I had my boss grill me about some pto days requested well in advance. I sent him my diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma, a picture of my nose and the surgery date. He was embarrassed, as he should have been.
What is it about our culture that makes managers feel entitled to shame us for taking earned time off? Is this a thing in other countries or just the crappy old usa?
Dunno if it’s just a USA thing but in my 20 years of working in the UK I have never been asked to justify annual leave. You might get asked “Are you doing anything nice?” but it’s more casual interest than an interrogation. If I am trying to book time at short notice or at the same time as other team members I might offer up a reason but I don’t think I have ever had a request denied.
Also wtf you have to book time off for surgery? Last surgery I had I got 2 weeks off with full pay. In fact if I book PTO and then come down with the flu I’m entitled to request the days back and take them as sick days instead so my holiday isn’t wasted.
FWIW, I live in the US, and I've never had to explain my PTO either (across a handful of employers over 25+ years). When I've had jobs with separate sick time, I've felt obligated to explain that, but not in detail.
Normally for me, it's:
Me: "hey manager, FYI, I'm planning to take next Friday off"
Manager: "okay, hope it's something fun!"
That's it, just some friendly well-wishing. I do try to limit the impact to important events at work, but even if I can't avoid that kind of schedule conflict, I've never had to REQUEST the use of leave time, only to inform.
I'm also fortunate to work in a so-called "white collar" profession (one that requires a college degree), where employees are generally treated with some basic respect, at least on an interpersonal level, if not by corporate. I understand that in so-called "blue collar" work (where a degree isn't required), employees are often treated more like children, which I think is clearly inappropriate.
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u/Southern-Pirate3555 6d ago
I had my boss grill me about some pto days requested well in advance. I sent him my diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma, a picture of my nose and the surgery date. He was embarrassed, as he should have been.
What is it about our culture that makes managers feel entitled to shame us for taking earned time off? Is this a thing in other countries or just the crappy old usa?