Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP and have been back several times. The bigger point is we have a process in this office. We have a leave planning calendar where everyone puts their anticipated out of office time. This is for coordination purposes only. If you want approved leave until it is formally requested in the T&A system and approved by your supervisor. By the regs I posted earlier, yes, employees have the right to schedule earned PTO, but the managers have the right to determine when that leave can be taken due the needs of the office.

The last week week of May is very busy. We have a trade delegation scheduled that week and it is also EER season. I cannot commit to giving both people time off until I have a bigger picture of the trade delegation demands. I will also be caught up in writing EERs for all the staff, not just these two.

I had asked the young woman with the plan to attend her friends wedding to take charge of the trade mission. She told me she had plans to travel that week. I said I would look into assigning it to another manager. However, she jumped ahead of me, worked her own deal without telling me, and then went ahead and announced she’d bought her tickets and planned to go. My senior managers were aghast at the disregard for procedure and authority. It’s really not our problem she bought tickets without have firm leave approval first.

Frankly, as a Dad who took time off for both my daughters’ HS and college graduations, I’m more likely to approve that employee’s request (she followed procedure) than the wedding one. It’s just wedding of a college friend.

We are just a flat organization that runs all loosey goosey. We do not have telework and in office work is required. That is something we cannot negotiate with the CEO. It is what it is. We are also on 24/7 365. It is the nature of the work. You can be on call for anything that arises.

Hi OP - I deduced who you work for, I work for the exact same large Federal agency with a global presence in a very similar role. I don't have a solution unfortunately, but I empathize with you. This is what happens when our leadership expects us to do superhuman tasks without proper staffing or funding. Not everything can be urgent or a top priority. Don't mind the haters, this forum is pretty much what you'd expect to happen when posting is anonymous by default. When your site makes Reddit look civilized, you know you're doing something wrong.

To everybody else - OP works in a organization with a 24/7/365 coverage requirement in the national security realm that is very high-profile (lots of dealing with demanding members of Congress and literal international crises) and most likely cannot be done remotely. OP might be involved with Ukraine-related work as well, I know people who are (including a few actually in Kyiv right now, a literal war zone). So yeah, this isn't a normal white-collar job and the 24/7 requirement isn't coming from OP, it's from people much higher up. So maybe give them a break, honestly the 24/7 expectation is well known when you apply for the job. Like I said, it's not a normal job. Better staffing is desperately needed, but OP is a first-line manager - they have no control over that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP and have been back several times. The bigger point is we have a process in this office. We have a leave planning calendar where everyone puts their anticipated out of office time. This is for coordination purposes only. If you want approved leave until it is formally requested in the T&A system and approved by your supervisor. By the regs I posted earlier, yes, employees have the right to schedule earned PTO, but the managers have the right to determine when that leave can be taken due the needs of the office.

The last week week of May is very busy. We have a trade delegation scheduled that week and it is also EER season. I cannot commit to giving both people time off until I have a bigger picture of the trade delegation demands. I will also be caught up in writing EERs for all the staff, not just these two.

I had asked the young woman with the plan to attend her friends wedding to take charge of the trade mission. She told me she had plans to travel that week. I said I would look into assigning it to another manager. However, she jumped ahead of me, worked her own deal without telling me, and then went ahead and announced she’d bought her tickets and planned to go. My senior managers were aghast at the disregard for procedure and authority. It’s really not our problem she bought tickets without have firm leave approval first.

Frankly, as a Dad who took time off for both my daughters’ HS and college graduations, I’m more likely to approve that employee’s request (she followed procedure) than the wedding one. It’s just wedding of a college friend.

We are just a flat organization that runs all loosey goosey. We do not have telework and in office work is required. That is something we cannot negotiate with the CEO. It is what it is. We are also on 24/7 365. It is the nature of the work. You can be on call for anything that arises.

Hi OP - I deduced who you work for, I work for the exact same large Federal agency with a global presence in a very similar role. I don't have a solution unfortunately, but I empathize with you. This is what happens when our leadership expects us to do superhuman tasks without proper staffing or funding. Not everything can be urgent or a top priority. Don't mind the haters, this forum is pretty much what you'd expect to happen when posting is anonymous by default. When your site makes Reddit look civilized, you know you're doing something wrong.

To everybody else - OP works in a organization with a 24/7/365 coverage requirement in the national security realm that is very high-profile (lots of dealing with demanding members of Congress and literal international crises) and most likely cannot be done remotely. OP might be involved with Ukraine-related work as well, I know people who are (including a few actually in Kyiv right now, a literal war zone). So yeah, this isn't a normal white-collar job and the 24/7 requirement isn't coming from OP, it's from people much higher up. So maybe give them a break, honestly the 24/7 expectation is well known when you apply for the job. Like I said, it's not a normal job. Better staffing is desperately needed, but OP is a first-line manager - they have no control over that.

You're assuming an awful lot. OP never said they/their work unit were in a 24/7/365 staffing posture. And everyone seems to forget that the one employee already found someone to cover for them! Two months out! OP and the other senior management just don't like that they weren't consulted every step of the way.

Everyone needs to chill. It's really going to be ok.

If the above were even the case, why wouldn’t OP come at it from the 24/7 essential coverage angle, and not make it about “millennials” and their so-called “entitlement”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP and have been back several times. The bigger point is we have a process in this office. We have a leave planning calendar where everyone puts their anticipated out of office time. This is for coordination purposes only. If you want approved leave until it is formally requested in the T&A system and approved by your supervisor. By the regs I posted earlier, yes, employees have the right to schedule earned PTO, but the managers have the right to determine when that leave can be taken due the needs of the office.

The last week week of May is very busy. We have a trade delegation scheduled that week and it is also EER season. I cannot commit to giving both people time off until I have a bigger picture of the trade delegation demands. I will also be caught up in writing EERs for all the staff, not just these two.

I had asked the young woman with the plan to attend her friends wedding to take charge of the trade mission. She told me she had plans to travel that week. I said I would look into assigning it to another manager. However, she jumped ahead of me, worked her own deal without telling me, and then went ahead and announced she’d bought her tickets and planned to go. My senior managers were aghast at the disregard for procedure and authority. It’s really not our problem she bought tickets without have firm leave approval first.

Frankly, as a Dad who took time off for both my daughters’ HS and college graduations, I’m more likely to approve that employee’s request (she followed procedure) than the wedding one. It’s just wedding of a college friend.

We are just a flat organization that runs all loosey goosey. We do not have telework and in office work is required. That is something we cannot negotiate with the CEO. It is what it is. We are also on 24/7 365. It is the nature of the work. You can be on call for anything that arises.

Hi OP - I deduced who you work for, I work for the exact same large Federal agency with a global presence in a very similar role. I don't have a solution unfortunately, but I empathize with you. This is what happens when our leadership expects us to do superhuman tasks without proper staffing or funding. Not everything can be urgent or a top priority. Don't mind the haters, this forum is pretty much what you'd expect to happen when posting is anonymous by default. When your site makes Reddit look civilized, you know you're doing something wrong.

To everybody else - OP works in a organization with a 24/7/365 coverage requirement in the national security realm that is very high-profile (lots of dealing with demanding members of Congress and literal international crises) and most likely cannot be done remotely. OP might be involved with Ukraine-related work as well, I know people who are (including a few actually in Kyiv right now, a literal war zone). So yeah, this isn't a normal white-collar job and the 24/7 requirement isn't coming from OP, it's from people much higher up. So maybe give them a break, honestly the 24/7 expectation is well known when you apply for the job. Like I said, it's not a normal job. Better staffing is desperately needed, but OP is a first-line manager - they have no control over that.

You're assuming an awful lot. OP never said they/their work unit were in a 24/7/365 staffing posture. And everyone seems to forget that the one employee already found someone to cover for them! Two months out! OP and the other senior management just don't like that they weren't consulted every step of the way.

Everyone needs to chill. It's really going to be ok.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP and have been back several times. The bigger point is we have a process in this office. We have a leave planning calendar where everyone puts their anticipated out of office time. This is for coordination purposes only. If you want approved leave until it is formally requested in the T&A system and approved by your supervisor. By the regs I posted earlier, yes, employees have the right to schedule earned PTO, but the managers have the right to determine when that leave can be taken due the needs of the office.

The last week week of May is very busy. We have a trade delegation scheduled that week and it is also EER season. I cannot commit to giving both people time off until I have a bigger picture of the trade delegation demands. I will also be caught up in writing EERs for all the staff, not just these two.

I had asked the young woman with the plan to attend her friends wedding to take charge of the trade mission. She told me she had plans to travel that week. I said I would look into assigning it to another manager. However, she jumped ahead of me, worked her own deal without telling me, and then went ahead and announced she’d bought her tickets and planned to go. My senior managers were aghast at the disregard for procedure and authority. It’s really not our problem she bought tickets without have firm leave approval first.

Frankly, as a Dad who took time off for both my daughters’ HS and college graduations, I’m more likely to approve that employee’s request (she followed procedure) than the wedding one. It’s just wedding of a college friend.

We are just a flat organization that runs all loosey goosey. We do not have telework and in office work is required. That is something we cannot negotiate with the CEO. It is what it is. We are also on 24/7 365. It is the nature of the work. You can be on call for anything that arises.

Hi OP - I deduced who you work for, I work for the exact same large Federal agency with a global presence in a very similar role. I don't have a solution unfortunately, but I empathize with you. This is what happens when our leadership expects us to do superhuman tasks without proper staffing or funding. Not everything can be urgent or a top priority. Don't mind the haters, this forum is pretty much what you'd expect to happen when posting is anonymous by default. When your site makes Reddit look civilized, you know you're doing something wrong.

To everybody else - OP works in a organization with a 24/7/365 coverage requirement in the national security realm that is very high-profile (lots of dealing with demanding members of Congress and literal international crises) and most likely cannot be done remotely. OP might be involved with Ukraine-related work as well, I know people who are (including a few actually in Kyiv right now, a literal war zone). So yeah, this isn't a normal white-collar job and the 24/7 requirement isn't coming from OP, it's from people much higher up. So maybe give them a break, honestly the 24/7 expectation is well known when you apply for the job. Like I said, it's not a normal job. Better staffing is desperately needed, but OP is a first-line manager - they have no control over that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP and have been back several times. The bigger point is we have a process in this office. We have a leave planning calendar where everyone puts their anticipated out of office time. This is for coordination purposes only. If you want approved leave until it is formally requested in the T&A system and approved by your supervisor. By the regs I posted earlier, yes, employees have the right to schedule earned PTO, but the managers have the right to determine when that leave can be taken due the needs of the office.

The last week week of May is very busy. We have a trade delegation scheduled that week and it is also EER season. I cannot commit to giving both people time off until I have a bigger picture of the trade delegation demands. I will also be caught up in writing EERs for all the staff, not just these two.

I had asked the young woman with the plan to attend her friends wedding to take charge of the trade mission. She told me she had plans to travel that week. I said I would look into assigning it to another manager. However, she jumped ahead of me, worked her own deal without telling me, and then went ahead and announced she’d bought her tickets and planned to go. My senior managers were aghast at the disregard for procedure and authority. It’s really not our problem she bought tickets without have firm leave approval first.

Frankly, as a Dad who took time off for both my daughters’ HS and college graduations, I’m more likely to approve that employee’s request (she followed procedure) than the wedding one. It’s just wedding of a college friend.

We are just a flat organization that runs all loosey goosey. We do not have telework and in office work is required. That is something we cannot negotiate with the CEO. It is what it is. We are also on 24/7 365. It is the nature of the work. You can be on call for anything that arises.

Hi OP - I deduced who you work for, I work for the exact same large Federal agency with a global presence in a very similar role. I don't have a solution unfortunately, but I empathize with you. This is what happens when our leadership expects us to do superhuman tasks without proper staffing or funding. Not everything can be urgent or a top priority. Don't mind the haters, this forum is pretty much what you'd expect to happen when posting is anonymous by default. When your site makes Reddit look civilized, you know you're doing something wrong.

To everybody else - OP works in a organization with a 24/7/365 coverage requirement in the national security realm that is very high-profile (lots of dealing with demanding members of Congress and literal international crises) and most likely cannot be done remotely. OP might be involved with Ukraine-related work as well, I know people who are (including a few actually in Kyiv right now, a literal war zone). So yeah, this isn't a normal white-collar job and the 24/7 requirement isn't coming from OP, it's from people much higher up. So maybe give them a break, honestly the 24/7 expectation is well known when you apply for the job. Like I said, it's not a normal job. Better staffing is desperately needed, but OP is a first-line manager - they have no control over that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP and have been back several times. The bigger point is we have a process in this office. We have a leave planning calendar where everyone puts their anticipated out of office time. This is for coordination purposes only. If you want approved leave until it is formally requested in the T&A system and approved by your supervisor. By the regs I posted earlier, yes, employees have the right to schedule earned PTO, but the managers have the right to determine when that leave can be taken due the needs of the office.

The last week week of May is very busy. We have a trade delegation scheduled that week and it is also EER season. I cannot commit to giving both people time off until I have a bigger picture of the trade delegation demands. I will also be caught up in writing EERs for all the staff, not just these two.

I had asked the young woman with the plan to attend her friends wedding to take charge of the trade mission. She told me she had plans to travel that week. I said I would look into assigning it to another manager. However, she jumped ahead of me, worked her own deal without telling me, and then went ahead and announced she’d bought her tickets and planned to go. My senior managers were aghast at the disregard for procedure and authority. It’s really not our problem she bought tickets without have firm leave approval first.

Frankly, as a Dad who took time off for both my daughters’ HS and college graduations, I’m more likely to approve that employee’s request (she followed procedure) than the wedding one. It’s just wedding of a college friend.

We are just a flat organization that runs all loosey goosey. We do not have telework and in office work is required. That is something we cannot negotiate with the CEO. It is what it is. We are also on 24/7 365. It is the nature of the work. You can be on call for anything that arises.

Hi OP - I deduced who you work for, I work for the exact same large Federal agency with a global presence in a very similar role. I don't have a solution unfortunately, but I empathize with you. This is what happens when our leadership expects us to do superhuman tasks without proper staffing or funding. Not everything can be urgent or a top priority. Don't mind the haters, this forum is pretty much what you'd expect to happen when posting is anonymous by default. When your site makes Reddit look civilized, you know you're doing something wrong.

To everybody else - OP works in a organization with a 24/7/365 coverage requirement in the national security realm that is very high-profile (lots of dealing with demanding members of Congress and literal international crises) and most likely cannot be done remotely. OP might be involved with Ukraine-related work as well, I know people who are (including a few actually in Kyiv right now, a literal war zone). So yeah, this isn't a normal white-collar job and the 24/7 requirement isn't coming from OP, it's from people much higher up. So maybe give them a break, honestly the 24/7 expectation is well known when you apply for the job. Like I said, it's not a normal job. Better staffing is desperately needed, but OP is a first-line manager - they have no control over that.

Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP and have been back several times. The bigger point is we have a process in this office. We have a leave planning calendar where everyone puts their anticipated out of office time. This is for coordination purposes only. If you want approved leave until it is formally requested in the T&A system and approved by your supervisor. By the regs I posted earlier, yes, employees have the right to schedule earned PTO, but the managers have the right to determine when that leave can be taken due the needs of the office.

The last week week of May is very busy. We have a trade delegation scheduled that week and it is also EER season. I cannot commit to giving both people time off until I have a bigger picture of the trade delegation demands. I will also be caught up in writing EERs for all the staff, not just these two.

I had asked the young woman with the plan to attend her friends wedding to take charge of the trade mission. She told me she had plans to travel that week. I said I would look into assigning it to another manager. However, she jumped ahead of me, worked her own deal without telling me, and then went ahead and announced she’d bought her tickets and planned to go. My senior managers were aghast at the disregard for procedure and authority. It’s really not our problem she bought tickets without have firm leave approval first.

Frankly, as a Dad who took time off for both my daughters’ HS and college graduations, I’m more likely to approve that employee’s request (she followed procedure) than the wedding one. It’s just wedding of a college friend.

We are just a flat organization that runs all loosey goosey. We do not have telework and in office work is required. That is something we cannot negotiate with the CEO. It is what it is. We are also on 24/7 365. It is the nature of the work. You can be on call for anything that arises.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have two this week who are throwing fits b/c they both asked for the same week off (one for a wedding and the other for her son’s HS graduation). The former went and booked tickets even before asking for the time off. She announced to me today that she will shift her workload during that time to another employee, also without checking with me. I’ve told the two of them to work it out or I will make an executive decision neither will like. We are a small office and May will be very busy. I cannot have two employees out the same week. The fact that you bought tickets to travel before getting approved leave is not my problem. Ditto that your son’s graduation is also that week.

You should be hiring GenX ers. We have a better work ethic

Anonymous wrote:Congrats op, your post went viral. Saw some screenshots on a large FB group.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP and have been back several times. The bigger point is we have a process in this office. We have a leave planning calendar where everyone puts their anticipated out of office time. This is for coordination purposes only. If you want approved leave until it is formally requested in the T&A system and approved by your supervisor. By the regs I posted earlier, yes, employees have the right to schedule earned PTO, but the managers have the right to determine when that leave can be taken due the needs of the office.

The last week week of May is very busy. We have a trade delegation scheduled that week and it is also EER season. I cannot commit to giving both people time off until I have a bigger picture of the trade delegation demands. I will also be caught up in writing EERs for all the staff, not just these two.

I had asked the young woman with the plan to attend her friends wedding to take charge of the trade mission. She told me she had plans to travel that week. I said I would look into assigning it to another manager. However, she jumped ahead of me, worked her own deal without telling me, and then went ahead and announced she’d bought her tickets and planned to go. My senior managers were aghast at the disregard for procedure and authority. It’s really not our problem she bought tickets without have firm leave approval first.

Frankly, as a Dad who took time off for both my daughters’ HS and college graduations, I’m more likely to approve that employee’s request (she followed procedure) than the wedding one. It’s just wedding of a college friend.

We are just a flat organization that runs all loosey goosey. We do not have telework and in office work is required. That is something we cannot negotiate with the CEO. It is what it is. We are also on 24/7 365. It is the nature of the work. You can be on call for anything that arises.

OP, you are in the right. Most of us responsible adults understand that. The world has just lost its marbles thinking that workers deserve to be take vacation whenever and continue to be paid for not showing up because they're entitled to it,. The answer is no. You can only grant one request so do it.

Workers ARE entitled to vacation, nitwit. It's literally part of compensation. If companies don't grant vacation even though it is stipulated in the contract, it is a breach of contract and the work agreements.

Companies have no right to dictate what employees do with the compensation they've already earned.

Soooo...you have no problem with teachers using as many accumulated sick days as they please?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who needs a week off for a wedding?

Entitled people