Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is crucial to our happiness. Work shouldn't take precedence over enjoying life. Everyone desires to take some time off to relax at home, visit with loved ones, or travel. Different companies may have varying requirements for how far in advance you must notify them in order to be approved to take a few days off. If you plan to travel for longer periods of time, you may need to notify people sooner rather than later. The majority of the time, though, your employer should give you the days off if you give them advance notice.
More info: Reddit
3 months' notice should be sufficient for the company to plan the employee's 3 days off
Image credits: Mike Mozart (not the actual photo)
Daughter tells her father's story of how he was denied his three days off, leading to his resignation from the job
Image credits: Mandy-pants123
If you can't plan for your employee to take 3 days off, good luck finding a replacement
Reddit user “Mandy-pants123” recently shared her dad’s story in the "antiwork" subreddit group, where after he got denied his days off, the man just quit. The post went viral very fast and just in 9 days, the post received more than 17K upvotes and almost 900 comments.
OP starts by explaining that the main character of the story is retired, but in order to keep himself busy, he found a job at a hardware store. Her dad had been there for a year and was truly enjoying it. The author explains that she and her dad meet not so often as they live in different states. Additionally, the author mentioned that in 3 months, she is going to visit and that means dad has to take 3 days off, which shouldn’t be a problem. Well, spoiler alert: not quite.
Lowe’s, the company where the author's dad was working, refused to give him the days off that he requested. And guess what - dad put in his resignation to the manager. The author finishes the story by wishing good luck finding coverage if to give 3 days off, 3 months in advance was a mission impossible.
The audience loved the author’s dad's gesture that proved that the family is much more important than any job: “That is nice that he cares about you so much.” Another user added: “Family is always more important in my book.” Additionally, plenty of community members shared their own experiences with incompetent bosses, managers and their resignation stories.
Image credits: kenkwsiu (not the actual photo)
Additionally, commenters shamed the company for such management: “I'm sorry that your dad will lose this source of satisfaction in his life. But Lowe's is the real loser here.” Another person added: “Two of my friends' fathers have taken retirement jobs at Lowe’s or HD just for something to do. Both quit before 6 months for similar reasons.” Looks like in the long run, the father’s decision was correct.
For context, it is essential to take into account why maintaining a healthy work-life balance is crucial to our lives. According to Dr. Liji Thomas, employers stand to gain from a good work-life balance in a number of ways. With a greater dedication to and motivation for work, productivity increases, absence declines, and physical and mental health improve. Achieving this balance can also be beneficial for personal relationships.
Now, let’s review some advantages that workers receive by occasionally taking time off from work. First of all, according to give a grad a go, is employee satisfaction. Employees can concentrate on their lives outside of work when they have time off from work. Second of all, working five days a week in the same position, even if it is your favorite job, can get monotonous and exhausting. Taking a break has been proven to increase productivity at work. And of course, last but not least, research has shown that spending time with loved ones is crucial to maintaining a positive work environment.
Image credits: Jim G (not the actual photo)
Bored Panda contacted Jim Stroud, who has worked as a consultant for organizations including Microsoft, Google, Siemens, and a number of start-up companies. The expert has over ten years of experience in recruiting and sourcing. He agreed to share his perspective on the correlation between a bad manager and ability to provide employees with requested days off.
“It’s a common saying, ‘people don’t quit companies, they quit managers’ and it's entirely true. What is also true is the financial and productivity damage managers cost companies in the long run. All that to say, bad managers are a big deal, and companies should be vigilant to recognize one in their midst.”
Moreover, speaking about the situation when asking for days off, Jim emphasized: “In general, three months’ notice is more than enough time to advise a manager of personal time off. The amount of advanced notice an employee should give a manager for days off depends on the company's policies and the nature of the employee's job. Generally, it is recommended that employees give at least two weeks' notice for planned time off. This allows the manager to make necessary arrangements and ensure that the employee's workload is covered while they are away.“
Additionally, the expert mentioned that ”If an employee is denied time off, it's important to communicate the reasons why and explore alternative solutions if possible. Denying a reasonable request for time off can make an employee feel undervalued, unimportant, and unappreciated. This can lead to feelings of resentment, dissatisfaction, and a lack of commitment to the company. Pretty much, making that employee a flight risk and costing the company time and money to find, hire, and train a replacement.”
Jim also shared his recommendations for dealing when your days off are denied: “If this were to happen to someone I knew, I would advise them to ask 'nicely' why they were denied and to provide evidence that their work would be covered in their absence. If the response was still denied, especially if it's well in advance, I would seek assistance from HR. I would ask them for clarity on PTO (personal time off) and the best way to resolve the issue. Chances are you will get the PTO but now you are on the bad side of your manager. So, you might want to use some of your time off to find another opportunity anyway."
Folks online shared a few suggestions for the author's dad and their insights on the situation
