“How do I ask for time off when things feel like they’re falling apart at work?”
Today we’re doing things a little bit differently! We have a reader-submitted question, so let’s jump right into it.
“How do I ask for time off when things feel like they’re falling apart at work?”
Like this:
“Hi, I’ll be taking time off from [date] to [date]. Let me know if you need anything before then.”
That’s it. Full stop.
And no, that is not me being cute or clever. That is the whole thing. Your time off is not a negotiation, it is not an inconvenience, and it is definitely not some personal favor you are asking your boss to grant you out of the goodness of their heart. It is yours, you have earned it, end of story.
If your workplace is so fragile, so duct-taped together, so fundamentally unsound that one person being gone for a few days sends everything into chaos, that’s not your fault and it’s certainly not your problem to solve. If everything breaks when you step away, then what you are seeing is not a strong team, it is a company coasting on unsustainable practices and hoping no one notices.
You are a human being, not an always-on disaster recovery system. You are not a pressure valve for poor planning. You are not the human embodiment of “business continuity.”
And let’s talk about the guilt trips. If they pressure you, guilt you, or start sighing about how “bad the timing is”? That’s not a workplace, that’s a COLOR GUARD of RED FLAGS. That is a neon sign that says: “We do not value people here, we value output.”
Your rest is not a luxury, it is not optional, it is not anything to apologize for. It’s certainly not something you squeeze in after you have given every last piece of yourself away. It is part of the deal. It is what keeps you functioning, creative, and alive. Without it, you burn out. And when you burn out, the company loses you entirely. As they should, if they’re the ones causing the burnout!
So take your damn break. Put up the out-of-office message, close the laptop and lock it up somewhere if you need to. Go live your life. If the place falls apart in your absence, that tells you everything you need to know about the system you are in.
The Threadsmith Group Approach
At The Threadsmith Group, we don’t believe in cookie-cutter advice. We believe in real answers for real people, backed by experience, strategy, and a healthy dose of common sense.
Got a question of your own? Send it in. Let’s talk about the things that actually matter.