Question for the grumpy Managers

[Jeff La]

Well I hate to tell some but we had to schedule our vacation for the year in January. If you called in sick you had to have a doctor's excuse if it exceeded one day and if you did the one day thing more than twice you were visiting HR. Funeral leave was for immediate family only and I was refused many times for my aunts and uncles. Emergency vacation was granted only if replacement for you could be found and you were only allowed about 3 times before having to visit HR again. No vacation was allowed between December 15 and January 2, if you were scheduled to work you were expected to be there or be in the hospital. Many were told they had to come in sick during that time.

[Mark Perry]

If you are a manager and work cannot get by without you for a day without you having to call in etc I would say maybe a look at the big picture could help. No reason why a company can't get by without you for a day.

[Bassman Ia.]

Requesting time off????

There will be guys on a fishing site beatching cause their Whooper Plopper's delivery is 2 days late .

[Duece22]

If you are a manager and work cannot get by without you for a day without you having to call in etc I would say maybe a look at the big picture could help. No reason why a company can't get by without you for a day.

The first CEO I reported to always said..if do your job right, you should be able to play 18 holes every Friday.

[Bassman Ia.]

If you are a manager and work cannot get by without you for a day without you having to call in etc I would say maybe a look at the big picture could help. No reason why a company can't get by without you for a day.

That doesn't apply to every job.

[Skeeterbait]

The big picture is that as long as you have the attitude that I will do my 8 five times a week, watch the clock every day, do only the minimum asked of me, and leave me alone when I am not here, then you are a lot less likely to receive recognition. And you likely will never know what might have come your way. If you expect instant recognition and change employers frequently looking for an escalator to the top, then you are likely to remain in a mid tier job all your life. Now you should look at the upper positions in your company and determine how they have historically been filled. Are there paths for advancement to those positions within the company? If the answer is yes then sticking it out and doing 110 percent of what is expected of you is how you get there. If you determine that such paths do not exist then is when it is time to look for another employer.

So the question for a top level manager is not, can they get along for a day out of contact with me, but instead, should they have to? In my position a few minutes a day answering email or taking a short phone call outside the office can have an effect on someone else's ability to do their job.

[D.O.C. 989]

That doesn't apply to every job.

How could it not? What if you dropped over dead, the Company gonna fold up?

[Mark Perry]

That doesn't apply to every job.

It applies to enough jobs that it's a valid point.

[Mark Perry]

The big picture is that as long as you have the attitude that I will do my 8 five times a week, watch the clock every day, do only the minimum asked of me, and leave me alone when I am not here, then you are a lot less likely to receive recognition. And you likely will never know what might have come your way. If you expect instant recognition and change employers frequently looking for an escalator to the top, then you are likely to remain in a mid tier job all your life. Now you should look at the upper positions in your company and determine how they have historically been filled. Are there paths for advancement to those positions within the company? If the answer is yes then sticking it out and doing 110 percent of what is expected of you is how you get there. If you determine that such paths do not exist then is when it is time to look for another employer.

So the question for a top level manager is not, can they get along for a day out of contact with me, but instead, should they have to?

It's not about taking the easy way out but everyone needs a reset and a day or two of vacation here and there. It's a good way to reenergize and come back focused and even more productive.

[Skeeterbait]

It's not about taking the easy way out but everyone needs a reset and a day or two of vacation here and there. It's a good way to reenergize and come back focused and even more productive.

To each their own Mark. I am much more relaxed on a day out of the office knowing issues are handled and I'm not going to walk back into a hornet's nest. Staying in contact is how I do that.

[Mark Perry]

To each their own Mark. I am much more relaxed on a day out of the office knowing issues are handled and I'm not going to walk back into a hornet's nest. Staying in contact is how I do that.

Really if it's the way you operate then you owe none of us an explanation etc. You gotta be comfortable and sounds like your way works for you. The rest is just us talking and cussing/discussing on here to kill time.

[Skeeterbait]

Really if it's the way you operate then you owe none of us an explanation etc. You gotta be comfortable and sounds like your way works for you. The rest is just talking abd cussing/discussing on here to kill time.

As a CIO, every form of electronic communication, and every form of data processing, for every employee, falls into your relm of responsibility. Any breakdown effects multiple employee's ability to perform their job. We are large enough to need two dozen specialized IT professionals, but not large enough to support a help desk function without it adding a layer of complication. Many issues require analysis and deployment of multiple specialties to resolve. The user cannot perform that analysis, they just want their issue resolved. So anytime the CEO, CFO, HR, Legal, or any of the division managers report a problem, it needs to be addressed quickly. People do not just shelve their work to wait on your return.

There are also many forms of IT approval I have to make before tasks can proceed. Often a short explanation is all that is needed for me to give my approval. I have made several of these approvals from the deck of a bass boat.

[Judd]

Skeeterbait, most guys never will understand the level of stress or hours it takes to be successful in the IT environment. Funny thing, they are the first to complain if the system they need it's down or not working accurately.

I feel and live your sacrifice and stress. It's definitely not for everyone.

[Bassman Ia.]

If somebody that works for you takes a day off, is it their responsibility to get someone to cover for them while they are out?

Two different things -------------- of course a company. Can Run without a manager ( our terminal ran for 4 months without a figure head). I read the OP's question as----- if someone ( worker) wanted a day off was it their job to line up a replacement. As, someone didn't have his shift covered and now the manager is cranky.

[wentbroketryingtogopro]

I guess I am one of the people you are calling grumpy managers. But I actually consider myself pretty benevolent. I give my number 2 his choice of days off first. I will work the day before and after holidays to make sure the office is covered so more employees can take off. I often approve employees full weeks off when I myself have not taken more than 3 consecutive days off in over 20 years. Never do I have a day off that I don't answer email and frequently receive calls. I came up thru the ranks, at one time did every duty of every employee who works in my field. My professionalism and dedication to the company and the job I performed allowed me to progress to my managerial position and the salary I receive. And yes I recognize the same traits in employees I manage and go to bat for them with HR. Unfortunately I see less people with dedication than I used to. 32 years in the IT field and probably will work 10 more.

if I were in your shoes they better be paying me LeBron james salary!!!!!

[vaw121]

Shouldn't be the employees response abilities to get peer approval for a day off. That's why you have the title.

[badbaggerHD]

No but it's their job to tell me what they need to have done while they are out so we can ensure the work gets done. It's never been an issue with me as I treat my teammates with respect (I call teammates cause we are a team). I also have a policy that it's their time to use when and as they see fit regardless of what is going on or due at work. I do not expect my team to live to work but to work to live and enjoy life. Because of that I have built a team that has turned a behind schedule Program into a profit generating and an on schedule Program. My team made that happen, not me, I just try to provide them a place to work that they enjoy. Management is hard but leadership is easy.

[bassnman81]

No

[JCWbassmaster]

Why are you asking us ? ask your boss ,he's got the answer.

Because the less I conversate with him the better my life is lol. And it's useless to go above him because it's been tried by others and they were basically told he can do no wrong.
To make a long story short one of my jobs is to receive all incoming packages. The person who use to do receiving and I are on same team and have the same "Lead". All of my jobs were completed before I left on Wednesday and my "Lead" had a almost 2 weeks to prepare for it. I think it was just to make him feel in charge because it wasn't that much, nothing was late because of it and I did everything as soon as I came in that morning.