Redditor's Boss Forgot To Schedule Them For A Weekend Shift And Now Wants Them To Cancel Vacation Plans To Cover It

"The boss, told us that one of us had to work that weekend since he was also planning to be off and leaving the country and couldn’t cover the shift."

Damjan

• Published in Interesting
• October 11, 2023

Work can often be an exhausting endeavor, and it's not uncommon for bosses to assign more responsibilities than can realistically be accomplished. In an ideal workplace, effective organization and planning can help mitigate these challenges.

However, what happens when the boss's organizational skills fall short, and employees find themselves faced with the prospect of sacrificing their precious weekend plans or vacation time to cover for work?

OP of this story also encountered himself in this predicament. OP's boss forgot to schedule them to work on a weekend and expected OP to cancel their vacation plans to cover the shift. However, OP and their coworker refused to do so.

The boss became upset and didn't speak to them. The boss had initially approved vacation time for everyone but then changed the schedule, causing a conflict with the planned vacations.

When the boss asked one of them to work on the weekend, OP decided not to cancel his time off, as it would set a precedent and also because the job often had shifts left uncovered when no one was available to work.

He communicated with his coworker, and both refused to cancel their vacation plans. Ultimately, the boss left the shift uncovered, and OP wondered if he was being selfish for not canceling his time off.

OP'a boss forgot to schedule weekend work and asked employees to cancel vacations, but they refused, so the boss got upset.

OP boss wanted one of the coworkers to cover a weekend shift,but OP declined because he didn't want to establish a negative example for future requests.

OP and their coworker let their boss know about his error and made it clear that they were not willing to change their vacation arrangements to handle his workload.

OP's boss accused them of being irresponsible for not covering a shift, but it's a common occurrence in their job

OP shouldn't take on someone else's problem, and giving in would set a bad precedent

It's not OP responsibility to fix someone else's problems

Setting this precedent could affect all employees in the company, not just OP.

OP's boss approved his vacation, so he can't force him to cancel it

It's his responsibility as the boss, not OP's.

OP's boss seems to rely on authority rather than competence, mishandled holiday scheduling and reacted poorly

He attempted to manipulate OP into handling his error

OP's boss messed up, and now he'll face the consequences

OP is not in the wrong in this situation. While it's true that sometimes flexibility is required in the workplace, expecting employees to consistently sacrifice their time due to poor organization or last-minute changes by the boss is neither fair nor sustainable.

OP and their coworker stood up for their right to enjoy their well-deserved time off, and they did so with a strong rationale. They rightly questioned the need for such last-minute changes, considering that their job often had shifts left uncovered when there was no one available to work.

Moreover, establishing a precedent of canceling vacation plans at the whim of the boss can lead to a toxic work environment where employees feel undervalued and stressed.

In this instance, it was the boss's responsibility to rectify the scheduling error and find a suitable solution. Leaving the shift uncovered was not the ideal resolution, but it was a decision that the boss made.

Therefore, OP's stance in refusing to cancel his time off was justified, and he should not be labeled as selfish or in the wrong for standing up for his work-life balance.

Damjan