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Would this bother you? Kinda long.
A little back story to preface my question: I hit my 10 year mark w/ the company I work at on February 7th this year. I waited and waited for my boss to update my vacation time (we're supposed to get an extra week when you hit 10 years, so I would then have 3 weeks total). Come beginning of July and he hasn't even acknowledged the fact that I've been here 10 years (yeah I'm pretty salty), let alone add my "extra" time. I sent him an email in beginning of July and he acknowledged he got and asked if he could work on it when he was back from vacation in a few days, sure no problem I say. Sept. 1st I hadn't heard a word, so I emailed him again and said politely where are you at with this b/c I would like to plan some time off. He immediately replies saying "its on my list to do". Today is 9/15 and he FINALLY gets its done.
The part that I'm really upset about is that today he tells me I have an "extra" 34 hours (its prorated b/c my start date was 2/7 and he is super weird about that stuff, come 1/1/2011 its a full week) then proceeds to say 'but you can't take all that time off b/c we need you here and we're really busy; I can't have you out that much. I can "bonus it out" to you since you have so much time left".
My gripes:
- I wouldn't have so much time if he would've done it in February like he was supposed to. I could've taken all kinds of days off here and there to use it up, which I would've loved to do.
- I shouldn't have to ASK you to handle it when it was apparent you were planning on letting it go completely (he has a history of this type of behavior).
- What right do you have to tell me I CAN'T take vacation that I've earned putting up w/ your shiit for over 10 years?!
Am I wrong to be upset here? All I can say is GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! What a tool. 
Re: Would this bother you? Kinda long.
First of all, DEFINITELY save that email from him saying you can't take all of your vacation time, just in case you need it in the future.
Second, yes, I would be upset. 10 years is a long time and in a world run by me
you would have gotten a cake and a card saying how much you are appreciated. Be grumpy for today and then tomorrow pick yourself up and feel good abou tthe fact that he is basically saying he cannot possibly run his department without you!
If I were you, I would respond and say "I am so honored tha tyou appreciate my work so much that you can't bear the load without me. On a serious note, I of course would submit a vacation request and wait for your approval before planning any time off. that said, is (such and such) still the correct procedure? I am really looking forward to some time off to spend with family,etc. thanks so much for taking the time to update my vacation time. I look forward to the next 10 years!"
No, it won't get him to acknowledge your service, hard work, and loyalty. No, it won't validate your snarliness about the whole situation. But, it let's him know that you do intend to take some well deserved time off and hopefully gives you some peace of mind knowing that at least you tried to go about getting your due benefits in the most appropriate way.
Lastly, HAPPY 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY! (insert homemade cookies here) and your boss kinda sucks.
I would go right to HR unless your company is so small that he is HR. And I'd be telling HR that you want an extra 6 months to use your time b/c he dicked around for 6 months or you want to cash it out if you can't use it in time. And why is he handling this and not HR-isn't that the kind of thing they do?
That said, I've been with my company for almost 10 years and at this point nothing shocks me anymore.
Hmm, yes, I would be irritated. However, I also feel that all bets are off given the economy. There are two possible situations here.
1) your company has laid a lot of people off and are now expecting everyone else to pick up the pieces. If this is your situation, congrats on still having a job. Although it sucks now, it can really be a blessing in the future. Now is the time to show that you are a diligent, capable working and when things rebound, go for that promotion/ raise. Also, if this is the situation, at least your company has the money and is willing to pay it out!!
2) your boss is a jerk and is taking full advantage of the current economy. He knows jobs are hard to come by and many who are employed aren't too willing to rock the boat. He knows that (most) people will do anything to keep their jobs and if they don't, well, it's the perfect market for hiring qualifed individuals at a bare minimum.
In either situation, do you have an employee handbook and/or contract? It should specifically lay out vacation time. It it does, refer him to that and ask what for a compromise (perhaps you can roll your extra week over to next year and take 4 weeks?) IN WRITING.
duplicate
triplicate
and again
yet again
.... PS_ congrats on the 10 year mark!!
Last one
I would love to go to someone else besides him. He is the end all be all. We are a fairly small company so when it comes to any HR matters (such as this) or anything that's an "issue" he has created a system where we have no choice but to go directly with him. Everyone hates it, but what can you do ya know? For all the crap he's put his employees through (this kind of thing happens regularly here) it would be really nice to have that 3rd party to go to and try to diffuse the situation.
I mentioned what happened yest to a co-worker and he was prob more ticked than I was initially. I don't have a problem "cashing out" some of the time b/c yes its unrealistic for me to carry over another almost full week into 2011. I have a hard enough taking the time I have as it is b/c its impossible to schedule time off here. My other issue is that this whole thing came about via a verbal conversation yest so I don't have any solid written proof, just my word over his. I'm not concerned about it too much honestly, but I have news for him: I'm taking as much of MY time that I've busted my rear for and earned. I'm just not going to take it all at once so its less noticeable to him.
The unfortunate part is that this is typical behavior at our company w/ him and there are only 2 of us that are in the office f/t. We have not had to lay off anyone so that isn't an issue. He has created an environment here where all but the last 2 of us in the office have left b/c of the crap we put up with just like this. So yeah, I guess I'm SOL, but I feel better having gotten that "out". I can't wait until 5pm on Friday so I can forget about this place for a few days...