I started a new job in the service industry a few months ago.
My boss seems fine as a person, but I get the feeling they're not my biggest fan. They can be kind of moody towards me, and I'm not sure why because everyone else who works their consistently praises my work ethic.
I've never called out, never been late, and don't skip the very basic things that some of my coworkers frequently decide are not necessities (like cleaning and restocking).
My father has a degenerative disease that will eventually be fatal. Think Parkinsons or ALS. He's also one of the lucky 30% of these people to also get related dementia.
Last year, he had to have surgery, and it took nearly 6 months for him to recover from the anesthesia back to his previous baseline mental state.
To say it was a difficult time is a huge understatement.
He has improved a ton but is still not doing well.
Things have escalated drastically in the last two years.
It certainly drives home that we don't know what his health will be like a year from now.
Christmas is a huge thing in my family, and I'm not willing to miss it for anything.
So, I decided to let my manager know that I'd be unavailable Christmas day. I wanted to give plenty of notice and volunteered to close on Halloween, work a shift on Thanksgiving, a shift during the day on Christmas Eve, and work on New Years in exchange for Christmas day off.
They essentially said no.
That everyone works every holiday (which, according to my coworkers, is not true).
The conversation ended with them telling me they'd think about it after I teared up, trying to explain my reasons.
My assistant manager thinks I should go over their head, but I'm worried about what that would do to my working relationship with my manager.
I don't think they realize that service jobs are a dime a dozen. I will quit over this.
But I just can't believe their reaction in the first place.