friday's off, and Monday's too usually.
 
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You can try to reason with him and try to work out a deal that doesn't involve you always getting Mondays and Fridays off. However, if he is unwilling to budge, you may have no choice but to accept it or move on to another job.
 
Either try to reason with him as Borg said, or deal with it.

If he's your supervisor, he's entitled to take off whatever days he wants. The real world isn't always fair.
 
Everyone else usually takes Monday's and Friday's off, and he doesn't say anything. My manager gave my night supervisor the power to approve or disapprove my time off. I asked for Monday off, and my supervisor always waits until the Friday night prior where I have to to remind him again. This time I sent out an e-mail reminding him, including my manager and my project leads. My manager replied saying he was okay with it. I replied back thanking him. But then my supervisor got mad, and replied back, "Sorry, not Monday. I may need your help." I made it a point in the past not to ask for Friday's off because it's the busiest day of the week, so I was afraid since my night supervisor rejected my Monday request, he certainly reject a Friday request. So I CC'ed my manager's boss who is really in charge of all of our group, saying I accumulated my maximum number of time off hours and I had to take a day off next week and I'd rather take Monday or Friday off rather than a random day in the middle of the week. I asked for Friday of the same week off. Well I don't think the supervisor realized I included the big cheese (big boss man) in the message and he replied back saying he understands but he'd prefer I take a random day in the middle of the week off because Monday's and Friday's are busy. I called my manager and left a voicemail for him, and replied back to the e-mail saying to my manager, "I'm not sure what to do." A few minutes later the night supervisor replied back with, "I'm okay with you taking Friday off." I think it's because I cc'd the big man. To be honest I don't think my night supervisor and manager like me.
 
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Unless you regularly report to your boss's boss and were required to inform him of your schedule, you went over your boss's head with the email so I can understand why he might be bothered by that. That isn't the best way to get him to work with you on these things. Eventually the big boss will tire of this if you start cc'ing whenever you want a long weekend. Again, I understand that the situation may not be fair. However, you're probably not helping with tactics like that.
 
I'm sorry [emoji853]. I'm a passive, weak quiet personality that has always gotten picked on and bullied. And people know that one-on-one they can walk all over me. I just thought by creating transparency I could get better treatment and it has worked so far. But maybe in the long-run, behind the scenes, it'll get me fired or laid off [emoji852]️.

Do you think I should talk to Human Resources to help negotiate my time off, as a mediator? Isn't that what they're there for? I had to go to the Better Business Bureau because my manager was ignoring my calls when I needed something addressed. He called my family and threatened to sue me for defamation if I didn't work with his management company to get the complaint erased.

Maybe Serpico shouldn't have gone over his boss' head.

I think I'm going to go to Human Resources. They would best be able to tell me whether I'm being unreasonable, and they probably would care. I just hope I don't get fired or laid off.
 
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Omega Supreme said:
I think I'm going to go to Human Resources. They would best be able to tell me whether I'm being unreasonable, and they probably would care. I just hope I don't get fired or laid off.
Given the latest info, your best bet is to stop escalating when you feel wronged by your manager. If I had an employee reporting me to the BBB, my bosses and HR, I would be seriously PO'd. with that person. Whether he was right or wrong initially, imagine yourself in his shoes at this point. He may have been wrong at first but now you have shown a pattern of reporting him to whoever will listen as soon as you're upset. He has no incentive to do anything for you and all the reason to make your life more miserable.
 
So you condone, "If I can get away with it, why not?"

Why would you be PO'ed, going to Human Resources or the Better Business Bureau is acting within their rights. So you believe in retaliation by make their lives more miserable. Retaliation is against our business' code of ethics.
 
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And you aren't retaliating? I don't condone his behavior or yours. You asked for advice. If you don't want to take it, that's your choice.
 
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  • #10
I'm standing up for myself.

How is working with Human Resources retaliation?

I do a lot of my supervisor's work. He tells me to use his login. I help him even though it's against company policy to use his login.

That's what he means when he says I need your help. He's used to my doing his work.

There's too many self-interests here. What's wrong with going to Human Resources to align ourselves with Company policy and code of ethics?
 
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  • #11
I really doubt human resources would get involved. If he's your supervisor, it's within his discretion to decide when he needs you to work or not (within legal guidelines of course). There's also the issue of seniority - people who've been there much longer than yourself will get more freedom to choose their time off. He's not doing anything unreasonable, asking you to work during the days they need the most people.

And yes, if you're doing things like reporting people to the BBB, going over people's heads to involve higher-ups, and trying to get HR involved, then it's very plausible your supervisors don't like you.
 
  • #12
Then why do they keep folding then. Why don't they stick to their guns if they're within their rights?
 
  • #13
Thread closed. It would not be polite to say why.
 
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