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A couple of months ago we had a meeting at work. One of the topics was work schedule. Our boss brought up the fact that if we need to take a day off we should let him know at least a day in advance, if we want to take a week off we should let him know at least a week in advance etc. I took this literally as- “If you need time off just let me know ahead of time.” I mean why would you ‘ask’ for a week’s vacation one week in advance when all of your plans are already set?
Anyway, I’ve taken off 4 days off this summer and every time I’ve emailed him it’s been something along the lines of “[Greeting], I will be out on Friday (5/19) and back in the office on Monday[Closing]” I never really ‘asked’ for permission. It was just me reporting my day off to him. It never really occurred to me that it could come off as unprofessional.
Do you think I should write up a brief apology email? Or just make a note of it and approach the situation more professionally next time? I’m leaning towards the second option but what do you think?
If it matters, this job is hourly and we don't get paid vacation time
A couple of months ago we had a meeting at work. One of the topics was work schedule. Our boss brought up the fact that if we need to take a day off we should let him know at least a day in advance, if we want to take a week off we should let him know at least a week in advance etc. I took this literally as- “If you time off just let me know ahead of time.” I mean why would you ‘ask’ for a week’s vacation one week in advance when all of your plans are already set?
Anyway, I’ve taken off 4 days off this summer and every time I’ve emailed him it’s been something along the lines of “[Greeting], I will be out on Friday (5/19) and back in the office on Monday[Closing]” I never really ‘asked’ for permission. It was just me reporting my day off to him. It never really occurred to me that it could come off as unprofessional.
Do you think I should write up a brief apology email? Or just make a note of it and approach the situation more professionally next time? I’m leaning towards the second option but what do you think?
If it matters, this job is hourly and we don't get paid vacation time
Professional courtesy says you "ask," even if it's a mere formality. "Bob, I'd like to take next week off, if it's okay with you." That's all you have to say. It's less off putting and doesn't cost anything. Technically, it is his call.... and do that before you just make an announcement to everyone else that you'll be out.
Professional courtesy says you "ask," even if it's a mere formality. "Bob, I'd like to take next week off, if it's okay with you." That's all you have to say. It's less off putting and doesn't cost anything. Technically, it is his call.
Do you think it's worth an apology email? Or should I just correct myself moving forward?
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While it's most commonly accepted that you ask, as a manager I have eliminated the drama by putting it onto Sharepoint in a form. I have it set to notify me when someone makes a request, then I go in and change the status to Approved, Denied, or Let's Discuss. In the last 5 years all have been approved, because they all know that I won't approve more than 3 gone at one time, and all requests are visible for all to see.
Unless there are signs from your manager that s/he expects an apology, I wouldn't send one. I would make efforts to give more notice though, and I would phrase it differently.
Depending on the job, a day or two notice can create hardship for your coworkers and boss. You really should avoid this. As an example, I decided to take a vacation this upcoming winter. I sent my boss an email saying that I was interested in taking a couple weeks off mid-February, please let me know if it is a problem. I never heard back, so I booked airline tickets and sent him a calendar update with the dates in would be off.
I work similarly with my employees. I ask them to send me notice of days off as soon as they can. I approve or deny almost immediately, and unless they ask for something absurd that conflicts with other people's previous requests, I always approve.
A couple of months ago we had a meeting at work. One of the topics was work schedule. Our boss brought up the fact that if we need to take a day off we should let him know at least a day in advance, if we want to take a week off we should let him know at least a week in advance etc. I took this literally as- “If you need time off just let me know ahead of time.” I mean why would you ‘ask’ for a week’s vacation one week in advance when all of your plans are already set?
Anyway, I’ve taken off 4 days off this summer and every time I’ve emailed him it’s been something along the lines of “[Greeting], I will be out on Friday (5/19) and back in the office on Monday[Closing]” I never really ‘asked’ for permission. It was just me reporting my day off to him. It never really occurred to me that it could come off as unprofessional.
Do you think I should write up a brief apology email? Or just make a note of it and approach the situation more professionally next time? I’m leaning towards the second option but what do you think?
If it matters, this job is hourly and we don't get paid vacation time
Did you get any sense that your "report" of a day off wasn't received well? Because you are obviously wondering about it, why not "check in" with your boss to make sure nothing went haywire? There may be no problem, but if someone asked me about something like this it would tell me I have a conscientious employee. We have probably all been in situations where policies "drift" over time. It never hurts to re-visit them.
Do you think it's worth an apology email? Or should I just correct myself moving forward?
Personally, I'd just change the way i approach dxleave in the future, but you're the one who was there. If you sense it's a problem, it doesn't hurt to say something casually to your boss.
Did you get any sense that your "report" of a day off wasn't received well? Because you are obviously wondering about it, why not "check in" with your boss to make sure nothing went haywire? There may be no problem, but if someone asked me about something like this it would tell me I have a conscientious employee. We have probably all been in situations where policies "drift" over time. It never hurts to re-visit them.
Not all all. From what I can tell everything is fine. I was just talking to a coworker yesterday and she mentioned that she always asked instead first instead of just letting him know.
Not all all. From what I can tell everything is fine. I was just talking to a coworker yesterday and she mentioned that she always asked instead first instead of just letting him know.
I always phrase it as "I'd like to take XX days off...." Feels more courteous than "I'll be gone XX days".
My manager has never denied me time off. Pretty chill working environment. Probably would have moved on years ago if it weren't.
Do you think it's worth an apology email? Or should I just correct myself moving forward?
You're overthinking it. Your boss sounds like a rational and decent person.
Unless he's the owner's son, which it doesn't sound like, I can guarantee he has much more pressing challenges. Your boss probably doesn't think anything of it, or even notice it.
I would still phrase it as a request if possible moving forward.
I will say, that in the past, I have "told" rather than asked, but they were in unique situations. "Hey, my flight back from my cousin's wedding was snowed in. I'll need to take PTO today," or "I'm having a dental procedure on XX day and need to take a day of PTO," if only to communicate that I'm not going to go golfing all of a sudden. That's actually a conscious communication decision, made so as not to allow for debate. My current boss wouldn't push or waffle about that type of thing anyway, but some in the past would moan a little about it.
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