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  #1  
Old Aug 17, 2017, 06:20 AM
Anonymous50987
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What is up with that?
I asked my boss if I could cancel my shift on Saturday morning, explaining I have problems with sharply changing the times I wake up on. It shouldn't be a problem as I am already doing the minimum of 3 shifts.
The boss didn't say she can't or not willing to. She told me that I will go to that shift. I told her I'll try, she said that there's no trying and I have to go to the shift.

Yes, maybe my request seemed childish. I didn't tell her anything about depression because I don't want to disclose those kind of details at work.
Calling me a "big kid" was belittling and I dislike her for that now.
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  #2  
Old Aug 17, 2017, 07:35 AM
Anonymous55397
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Calling you a big kid was probably not the most tactful thing to say. That being said, she isn't aware of your depression contributing to the struggle of waking up on Saturday morning, so from an outside perspective it may appear to be a bad reason for wanting to cancel a Saturday shift. Especially if we are talking this upcoming Saturday - usually you should give at least two weeks notice before asking for a shift off, so they have time to reschedule.

You could always try to ask a co-worker to take that shift for you but it will make you look bad to the boss. If Saturday mornings are just not possible for you and you don't want to disclose your depression, it might be worth looking into another job with more leniency on the schedule.
Thanks for this!
Sunflower123
  #3  
Old Aug 17, 2017, 08:32 AM
justafriend306
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As a former manager, I look at this from a different point of view. Are you dropping shifts often? What has management already done to accommodate your needs? Have you gotten Human Resources involved as an advocate on your behalf. I ask too what industry you are employed in (for example is it within the service industry where working weekends and evenings is a standard expectation)? How does not showing with little notice affect the rest of the team? How far ahead are shifts scheduled? Were the shifts and hours of employment discussed and made clear as a terms of employment on hire? Is management aware of your problems. I admit that if I were unaware of such a personal issue I wouldn't accept sleep routine as a reason for not showing up to a scheduled shift.

My recommendations are to disclose your mental health issues (by law they cannot hold this accountable). Talk to your manager about your limitations and offer to cooperate with coming to an agreement regarding what will work. Get your EAP involved if you have one. If you are employed in an industry where they cannot schedule you to accommodate your needs it might come to having to find an alternate career choice.

I don't believe we can expect an employer to comply without we ourselves coming to the table.
  #4  
Old Aug 17, 2017, 08:40 AM
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divine1966 divine1966 is offline
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Calling you a big kid was rude. Saying that, you can't be just dropping shifts off because you can't get up in the morning (regardless of the reason). If getting up early is an issue, then you should provide them list of days and times you can work, which might have to exclude early mornings. If it's the kind of job where you can't choose your shifts, then you need to look for a different job.
  #5  
Old Aug 17, 2017, 12:34 PM
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Nammu Nammu is offline
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Are you going out on Friday night is that why you can't get up on Saturday morning? I'll bet that was her thought.
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  #6  
Old Aug 17, 2017, 01:08 PM
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MickeyCheeky MickeyCheeky is offline
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Yeah, without the context of your MI, it can pass as an excuse.
  #7  
Old Aug 17, 2017, 01:28 PM
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Sunflower123 Sunflower123 is offline
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I agree with the previous posters. I hope you're able to work it out to your satisfaction.
  #8  
Old Aug 17, 2017, 05:30 PM
Anonymous50987
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Quote:
Originally Posted by justafriend306 View Post
As a former manager, I look at this from a different point of view. Are you dropping shifts often? No. This week I transferred Tuesday's morning shift into a clear Thursday evening. What has management already done to accommodate your needs? Have you gotten Human Resources involved as an advocate on your behalf. I ask too what industry you are employed in (for example is it within the service industry where working weekends and evenings is a standard expectation)? I work at a retail store with flexible shifts. Each employee must commit at least 3 shifts. They can be done in each day of the week, either in the morning (8-16) or evening (16-00).How does not showing with little notice affect the rest of the team?Currently there are plenty of days of no shifts due to lack of workers. My job is a solitary one, meaning people with the same job work different shifts, almost never work together. How far ahead are shifts scheduled?The scheduling starts 3 days before the week starts, and announced 1 day before the week starts, on a weekly basis. Were the shifts and hours of employment discussed and made clear as a terms of employment on hire?One thing which was unclear to me is the following - I thought it would be OK to cancel Saturday's shift because I have 4 shifts (not 3) this week, so it would end up being a total of 3 shifts. Is management aware of your problems. I admit that if I were unaware of such a personal issue I wouldn't accept sleep routine as a reason for not showing up to a scheduled shift.

My recommendations are to disclose your mental health issues (by law they cannot hold this accountable). Talk to your manager about your limitations and offer to cooperate with coming to an agreement regarding what will work. Get your EAP involved if you have one. If you are employed in an industry where they cannot schedule you to accommodate your needs it might come to having to find an alternate career choice.

I don't believe we can expect an employer to comply without we ourselves coming to the table.
I don't want to disclose mental health issues to employers because I want the chance for promotions in the long term. My work is not really a career, but a temporary job before university.

As for the shift, I told the manager my schedules have changes and therefore asked if I could switch my Saturday shift from morning to evening. She gave a tough "OK" (it seemed hard for her to answer), so I replied "Rest assured - I will 100% surely arrive this shift!", followed by another "OK", thanked her and moved on. It felt tough asking for this, but it had to be done.
  #9  
Old Aug 17, 2017, 06:58 PM
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Erebos Erebos is offline
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If it's not a career path, I don't see what the problem is with disclosure.
If my staff asked for Saturday morning off at short notice, I am afraid I would assume it was because they were going out on the Friday night. Sorry.

Hope your okay. And are able to get things sorted out.
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  #10  
Old Aug 17, 2017, 07:05 PM
Anonymous50987
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Originally Posted by Erebos View Post
If it's not a career path, I don't see what the problem is with disclosure.
If my staff asked for Saturday morning off at short notice, I am afraid I would assume it was because they were going out on the Friday night. Sorry.

Hope your okay. And are able to get things sorted out.
The problem is she didn't say anything about "short notice" or "I am unable to do that".
It seemed she was probably able to do that yet didn't want to because she wants me to perform as many schedules as possible, so she resorted to clicking "weak points" so I'll keep the shift. At least she spoke kindly.

Last edited by Anonymous50987; Aug 17, 2017 at 07:21 PM.
  #11  
Old Aug 19, 2017, 07:53 AM
justafriend306
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Have you considered how this appears from your employer's perspective? I wish my answer was more positive. Honestly, I have let people go for this. I had an expectation at the point of interview and hiring that the employee be honest about their scheduling needs. It seems you want to take without giving. What I mean is that, as I suggested above, you need to come to the table so to speak. If you expect them to make concessions according to your will and requirements, you need to be prepared to make concessions of your own. That may require honesty and disclosure on your part. Others have said you might ultimately have to find another employer. It is quite possible that if you were to disclose your needs to your boss that they will react with compassion and understanding. I have done this as a manager too. I scheduled the individual for shifts that were during less busy times when their not showing was to have the least impact on the business and their coworkers. Remember, they are the ones ultimately being affected. Have you considered this too?

Last edited by justafriend306; Aug 19, 2017 at 08:05 AM.
  #12  
Old Aug 19, 2017, 05:19 PM
Anonymous50987
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Quote:
Originally Posted by justafriend306 View Post
Have you considered how this appears from your employer's perspective? I wish my answer was more positive. Honestly, I have let people go for this. I had an expectation at the point of interview and hiring that the employee be honest about their scheduling needs. It seems you want to take without giving. What I mean is that, as I suggested above, you need to come to the table so to speak. If you expect them to make concessions according to your will and requirements, you need to be prepared to make concessions of your own. That may require honesty and disclosure on your part. Others have said you might ultimately have to find another employer. It is quite possible that if you were to disclose your needs to your boss that they will react with compassion and understanding. I have done this as a manager too. I scheduled the individual for shifts that were during less busy times when their not showing was to have the least impact on the business and their coworkers. Remember, they are the ones ultimately being affected. Have you considered this too?
Of course I have. I personally think, if an employment situation is "dire", then an employer should be thankful people work for him. That's how my main employer is (he left for vacation so I was left with the retail's manager as my supervisor). He doesn't push me to do more shifts, but gave me freedom of choice and told me he'd appreciate it if I could do more.
When once he told me he might need me to commit another shift because of a great load of upcoming work, I gladly helped.

I think it's better to take responsibility for the employment rules rather than push and expect high expectations.
Moreover, I think it's better for an employer to have your kind of conversation with me, because I shouldn't be mind-reading a boss. I think a good boss is a direct boss.

EDIT: I'm still thinking about this, and I do need to be more understanding when it comes to directly telling my needs.
I didn't want to disclose depression because I don't believe in labels. I don't want disclosure to have a negative impact on promotion boundaries (not necessarily on my current job as it is temporary). I also think labeling "depression" is generalizing when the specific problem regarding work is sleep hours.
Although, I wonder if it can be otherwise, if it cannot have an impact. I don't even believe I have depression and especially that a label has to be permanent.
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