How to deal with a boss that doesn't like you to take time off?

Question

To keep it short, I have a manager that is very nit-picky about when and how long I take my vacation time. My vacation time at my company works on an accrual basis, so I earn X amount of days per year that I must use by the end of the year, or they will be lost.

A few times now (not all), I've put in requests which leads my manager to having a conversation with me telling me "no". I put these requests with a reasonable timeline that they could be responded too, at least 2 weeks, and upwards of a few months. There isn't a very good reason why I can't take off, other than "the company is trying to meet deadlines, and we need you here to work". Here's the problem, I know what deadlines the company is under, and I have work around these deadlines yes, but there are no specific deadline dates within my requested time off, nor will my absence during these days prevent me from meeting the actual deadlines. In other words, I have plenty of time to do my work before the real deadline.

I think the real reason for his hesitancy is that his manager has given him grief before about letting too many people take time off during critical periods of work/deadlines. He has said this on a number of times as his reasoning.

How can I convince my manager to approve my time off requests, where I feel I can take this time without affecting company deadlines?

Answer 1

You are entitled to take your holidays, so the issue is with coming to an acceptable timeframe for your holidays.

If the manager will not give you time off, try asking him to provide you with dates where he will approve days off.

If this doesn't lead to an acceptable answer, try asking for money in lieu of leave. Odds are that this won't be accepted, but the objective is that you are forcing the manager to provide you with days off.

Either way, I would consider polishing the CV and preparing to move on to somewhere which is better organised.

Answer 2

When you request PTO, do so in writing (Email or other traceable form of communication).

When your boss invariably comes up to verbally deny your PTO request, tell them you need a response in the same media you requested in (this is to get a traceable record). This can be supplemented with prompts (such as follow up emails etc.) if they refuse to respond in a way that gives you a record. Either a list of denials or a failure to respond to your initial request will build a paper trail that you can use to protect yourself and your interests. NOTE: Do not use this as a way to threaten or bully your boss, this is merely an intelligent way to cover for yourself.

As has been suggested, any denials should be met with a "When is an acceptable time period for me to take my PTO?". I would not offer to take pay in lieu of PTO, as PTO is not only a form of compensation (equivalent to being paid for attending x hours), it is also a critical component of work-life balance. If your boss is unwilling to provide you with time you can take PTO in, gently remind them that the PTO is a form of compensation, and you have earned it via company policy.

I'm sorry So-And-So, but my PTO is a benefit I have earned through my time working here, and I intend to take it so that I may avoid burnout/stress/personal problems that can be caused by overwork. I would ask again that you either approve the dates I have asked for, or provide me a suitable time period for me to use my PTO in.

It is unlikely for you to be able to guess what your boss' motivation is behind denying your PTO requests, so rather than guessing at it, you should ask them in a non-confrontational manner. This may lead to a civil discussion that can result in an acceptable compromise. As per OP's update to the question, the reason is know, and this is likely not a viable course of action as a result.

As a last resort, if your boss is completely non-cooperative, you can take whatever traceable form of request/denial you have and submit your PTO request through HR, attaching the documentation as proof that you have attempted to go through proper channels. This last tactic will cost you your relationship with your boss, and will most likely put you on the short list to getting fired. I would only take this approach if you already have another job lined up.

Answer 3

I wouldn't be surprised if I requested a vacation two weeks before leaving, and my boss told me "no". It's also not impossible to ask for a vacation on particular dates many months in advance, and having your request denied because an important deadline is scheduled on these dates.

There are however scenarios that you shouldn't let happen:

1. Every vacation request is denied, making you lose your vacation days. To avoid this, turn vacation denials into reschedules, e.g:

you: Boss, can I take 2 weeks off in July?

boss: Sorry, that's not possible.

you: OK, should I take vacation in August instead?

If this game continues, simply take your vacation before it expires. Your boss cannot refuse you this time.

2.You have to prepare your vacation (tickets / hotel bookings / etc.), and cancelling it will cost you money. In this case inform your boss about it (in writing), and ask them to take a decision by a certain date:

Hi Boss,

I plan to go on vacation to South Africa this October, and I will be booking my tickets soon. I plan to leave on October 5 and come back on October 20. Could you please check if these dates are OK, and write me back if there is an impediment? I need an answer before end of July.

Assuming the deadline for the answer is 1-2 weeks from now (and your boss is not on vacation), if you don't receive a negative reply you should be good to go. If your boss later changes their mind, show them the e-mail and ask them if they would cover your rebooking/cancelling expenses. Or tell them that you're going anyway, if you want this trip really badly.

Answer 4

First, when he declines, you need to ask what would be an acceptable timeframe to use your PTO days. If he gives no acceptable timeframe, it sounds like you have three options:

1. Accept that your boss is going to be very hard to work with when it comes to PTO and you most likely are going to miss out on using all your days each year (which more or less equates to money out of your pocket because PTO is a form of compensation).
2. Don't ask for PTO, but instead say something came up that is unavoidable and you need to take time off. Explain that it is personal in nature (you can allude to your health and a dr appt, something with your kids, sick relative, etc if you want), your work is all caught up, it is not during a critical time, but you have to be out of office those days. If your boss is piece of work, this will most likely cause your relationship to chill rather quickly. If he is ok with it because he understands life/health comes before work, then you have found your loophole moving forward in how you should ask for PTO.
3. Start looking for another job and use either option 1 or 2 in the meantime.

For clarification, I am not saying to take days off with no notice. Still give plenty of notice (2 weeks) and say that you will be out of office for personal reasons on those days.

Answer 5

Do you have to ask for approval?

At some companies you don't have to ask before you take vacation (but many people just assume they do and ask anyway), you just have to notifiy your supervisor in advance. If that's your situation ("you" here refers to the OP or to anyone else with this problem), then don't ask, tell. So e.g. this: "I'm going to be out 7/3 - 7/21 without access to email. If there is an emergency, you can send me a text @ 555.555.5555" instead of this: "Is it ok for me to take off 7/3 - 7/21?". It's harder for someone to say no if you don't ask their approval.

NOTE: Some companies require you to ask, so then you should ask. But some don't, hence this answer. If you have to ask, then see the other answers for how to ask. Otherwise don't ask, tell (politely).

Answer 6

I see that you are "guessing" the reasons.

Can I suggest you to figure out the real reasons by having a conversation with your boss?

• First listen the reasons your manager has to be so difficult when asking for vacation
• Then have a speech ready explaining that your deadlines will not be affected by your holidays

Try to also have some information about how not taking vacation is actually counter productive in most cases and that having freedom allows you to be more effective at your work.

Answer 7

You say the issue your boss has is that too many employees are taking off at once, so why not help him to address the issue.

Try introducing a shared calendar or somewhere your team can document its scheduled time off. Having this, you should be able to come up with some general guidelines about how many team members are needed at any given time.

This also gives your boss a place to mark "critical" time periods around deadlines where more team members are needed. Having these critical periods documented will force him to make decisions about what is important, where left unchecked he may be likely to see any time period as critical (there will always be deadlines!).

Having a concrete policy should remove any confusion around the issue, just be sure the rules/guidelines are reasonable. If you find your boss resistant to such ideas, you may find that he's not been truthful to you. This is good to know. Do what you can to get to the root of the issue, but be prepared to move on if you feel you're being taken advantage of.

Answer 8

One way or another, my friend, it's time to tell boss-man "Adio', mo' fo'". Since this is the US your employer has no obligation to allow you any time off - but any employer who wants to keep their employees around knows better than to use the "we're too busy to allow any vacation" excuse too much. My suggestion is to go find another job, either in the same company working for another manager, or if it's a company-wide issue then with another firm. Their attitude is, apparently, that vacation is a privilege, and lower-level employees are not sufficiently privileged. Time to wake 'em up when you walk right out!

And, if you're interested - there's a way that employees can fight this kind of treatment. It's called "a union". If your employer is consistently behaving like this - denying exercise of benefits, minimal/no raises while company is profitable, excessive hours on a regular basis, etc, etc - it may be time to organize. I remember some years ago that the lawyers working for the US Attorney's office in, I believe, Seattle (or somewhere up that way) had to bring in a union due to unreasonable working conditions. Tough to tell an attorney that they can't organize, etc, when it's their job to know the law. :-) The AFLCIO has their Department for Professional Employees, which I gather specialize in organizing white-collar workers.