Asking for time off during the holidays

[cicero]

under these circumstances i wouldn't ask.

On the one hand, you are new, you have no vacation days and there is nobody to cover for you. OTOH, this is a well paid pt job that could lead to a FT/career ---- so, no. i wouldn't ask.

[KenveeB]

Don't ask. First and most important to me is that you were already asked to cover the extra shifts and agreed. Don't go back on your word, or that will have long-term ramifications on your career. Even if you got the time off here, your boss WILL remember you as the person who can't be counted on. But also the fact that you're trying to get hired full-time and this is something you want as your career, you need to do a little short-term sacrifice for the long-term advantage. However you handle this, your boss and others in your field will remember it. Better be remembered as the one who was cheerfully willing to help however necessary.

[yokozbornak]

I just wanted to point out that the OP didn't say she was asking advice for herself.    

[YummyMummy66]

Before I even start a new position, when I go in for the final interview or to sign papers as an employee, or even in my first interview, I already have a list of my vacation days and time requested off if I have anything coming up in the next few months.

There is no way I would take time off after starting a new positon, being around the holidays and not previously having requested said time off. 

[blarg314]

Given what you described in the OP I'd say that in those circumstances you should definitely not take the time off.

It's a good paying job, in a field you're trying to get into, that *may* turn into full time. Insisting on taking time off for non-emergency entertainment, after agreeing to work over the holidays at your boss's request, or sulking when told no, are going to seriously sabotage your chances of getting taken on permanently.  Even asking for the time off after saying yes is going to look bad. If would be different for something like a death in the family, or scheduled surgery, of course.

Now, if this is a bait and switch letter written from the *boss's* perspective, I would add that it's the boss's duty to be firm and bosslike say "No, you agreed to take the shifts, there's no one to cover you, and it's not an emergency. You can't have the time off". Giving a wishy-washy "Oh, well, if you really must" and then being mad at the employee is getting passive agressive, and sidestepping the unpleasant parts of being in charge.

[Deetee]

I said I would ask for time off, but I should clarify that I have almost always worked on salary and in positions where there is work to be done but the hours are flexible. (No-one would bat an eye if you didn't show up until noon or even at all for a day or two. Often people would be in on weekends. So I realise I have a different persepctive where "Can you work over this time" means "Can you get the work done that is required over this time"

[Mad Goat Woman]

I wouldn't be asking for the time off, especially if your supervisor has already requested you work those days. For me, personally, it would go against my work ethic to ask for the time off if it has been made clear that you are needed there on those days. It might suck, but I'd think of it as a good opportunity to get a little more money in the bank, and perhaps find that I enjoyed working the days that I'd not normally have worked. Then again, I have a good work ethic, and my approach to work is that if I'm being paid to work these particular days, I'd show up and do my job.

[MrTango]

I figure it never hurts to make the request as long as you do so according to company guidelines (i.e. asking early enough) and as long as you are okay with being told "no."

[Outdoor Girl]

I figure it never hurts to make the request as long as you do so according to company guidelines (i.e. asking early enough) and as long as you are okay with being told "no."

The difference here, to me, is that the OP has been already been asked to work some of the days she wants off.  To then turn around and ask to take those days off when one isn't a full time employee and is hoping to get on full time?  Not a good move.

It would be different if she hadn't already been asked to work some of those days.  Then I would agree that it would be OK to ask.

If I were an employer, I wouldn't be very impressed if a new employee requested days off that I had already asked them to work.  And if a full time position were to open up, the new employee who didn't request days off would have a leg up on the one that did, all other things being equal.

[bopper]

It is worth "investing" in this job because you are currently part time but want to make it a full time career.  You need to be someone they can count on and will go the extra mile and not someone who will ask for time off even though they were just asked to work.

[Shoo]

If I were the employer in question here, and I'd already told a new hire that they would have to work during the holidays, and that new employee proceeded to ask for time off anyway, I wouldn't think that employee was very serious about her job.

[jaxsue]

If I wanted to keep the job, I would put the job first. No vacation.

This.

General comment: I started a new PT job last July. I don't get paid vacation until next July. My younger son (age 21) lives several states away from me. I last saw him in February. Not seeing him at all during the holidays is tough, to say the least. I may not see him until mid-summer, so I might go 17 months without seeing him (he works FT and goes to college FT; for him to come here is not doable).

That said, it would be crazy to ask for time off in the present job climate. An emergency, no problem. Just because? No way!

[CaptainObvious]

If you were fairly new to a position, would you ask for time off after your supervisor requested that you work over the holidays? 

For this example, let's say your friends asked that you accompany them on a trip that you would really enjoy. 

Your supervisor only recently asked that you work, and you were already contemplating going on the trip, but had not made firm plans or requested time off. 

Your supervisor asked you to work days that are not part of  your normal schedule over the holidays, however some of the days you want off are days you do typically work.

Would you still go if your supervisor told you it was a problem, but did not deny your request?

How would you feel if your request was denied and you had already made vacation plans?

Some information about the position:

It is a part time, but well paid position. 

It is a temporary position with a possibility of becoming a full time permanent position.

It is not retail or holiday driven

It is in a field you would like as a career

There is no one available to cover your position while you are gone, since others asked for time off first 

There are currently no paid vacation days, but that will change in 2013

No, I would not ask for the time off. The rest of the post wouldn't apply because I would not ask, I would show up and work, and I would not have made any plans for the vacation.

[DaDancingPsych]

This is the perfect opportunity to show your boss and anyone else in the company how you are a team player willing to step in as needed. If you cover for your fellow employees and keep things going, this can be a huge gold star next your name. Your coworkers will appreciate that they return from their vacations to a well tended environment rather than work piling and waiting for them. You will be the rock star that they know that they want for that future full time position... or in the very least, they will want to give you an excellent recommendation for other opportunities. This is seriously one of those opportunities that can make or break you.

That said, I wouldn't ask. I would use this opportunity to really shine and know that the vacation (or something similar) could be taken next year. Hopefully, my coworkers will have appreciated my hard work in their absence and that they will do the same for me when it's my turn. I would only consider asking if the vacation was for something that I could not repeat (like an important wedding.) But even then, it would have to be something very near and dear to me.

[CakeBeret]

This is the perfect opportunity to show your boss and anyone else in the company how you are a team player willing to step in as needed. If you cover for your fellow employees and keep things going, this can be a huge gold star next your name. Your coworkers will appreciate that they return from their vacations to a well tended environment rather than work piling and waiting for them. You will be the rock star that they know that they want for that future full time position... or in the very least, they will want to give you an excellent recommendation for other opportunities. This is seriously one of those opportunities that can make or break you.

That said, I wouldn't ask. I would use this opportunity to really shine and know that the vacation (or something similar) could be taken next year. Hopefully, my coworkers will have appreciated my hard work in their absence and that they will do the same for me when it's my turn. I would only consider asking if the vacation was for something that I could not repeat (like an important wedding.) But even then, it would have to be something very near and dear to me.

I was going to write something, but this is perfect.