Worker forced to clock in on day off by their manager makes him regret it immediately by resigning

Working in the blue-collar industry can take quite a toll on most individuals. In such jobs, it becomes perfectly reasonable for employees to be granted extra time off, especially during festival holidays. But sometimes, things don't go as planned, preventing them from taking their much-needed time off, forcing them sometimes to take drastic measures. u/NOCnurse58 had such a story to share about choosing to quit their job when they were not allowed to take an extended leave for Christmas.

The post titled, "Fired if I don't work that day, made it my last day," has accumulated 7.4K upvotes on the platform with 179 comments. The employee mentions that they used to work as part of a relief crew on a drilling rig. The rig itself ran 24 hours a day and workers had three shifts. The crews would work for six days and then get two days off. They write, "My crew would replace a working crew so they could have their two days off, so we worked mornings two days, then afternoons and then nights."

Workers could get an extra day off, provided that they found someone who could take up their duties as a replacement. They say, "A crew had a driller, Derrickhand, motorman, chainhand and floorhand." Most people started as floorhands and worked their way up to taking up more responsibilities with more pay. In September, the individual's wife asked if they could take some time off for Christmas. They checked the calendar and found out their days off were on the 24th and 25th of December.

The employee decided to "sweeten the pot" and found a replacement who could work in their place on the 22nd and 23rd of December. They also managed to find someone to cover for them on the 26th and 27th. The employee then informed their driller, who agreed that the replacements could come in instead of them. They write, "With my six days off, I could drive 400 miles to visit family. Things looked pretty sweet, too sweet."

Other members of the crew followed suit and two among them managed to get additional time off. Unfortunately, the driller could only find three guys to replace him and all three were not willing to come in as his replacement. They write, "He got mad and since he couldn't get time off, none of us could have it off." The employee reminded the driller that he had already approved their time off and he immediately replied that it was canceled and that they would be fired if they didn't show up at the job on the 23rd.

Upon seeing the driller's sudden behavior change, the employee informed him that the 23rd would be the last day they worked and gave him their three-month notice. Nothing much was said about it in the next few months and the employee utilized the time to look for other jobs and found one. They write, "At the end of my shift on the 23rd, I emptied my work locker and said my goodbyes. The driller barely acknowledged me." They go off on vacation and return to start their new job.

Fast forward to January, the employee runs into a former coworker at their friend's birthday party. He asked the individual when they would be returning to work. Apparently, the driller thought they were not serious about quitting and would eventually return to the job. They write, "He never hired a replacement and they had been working short-handed for over a month." The individual informed the coworker that the driller should hire someone and they were serious about quitting.

People on the platform loved that the employee stood up for themself and shared their thoughts in the comment section. u/Coolbeanschilly said, "This is what happens when management treats skilled employees like garbage. They lose them." u/primal7104 pointed out, "You absolutely have to get someone to cover your shift- but then he can run a month without, shorthanded the whole time. Seems like the 'absolute' requirement wasn't so required after all."