Employee has a bold response to manager canceling their pre-approved vacation

The internet has many examples of unhealthy workplaces, especially where the boss or manager has no regard for employees' well-being. Many find going on a planned vacation a nightmare because of their bosses continuously disturbing them. For instance, this employee, u/ImAnActionBirb, on Reddit was quite contented that they had planned their vacation days well ahead. But to ruin their peace, their boss expected them to attend a meeting during their vacation.

The employee posted that they had submitted their leave and got it approved earlier this year. On ensuring the approval of their vacation time, they went ahead and spent nearly $3000 to book tickets and hotels for their vacation. "I had scheduled two extra days on either side of my trip to give me time to pack and recover and to burn up some vacation time because I kept running up to the limit," they pointed out. However, the work woes began right from the first day of their vacation when they randomly checked their computer.

"I checked in on my computer on the first day of vacation to find my manager scheduled a meeting for me that day," the employee said. However, they ignored it considering the fact that their manager already knew that they were out of office. "Checked in the next day to find an email saying, 'Since you didn't show up to the meeting, I'm canceling your vacation,' and she did, in fact, retroactively cancel my time off," they added. This time, the employee felt the need to respond to the manager's insensitivity. "I replied to the email basically saying, 'This was pre-approved and I'm not accessible during this time, bye.' And of course, resubmitted my time," they mentioned.

Though the worker had responded to their toxic boss stating the apparent truth, they were concerned that she was having some different ideas. "I assume she's trying to force a situation of job abandonment. How is this legal?" the concerned employee asked. They also added that they had some previous disputes with the boss when they reported her for some unknown reasons. "The HR is in line with her retaliation," they said. The post gained traction on Reddit and many users could relate to such unreasonable behavior by the managers. Some even offered their suggestions based on their own experience with toxic bosses.

"Just remember, people like this love to send you this kind of stuff right before, or during, your vacation. They think it will ruin your experience while you're away. Put it out of your mind as best you can!" recommended u/PestCemetary. "Have you got any evidence of it being pre-approved? All I'd do is just take pics of her emails and behavior. You'd be safe if you have the pre-approval pics or papers," added u/-CherrySaint-. "Don’t even think for one second that if you had attended the meeting she was gonna let you go on vacation. It was pick your poison. Contact an attorney. You’re looking at constructed dismissal," pointed out u/lostshell.