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First off, if you take off every Monday then you'll just hate Tuesdays.
We had a guy doing this because he was an alcoholic and needed an extra day to recover. You won't be making good work relations with people that have to cover your stuff every Monday. What if two or three do it? Most Companies require you to schedule your vaca and only a week can be "sick time" pto and needs to be in a block of days.
Personally, I don't see a problem with scheduled time off but having to cover one day for an extended time could easily be seen as an issue.
I don't understand the vitriol directed at the OP. His request for Mondays in Sept and Oct is a bit odd, but so what? If he has the vacation time available and this is how he chooses to use it, why hate on him?
As a manager, I would prefer it if he were to request all his days as the same time, rather than dribble the requests out one or two at a time. That is a management issue though, and one that is easily resolved by telling the OP to knock it off and get a complete list of days in.
This is another topic where I have personal experience. I have one employee who likes to take three day weekends all summer, and another who does it all fall. They both prefer Fridays off and they schedule months in afvance, otherwise little different from the OP.
This doesn't cause work issues. Why should it? We have vacation days for a reason, and these employees take less time off as a chunk than others. It balances out.
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At the last place I worked, we were so overworked and short-staffed that they never wanted us to use any of our leave. Period. There were also issues with incredibly poor management and disconnect between departments. We were always putting out fires. There was always a crisis.
My boss didn't like it if I took full weeks. Didn't like it if I took individual days. Hated it if I split weeks (ex. thurs-tues). I actually asked when I could use my leave (really. I asked my boss to choose the time) and he just never replied. At the point, I realized how ridiculous the situation was.
Some bosses (or companies) just don't want you to use leave. I fought for mine and got outta there as quickly as possible. Good luck, OP.
You say it's about having a 3 day weekend. You do know that can be accomplished by taking off Friday too? If too many requests for Monday is an issue, mix it up a little and choose Friday instead.
There are a couple of issues here. One, those who have posted that calling in sick tends to be a problem with people who do it on Mondays and Fridays are correct: if you have a pattern of arranging to be sick when it works out to give you a three-day weekend it makes it seem as though you are lying about being sick and misusing sick time. Obviously not a problem with vacation time.
Two, the OP said that taking the day would have made him/her have a zero vacation time balance. Employers tend to be concerned if an employee is always running on empty for sick or vacation time because it reduces the employee's flexibility to deal with emergencies as they come up.
Some employers feel that you should take a week at a time because it gives you the kind of restorative break that vacation is supposed to give people. I don't necessarily agree because I tend to think it is the employee's time to use as s/he sees fit. I have coworkers and employees who prefer to use their vacation to take long weekends for a variety of reasons, and I generally don't have a problem with it.
Another factor is how burdensome it is for the employer to deal with the absence. At the law firm where I am a manager it is probably easier to deal with individual days (the lawyers schedule them around court appearances and deadlines, while if a secretary does it we generally won't hire a temp for a single day) than with a couple of weeks, so it's generally up to the employee, arranging it with his/her coworkers and managers to make sure all the work is done as needed. I can imagine, though, that in some jobs it would be hard to be constantly dealing with scattered days off.
So, OP, you use all of your time for these three day weekends? What would happen if you actually needed to take a week or two off and you had no time left? You do know at your next job, you might not have this flexibility.
Do you cover for other people when they take off? If 'Mary' wanted to take off one of those Mondays that you wanted and your request was turned down, would you be upset?
It might seem to your co workers that you are always taking time off.
I'm not a monday person and always been taking mondays off in the fall and winter. I took two mondays off in September and requested another one the last Monday of October. Then I get a call from my supervisor saying my day maybe denied since I have a pattern of requesting mondays off. Huh? I thought a pattern only matters if you call out sick every other monday. So I requested to speak to HR and eventually I was told that was a rule by the old boss and I can now request any day off I want as long as I have the time.
I was about to explode because that had to be one of the stupidest rule I ever heard on a job concerning vacation days. plus I'm a person who never calls out sick and always on time and was going to be told I can't request days off even if I have the time? I been at this job for almost 3 years and this is the first time I ever been upset.
I suggest that since you don't like working Mondays like a lot of other people,then you should try to find a job that does 4 10's where your schedule will always be Tues-Fri or become an IC somewhere where you can have a flex schedule that allows you to make your own schedule. Those are the options that you have.You are an employee and not the boss.Become a boss and you can take off any day that you want without question.I feel that you did have a right to be angry because you had the days and you are allowed to take days off and it if it seems to mostly be on Mondays...then there shouldn't be an issue because you have the days..BUT like I said...when you work for others...they can be a pain in the butt at times.
If taking off Monday was a habit and something you needed to do then I would look to adjust your schedule. Many places are flexible depending on the type of work with hours, typical job is what 9-5? I have been working 8-4 and more recently 730-330 for years now. Given the kids are up early no reason to sit around the house half the morning when I could be at work and getting out early. I would look into setting up 4 10's then you get to keep and add to your PTO while having Monday completely off.
Also by doing this your allowing the manager to setup a schedule where he has other people to work Monday's and give them chances to take time off here and there. The advance notice to me is a non-issue because sometimes things come up and people don't know months ahead if they need a day off. Typically a weeks notice is prudent. Your also allowing for work to be tossed your way when your not around or your "coverage" doesn't get to it and it puts a precedent for co-workers and peers that your not in Monday's so they will not be looking for you or having to check your out of office or wait for automated replies.
I'm not chastising your right to days off, or even particular days. But I am seeing both sides and think it would be more beneficial to adjust your work week.
So, OP, you use all of your time for these three day weekends? What would happen if you actually needed to take a week or two off and you had no time left? You do know at your next job, you might not have this flexibility.
Do you cover for other people when they take off? If 'Mary' wanted to take off one of those Mondays that you wanted and your request was turned down, would you be upset?
It might seem to your co workers that you are always taking time off.
We all have backup. But I don't think being off one day will require me needed a backup
I never take vacation days or PTO, but I do take comp days from working weekends and have the ability to make up work hours during the day due to being salaried. I also work in sales so it's a job that you don't really take a break from, but even then, I can't believe people here are giving the OP such opposing opinions for requesting your EARNED vacation off. I don't care what day of the week it is, does your company handbook say that you can only take vacation days in the middle of the week, only when convenient for the company (which is never unless they want to fire you), or that you can only take 2 Mondays off per year?
The bottomline here is that you made a deal and they're not keeping up their part of the bargain. If it isn't company policy that is actually written into the manual, which is basically your employment contract, then they shouldn't be able to penalize you for taking advantage of it. I can see a denial, which I assume is permitted, but I think you have every right to request Mondays off just as much as they have the right to deny it (assuming it's in the handbook).
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