Worker Drafts A Harsh Email After The PTO Wasn’t Approved — ‘My Hotel Is Already Booked And Paid For’
It is a rather frustrating dilemma, but many people point out that it could have been a mistake.
fizkes / Shutterstock / Reddit After an employee gave his boss a few months' notice that he would be going in a family vacation and requested a few days off, he was confused after he discovered that only half of the days he requested off were approved.
He decided to send an email to his boss inquiring about the schedule and sought the advice of others, asking if his message was “rude” or “unprofessional.”
The employee wanted advice on how to ask his boss for his time off to be fully approved.
Sharing his story to the subreddit, r/antiwork, the employee revealed that he had booked a family trip for memorial day weekend back in February, and requested to have off from May 26-May 29. Just a week before he was set to go on the trip, he learned that half of his time off request was denied.
Since he booked the trip months ago and could not cancel it, he sent an email to his boss restating that he would not be able to make it into work on those specific dates. “I am not sure why only half of my mini vacation was approved and the other half was declined, but I am not going to be here that entire weekend,” he wrote. “As stated, I am going to be away for a small family vacation. My hotel is already booked and paid for, I have events all planned out.”
Photo: Reddit
The employee added that he was letting his boss know as a “courtesy” and not a request that he would not be coming into work on May 26 through May 29, and thanked him for understanding.
The employee asked other Redditors if his email had been rude or unprofessional, and many of them offered him alternate versions of a response he could send to his boss instead.
Assuming that his boss had simply made a mistake by only approving half of the employee’s time off request, many people encouraged him to be more lenient.
“Your email is unprofessional. I understand you are frustrated but this email isn't going to do you any favors,” one Redditor commented. “Hi there, In February, I put in a PTO [piad time off] request from Friday, May 26th to Monday, May 29th. Today I received a notification that (days here) were not approved. I provided a significant amount of notice and moved forward with plans that can't be changed at this time. Please let me know if you would like to discuss this further.”
“You have an attitude about it (and not saying you are wrong to have one). Just speak plainly and directly,” another user suggested. “Hey. I wanted to advise you that I will not be at work between Friday, May 26th, and Monday, May 29th. I have booked a vacation for a family event and will not be in XXX. At this point, only half of my time was approved and the other half declined. Let me know if there is anything else I can do. Thanks.”
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.