Look Up Some Books On Work/Life Balance

(I work in a library. My coworker gets invited to an out-of-state wedding and immediately requests that Friday off. It’s January, and the wedding isn’t until August. Three months later, the library announces its annual mandatory staff day training, and it happens to be the same day my coworker has already had approved for vacation. My boss takes my coworker aside.)

Boss: “You’re going to have to cancel your plans. Everyone is required to attend the training day.”

Coworker: “I know this, but I’m not canceling my plans. My vacation has already been approved before the staff day was even on the calendar. You and the deputy director have already signed the paperwork.”

Boss: “This is mandatory; you can’t get out of it.”

Coworker: “I already have my flight and hotel booked. I’m going to my friend’s wedding. You can’t un-approve of anything once the paperwork has already gone through.”

Boss: “I don’t like your attitude. When I was in your position, I worked at the library, held two other jobs, and went to school full time, and I always put the library first.”

Coworker: “That’s… good? But I’m still going to my friend’s wedding.”

Boss: “If you’re not at the training, we’ll write you up.”

Coworker: “I want to speak to a union rep about what they have to say about this.”

(Calls are made back and forth between the boss, union, coworker, deputy director, director, and human resources. The union argues that the already approved paperwork is binding, and that they will take any and all actions if the library denies my coworker her time off. The library very reluctantly relents.)

Boss: “I will have to mark this against you in your review; you’re not much of a team player.”

(The boss and the rest of upper management never let it go. For the rest of the time my coworker was employed by them, they held the fact that she missed a training day on a vacation that was approved even before the training was scheduled over her head.)