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Tell me if I'm overreacting or not to these vacation policy changes Aeryn Send a noteboard - 12/01/2014 04:17:28 PM

A bit of context: I work in a small group of 9 people total, run by 3 partners. Over 6 years already. The group is very successful and the partners make quite a bit of money, with 20% annual growth.

This month, they have instituted the following HR changes:

  • everyone must be in the office by 9:00am (used to be much more flexible)
  • cannot take more than 10 consecutive business days for vacation (I've taken 12 before, and it was just fine; group runs smoothly and we cover for each other well)

A bunch of additional little (petty) things were also codified and written up as policy:
- leaving earlier than 2pm will count as a 1/2 vacation day
- at least a week's notice is required if to take more than 1 vacation/personal day

To be clear, these are not the rules from the big corporation we are a part of, these are much more restrictive and specific. These rules do not come about as a result of any problem or underperformance, just a preemptive strike.

To me, this is a major departure from previous policies, and very demoralizing. They also come on top of an (aborted) attempt to cut our salaries - to turn 10% of our fixed salary into a bonus verging on annual performance review. There was a revolt in the ranks, and the partners backed down. But I used up all of my clout fighting that salary change, and have nothing left for the vacation change.

Everything about this is infuriating. It's a massive step backwards; it's punitive and restrictive. The max 10 business days off irks me so damn much. I really want to tell them to eff off. But... am I overreacting?

The work itself I really like. It's only gotten more interesting lately, and I have a tremendous opportunity right now there if I stick around and work hard - to move up. But, now I know that this move up won't come with better hours or longer vacations, and honestly, longer vacations is my SOLE motivation for anything.

So, tell me, aside from the huge sense of betrayal, are these reasonable corporate policies?


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Tell me if I'm overreacting or not to these vacation policy changes - 12/01/2014 04:17:28 PM 951 Views
Yes, they are reasonable. - 12/01/2014 04:42:57 PM 991 Views
I think a lot depends on what's going on with personnel issues. - 13/01/2014 04:26:04 AM 813 Views
You hit the nail on the head - 13/01/2014 05:39:46 PM 761 Views
Honestly, they sound pretty reasonable. *NM* - 13/01/2014 04:30:58 AM 250 Views
You're not overreacting. - 13/01/2014 03:00:02 PM 684 Views
flexibility should be a two way street - 13/01/2014 04:22:24 PM 584 Views
Yep, pretty restrictive. That just shows once again that money isn't everything - 13/01/2014 04:27:39 PM 696 Views
I wish they asked... - 13/01/2014 07:54:58 PM 638 Views
Aren't you kind of in the wrong line of work for that? *NM* - 13/01/2014 08:07:40 PM 250 Views
Well, perhaps. - 13/01/2014 05:00:46 PM 617 Views
A lot does indeed depend on the reason for the changes. - 13/01/2014 08:28:23 PM 703 Views

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