Every.damn.time I put in a vacation request, he gives me a look that makes me feel very guilty. Why? I have earned that time - it's not like I'm asking for something I'm not entitled to. I have never taken a medical leave (outside of a day or two of sick time here and there), a maternity leave, or any other kind of leave. And I always end up covering for those who do - sometimes for months at a stretch.

It really cheeses me off.

I loathe bosses like that. I had a boss who would give me a look that reminded me of being 8 and asking permission to go to the restroom. "Do you really need to go?"

Now that I'm freelance, though, I tend to do it to myself.

Efan said:

I loathe bosses like that. I had a boss who would give me a look that reminded me of being 8 and asking permission to go to the restroom. "Do you really need to go?"

Now that I'm freelance, though, I tend to do it to myself.

Yeah, I can see where, with the freelancing thing, you might be concerned that time you spend not working is time you spend not earning.

Because they're assholes. I wish my boss would give me the side-eye. I come in early every day and leave late. I sometimes don't take my whole lunch hour and will come back after 30 minutes. Any leave that I have I will take when I'm good and ready.

From what you've posted on here, we've had similar jobs (writing, not fashion). I used to time my vacations according to print dates and publishing schedules in an effort to make sure things went as smoothly as possible when I was gone, and I would still have to justify it. God help me if I wanted to take more than five days in a row.

Efan said:

From what you've posted on here, we've had similar jobs (writing, not fashion). I used to time my vacations according to print dates and publishing schedules in an effort to make sure things went as smoothly as possible when I was gone, and I would still have to justify it. God help me if I wanted to take more than five days in a row.

I do that, too! I also work ahead, just to minimize the drag on the people who are on the hook when I'm gone.

The time I'm asking for is the day after Thanksgiving (which, because of the nature of our business, isn't a holiday) and the week between Christmas and New Year. I haven't had that specific time off in three years - while others have. It's going to be dead, anyway. What's the big deal?

Shyra said:

Because they're assholes. I wish my boss would give me the side-eye. I come in early every day and leave late. I sometimes don't take my whole lunch hour and will come back after 30 minutes. Any leave that I have I will take when I'm good and ready.

I just flashed on Cedric the Entertainer...

I wish a muthafucka would be in our seats.

he gives you a look? has he ever questioned your vacation?

If a look makes you feel guilty, maybe that is not his problem

I have learned one thing, in my 20 plus years in the work force. That one thing is, don't leave them anything that is rightfully yours. If you have the time, then take it. BUMP HIM!!

shorttrini said:

I have learned one thing, in my 20 plus years in the work force. That one thing is, don't leave them anything that is rightfully yours. If you have the time, then take it. BUMP HIM!!

My former boss (the great one I used to have here) told me once, "Your vacation time is yours. It's your manager's job to figure out how to cover your absence."

The thing is, they used to let us carry over a little bit of time - or be paid off at the end of the year. (Salaried people like me tended to just carry over any we didn't use.) But they don't allow that anymore. It's a strict "use it or lose it" situation. So I'm not going to leave one nanosecond of that time in the bank.

Easy solution to that problem would be to avoid all eye contact with him. If you need to look at his face, focus on his forehead or chin.

scandalousalan said:

Easy solution to that problem would be to avoid all eye contact with him. If you need to look at his face, focus on his forehead or chin.

Of course, I could always crawl in there, too - so all I look at is his feet.

Indeed you could but that would put the power back in his hands if you are in a grovelling position. Best idea would be to approach him while he is sitting, you are standing above him looking down at him with a hint of venom in your eyes as you pass the holiday request. This is the best way to say "give me my fucking holidays" without actually saying it

It's a power trip for most bosses....

I refuse to ask for time off...I let them know that I won't be available on the upcoming days...I always let them know ahead of time. It's all in your attitude...you're entitled to your time off.

I've got practically two weeks off in the beginning of Dec....first cruise to celebrate our twentith anniversary.

Genesia said:

shorttrini said:

I have learned one thing, in my 20 plus years in the work force. That one thing is, don't leave them anything that is rightfully yours. If you have the time, then take it. BUMP HIM!!

My former boss (the great one I used to have here) told me once, "Your vacation time is yours. It's your manager's job to figure out how to cover your absence."

The thing is, they used to let us carry over a little bit of time - or be paid off at the end of the year. (Salaried people like me tended to just carry over any we didn't use.) But they don't allow that anymore. It's a strict "use it or lose it" situation. So I'm not going to leave one nanosecond of that time in the bank.

Agreed and agreed. It's your time and if you can't roll it over, or don't get paid for it at year end, what are they expecting you to do? "Oh, never mind then. You can just keep my hard earned vacation time." BS. Bosses take vacations, too. So screw them. The only time I've ever felt like it was legit for them to deny or give grief about using vacation time was when other people in the same department wanted to be out or had previously scheduled days off at the same time. Having been in that situation from the "boss" side, that I can understand.

Another thing, it's actually against the law for them to deny you use of your unused vacation time if you've earned it according to the companies written guidelines (which, by law, they must also have stored on premisis). ESPECIALLY if they won't let you roll it over. If you're REQUIRED to use it they've either got to allow you to do so or reimburse you an equal amount of pay for that time if they don't. So again, screw them!

Ignore the look and go on vacation.

To hell with the boss.

NDRU said:

he gives you a look? has he ever questioned your vacation?

If a look makes you feel guilty, maybe that is not his problem

I used to ask for 6 weeks if I wanted 4

it always worked

"Hey, can I take 6 weeks off in June/July?"

"WTF?!?!?!?! "

"How atbout 4?"

"Oh, OK. Four is manageable"

He's sad because you're going without him...

[Edited 10/20/10 19:48pm]

RenHoek said:

He's sad because you're going without him...

ZombieKitten said:

NDRU said:

he gives you a look? has he ever questioned your vacation?

If a look makes you feel guilty, maybe that is not his problem

I used to ask for 6 weeks if I wanted 4

it always worked

"Hey, can I take 6 weeks off in June/July?"

"WTF?!?!?!?! "

"How atbout 4?"

"Oh, OK. Four is manageable"

4-6 six weeks? Are you asking for it unpaid? The most paid vacation I've ever accrued in my life is was 4 weeks. And I suffered for through two years of not taking vacation to get to that point.

Cerebus said:

ZombieKitten said:

I used to ask for 6 weeks if I wanted 4

it always worked

"Hey, can I take 6 weeks off in June/July?"

"WTF?!?!?!?! "

"How atbout 4?"

"Oh, OK. Four is manageable"

4-6 six weeks? Are you asking for it unpaid? The most paid vacation I've ever accrued in my life is was 4 weeks. And I suffered for through two years of not taking vacation to get to that point.

In Germany... you get 6 weeks paid vacation per year m.a.n.d.a.t.o.r.y.

still trying to remember why I moved back here cuz the sailin's great but it ain't THAT great!!

RenHoek said:

Cerebus said:

4-6 six weeks? Are you asking for it unpaid? The most paid vacation I've ever accrued in my life is was 4 weeks. And I suffered for through two years of not taking vacation to get to that point.

In Germany... you get 6 weeks paid vacation per year m.a.n.d.a.t.o.r.y.

still trying to remember why I moved back here cuz the sailin's great but it ain't THAT great!!

I've loved reading how different working life/laws/habits are around the world on forums over the years. Americans definitely spend a lot of their lives working for the HOPE of someday being able to retire. More than a lot of other countries with solid economies where they WILL be able to retire someday.

Cerebus said:

ZombieKitten said:

I used to ask for 6 weeks if I wanted 4

it always worked

"Hey, can I take 6 weeks off in June/July?"

"WTF?!?!?!?! "

"How atbout 4?"

"Oh, OK. Four is manageable"

4-6 six weeks? Are you asking for it unpaid? The most paid vacation I've ever accrued in my life is was 4 weeks. And I suffered for through two years of not taking vacation to get to that point.

I would have been happy to take 2 weeks unpaid of that 4 weeks paid

We get 4 weeks paid leave per year - we can accrue 4 weeks of leave in one year.

Most full-time employees in Australia are entitled to a minimum of four weeks paid annual leave, whether by arbitrated decision or employer agreement (CCH Australia 2002). Australia's four weeks leave is below average when compared to other industrialised countries. Table 1 provides data on paid leave in the European Union as well as in the USA and Japan. It shows that no European Union country has less paid leave than Australia. While a number of countries share Australia's 20 working day minimum for annual leave, all European Union countries except Ireland have used collective agreements to increase leave above this level, at least for those workers covered by collective agreements. On average, full-time workers in the European Union have more than five weeks of annual leave per year, while those in Germany are entitled to almost six weeks.

The USA, on the other hand, has no laws requiring firms to provide paid leave. The figures for the USA presented in Table 1 are based on 'paid vacation days' in medium and large private sector firms. Paid vacation days in the USA typically increase with years of service, an average employee with one year of service receiving 9.6 days of leave increasing to 21.7, on average, for employees with 30 years of service (International Labour Office, personal correspondence). (1)

As with employees in Europe, Australians have access to collective bargaining to increase the leave entitlements provided by law. Few employees, however, appear to have done so. (2) While industries such as mining have historically provided longer than average annual leave (Workplace Info 2003), according to an analysis of the ADAM database of enterprise agreements few employees in Australia receive more than the legislated minimum level of annual leave (McGrath-Champ 2003).

http://www.accessmylibrar...ralia.html

Genesia said:

Every.damn.time I put in a vacation request, he gives me a look that makes me feel very guilty. Why? I have earned that time - it's not like I'm asking for something I'm not entitled to. I have never taken a medical leave (outside of a day or two of sick time here and there), a maternity leave, or any other kind of leave. And I always end up covering for those who do - sometimes for months at a stretch.

It really cheeses me off.

I HATE bosses like that! I remember once, a while back, I asked my boss for a week's vacation off (during the summer). He tried to make it look like I couldn't take the requested time off, since other people had also asked for that same week off (which was not even true). He then told me, "You can't take time off, we need you here!" I said to him, "I have already made plans for my week off. I'm taking it!" He didn't say anything more after that, but I was glad that I did not back off, and that I took the time I had coming to me. The way I see it, if you have vacation time that you have accrued from working at a certain company, you should be able to take it, without any grief from your boss.

I used to work at a place where I had too much time off....

5 wks plus 15 sick days per year...

Get this, one boss used to make us fill in our scheduled time off in January, for the entire year.

How the f am I supposed to know when I will take vacation time in january?

Most bosses are just insecure persons with real personal problems...

Probably because he has to figure out how to get your job done with one less person in the office. I doubt he's really PO'ed at you; it's probably more of a reaction to the scheduling task he has in front of him.

And the better you are at your job, the harder it will be for him to get yours done while you're at, so his reaction is kind of a backhanded compliment.

But all that aside, is he a good boss? If so, then I'd bet my assessment is right. If not, then maybe he's just a jerk.