Employee Explains How He Was 'Blackmailed' By His Boss Into Missing His College Roommate's Wedding
He worked at his alumni university but couldn't even go to his college roommate's wedding.
fizkes / Shutterstock After an employee was promised time off to attend his college roommate’s wedding, he was approached by his boss and warned that taking time off could jeopardize his job. However, the employee soon discovered that he was better off going to the wedding than prioritizing the position.
The employee claimed that he was ‘blackmailed’ by his boss to work the day of his friend’s wedding despite being promised that time off.
Sharing his story to the r/antiwork subreddit, the employee revealed that he previously worked at a university in the southern United States, where he was hired to build sets for the theatre department.
“Part of this lateral hire was the stipulation that I was going to be gone for a set long weekend in the spring for my college roommate's wedding,” the man wrote. However, things didn't go quite as planned.
“Well, as it turns out, that school year was going to be incredibly rough on the theatre department, and I would be left alone to build eight fully backed shows after also contracting COVID and pneumonia,” he explained. “Try as I might, I couldn’t solely build fast enough, and the little student help I received wasn’t cutting it.”
Photo: Juice Flair / Shutterstock
The week before the wedding, the employee was approached by his boss. “[I] was told that if I went on the long weekend, that my future job status would be in jeopardy come the following week,” he shared. “Being young, stressed out, and on little sleep, I believed their bluster and missed my friend's wedding.”
Despite working during the time that he was promised off, the employee claimed that he was still reprimanded the following week, with his boss insisting that he “could have done more” work than he had completed.
Two months later, he was let go from his position.
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The employee expressed frustration with the situation and the university's treatment, noting the high turnover rate in the position since their departure. “I am not saying I was the best employee they had, but I was, in fact, their ONLY employee doing that job,” he added.
The man suspects that his boss was already planning on terminating him yet manipulated him into working more, including the time he was promised to have off.
His boss's actions were unethical and exploitative.
While many young employees, like the Reddit man, are often led to believe that their jobs are on the line if they miss even just one weekend of work, do not let your boss convince you that this is the case. Never allow them to bully, guilt, or blackmail you into obeying an unethical or illegal request.
Taking time off, whether it be for a wedding, a vacation, or just to get a break from the everyday hustle and bustle, is essential for reducing stress and preventing work burnout.
Labor laws and company policies often entitle you to time off, and it's crucial to affirm your rights to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Instead of claiming that the employee’s job would be at risk if he attended the wedding, his boss should have had a coverage plan sorted out during his absence so that the work could be completed even if the employee was not there.
Jobs come and go, but it is not every day your college roommate gets married, and you should never have to miss it due to work.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.