Most of the time when you ask for time off, your superiors don't have much of an issue. "Sure! Enjoy yourself!" or "Go ahead. You deserve a break," they might say.
On the rare occasion where your request comes at an inopportune time (e.g. looming deadline, it's their monthly get-away time with mistress/boy-toy), there can be a battle of wills. How important is this PTO to you? Is it your attempt to have a random, debauchery-filled three-day weekend that can be easily blown off? Or is it a more serious occasion such as nuptials, birth of child, chemotherapy, or opening weekend of the NFL season that must be respected?
If your boss is in dire straits, subtle threats are often made to convince you to reconsider your request. And more often than not, people will accommodate their employer's wishes.
Count Billie Ann Tomei firmly in the "not" camp:
"I lost my job during the San Bernardino thing [Ed. note: I'm guessing this.]," said Billie Ann Tomei, mother of Cole and wife of assistant coach Trevor Tomei. Billie Ann had been working as an office manager for a CPA. She had vacation time, but the West regional tournament in San Bernardino came at the wrong time. Her boss was out of the office and needed her to keep things running. "He wouldn't let me take time off," Tomei said Wednesday, on the eve of a game that could send Petaluma National into the United States championship round. "He told me, 'If you go, write yourself your last check.' So I wrote myself my last check."
Work-life balance is so much easier when you take matters into your own hands.
