As the title says, I've been in the workforce for 40 years. I guess I've been pretty lucky because except for the first couple of entry level years I've always had paid time off and paid sick leave either separately banked or combined. It's always a bit different with each employer on how many people can be off on the same day and how it's decided if more than the allotted number ask off for the same day.
What's remained consistent is that a request is submitted to the boss and if the day is available it gets approved. Well we had a meeting this week and new rule is that we have to arrange coverage with a coworker before asking off. Essentially, now we need to get a coworker to agree to cover any urgent parts of our job, in addition to their own regular workload, before we submit for a day of leave.
What the fresh hell is this about? Is this the new normal? Instead of my manager managing the workload in my absence I have to get approval from a coworker to get a day off‽ Up until now, if someone was on leave the boss would arrange for someone else on the team to cover anything urgent.
I've worked in management in the past and decided it wasn't for me. I didn't like telling people what to do, I didn't like monitoring how often someone calls in sick, and I sure as hell didn't like to be responsible for the work produced by other people. I made the deliberate decision that the extra money I earned wasn't worth it.
To me doling out work and monitoring the big picture is management's job. I'm not management.
I work hard and like to keep busy at work. To me there's nothing more miserable than having to search for something to do at work. I'm happy to cover for other people when asked and when I'm caught up I'm happy to ask if anyone needs help or if there's a project I can do. I don't like sitting with my thumb up my ass at work. I know that not everyone feels the same. I say this without judgment. If they want to fart around on the job I don't care (again, that's a management issue not a me issue).
I resent that my ability to use my leave now depends on me having to find someone willing to cover me. I think my team is pretty cooperative and my concern isn't that nobody will cover me. It just feels to me like I shouldn't have to rely on calling a favor to get a fucking day off. I don't want to have to worry that coworker X is pissed because they've covered twice and coworker Y has never covered.
Am I just a miserable old person? Is this the new way? If so, what good is there in having 8 or 9 layers of management between me and the CEO?