Gas station shuts down function as overworked employee steps out for a two week vacation

Employees oftentimes feel that they are just a part of the machinery, and their presence might not matter in the big picture. This is the belief bosses want their employees to have so that they can maintain a status quo. The gas station in which Reddit user u/Titalator worked also made him believe the same thing and the employee never questioned it. The employee knew that he was overworked, but never understood how crucial he was to the functioning of the business. The realization hit him when he took a vacation and in his absence, the gas station fell like a pack of cards.

He had been planning for a vacation for a long time. He needed a break desperately, and when a wedding invitation popped up, he decided to use it as an opportunity for a holiday. The employee knew that the vacation would be unpaid, but still, he wanted to take the trip for his own mental sanity. However, even in his wildest of imaginations, he did not anticipate that his leaving would actually cause the gas station to close down.

u/Titalator was on the third day of his sanctioned vacation when he received an inquiry through text regarding the gas station. The text informed him that the gas station had put on a sign that it would be closed for four days. u/Titalator felt a bit disoriented, as he had just left three days ago and did not feel that the establishment was in such dire straits that it would be closed down. He immediately began digging and found out that in his absence 3 people were fired and the assistant manager was transferred. The manager on duty had just started and did not know how things worked and the bulk of the work fell on the remaining employees.

There were 4 employees that were on-duty and all of them walked not being able to handle the pressure. The employee figured out that they were unable to balance the various responsibilities and manage the extra work because these functions were mainly fulfilled by him. The fact that they were unable to find someone to do the work he took on his shoulders, both pleased and shocked him. He was taken aback by the fact that nobody could match the dedication he showed in his job, and keep the establishment running in his absence.

As expected he got a message requesting him to come back as soon as possible. The employee refused as he wanted to enjoy the whole vacation and knew the establishment would not pay for his trip back home. Moreover, after knowing that the last remaining employee had also quit, he understood that instead of gratitude he would definitely be welcomed by a 13-hour shift.

The comment section also shared some similar experiences. u/TheOtherGlikbach also had something like this happen to them, "I went on a Carribean cruise and had no mobile phone cover. I am cheap and refused to pay for internet on the ship. I am on vacation! Got back after 7 days and my entire department's leadership was terminated. The place went into chaos. I did what every sane individual would do, I turned my phone off for 2 more days." u/maffemaagen shared their opinion about the establishment, "If the business falls apart because one staff is out, someone is doing something very wrong."