Help convince my boss to give me time off

juckto · Post by **juckto** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 4:59 am

Here's the background facts:
I live in NZ, and due to timezone differences Sunday squad games occur at 7am-9am (daylight savings depending) on Mondays.I currently work 8 to 4:30 with an hour unpaid lunch. (37.5 hours a week).I want to change to starting at 12:30 on Mondays, and working 8 to 5 the rest of the week with an unpaid 45min lunch. (37.5 hours a week).
I brought this up with my manager today (although I just said I wanted the time for "personal reasons") and he said that while he has no problem with it, the final decision is up to our division's director.

Now this director, well ... heh ... he's a bit like what I imagine I'll be like when I'm a older. Extremely skilled technically (we're engineers btw), but a sometimes a bit curt with what we see as a dumb question.

Unlike me though, I cannot imagine him touching a videogame with a 10 foot barge pole. Just that generation, ya know? (no offence BV et al). So my challenge is to explain my situation and convince him to approve, as part of 'maintaining a healthy balance of professional and personal life' or some tripe. Convince him that, for me, playing a squad game is akin to Joe Bloggs playing footy with his mates on the weekend.

So, any suggestions about how to write my proposal?

Aside: I originally thought about posting this in Marketing as a challenge, but decided those guys have a specific task and this is not applicable.

Sycrus · Post by **Sycrus** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 5:06 am

Say you decided to start going to church.

OTDT_Hunter · Post by **OTDT_Hunter** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 5:08 am

Maybe have Aarm send him some video games through snail mail.

With luck it will get him into video games aswell.

juckto · Post by **juckto** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 5:08 am

juckto wrote:QUOTE (juckto @ Dec 2 2009, 05:59 PM) on Mondays.

Post by **zombywoof** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 5:08 am

juckto wrote:QUOTE (juckto @ Dec 1 2009, 08:59 PM) Convince him that, for me, playing a squad game is akin to Joe Bloggs playing footy with his mates on the weekend.

So, any suggestions about how to write my proposal?

"Dear {boss};

My work schedule is incompatible with the work schedules of several of my close friends, who all arrange to meet up at approximately 7am-9am for a function on Monday mornings. I was looking at the schedule I keep, and was considering options to rearrange my work schedule so I could attend these functions. {Insert schedule here} is not only a schedule that would allow me to attend the function, but it is also a preferable schedule because it keeps my work week more condensed across four days, rather than evenly spread across five. Is it possible to change my schedule from {current schedule} to {new schedule}? I would greatly appreciate it.

{salutations},
{juckto}"

Copy-pasta, fill in the brackets, and show up for the SG finals

EDIT:
juckto, Mormons typically attend church on mondays.

Sycrus · Post by **Sycrus** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 5:11 am

Say you're mormon.

Broodwich · Post by **Broodwich** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 6:21 am

tell him your church is in a different timezone ^^

cashto · Post by **cashto** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 6:58 am

Why does he need an explanation at all? Yours isn't a customer-facing job, right? Are you missing any really important Monday meetings?

Where I work, it's literally unheard of for management to hold you to a fixed schedule without a damned good business-related justification. As long as you get the work done, it doesn't matter when you come in (in fact, we had a guy who regularly worked 2pm to midnight).

Stick to these talking points:

You want the schedule change for personal reasons.Which personal reasons those are none of his damned business, andThere is no legitimate business justification for him to deny the request.

Tell him it's when the Gay Transgender and Bisexual Goat Lovers Association gets together to schedule their orgies for the rest of the week, and you're the committee chairperson so you have to be there. IT'S NONE OF HIS !@#$ CONCERN.

Post by **zombywoof** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 7:46 am

I don't disagree with you Cashto, but I will say that there are a lot of bosses out there who'll hear "I have a personal reason", ask "what", and outright reject it if the employee refuses to give a reason.

juckto · Post by **juckto** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 8:00 am

Ah, actually it is a customer facing job - to a certain extent. I work for a local council.

In fact I've been put in charge of the annual footpath/road overgrowth inspection this year, and it seems like 50% of my time over the past two weeks has been wasted dealing with people ringing up and bitching about how they shouldn't have to trim their tree/hedge/shrub back.

Gah, common argument is "We pay so much in rates, why should I have to do X? Why isn't Y done?" I feel like telling them how much of their rates is wasted paying the portion of my salary for the 5-10 minutes I'm stuck on the phone with them. But that's a rant for another day.