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outofstep80 wrote:I expect my company to treat me with respect and be straight forward about things, in return I expect myself to act with no less consideration.

I believed in this whole respect thing as well until one Monday morning shortly before Christmas I was called into my bosses office and told to get the hell out because my project was put on ice and my position was eliminated. This came without any warning.

I agree with what some people said before, if you really care about this job and it is a great one you might want to skip the trip, otherwise risk it if you do not care to be the first the eliminated.
As I said before, you should have negotiated that before you started. Most companies these days don't like to negotiate on salaries or bonusses but are very likely to make some kind of arrangement in terms of vacation time.

mstender wrote:

outofstep80 wrote:I expect my company to treat me with respect and be straight forward about things, in return I expect myself to act with no less consideration.

I believed in this whole respect thing as well until one Monday morning shortly before Christmas I was called into my bosses office and told to get the hell out because my project was put on ice and my position was eliminated. This came without any warning.

I agree with what some people said before, if you really care about this job and it is a great one you might want to skip the trip, otherwise risk it if you do not care to be the first the eliminated.
As I said before, you should have negotiated that before you started. Most companies these days don't like to negotiate on salaries or bonusses but are very likely to make some kind of arrangement in terms of vacation time.

That sucks Matt. But at least you still know you acted with consideration up to that point and you can hold your head high. It's to bad stuff like that happens. Especially when they probably knew that was coming down the line for months.

KayakerSS,

So which way are you leaning at this point?

Bahaha okay this sounds really bad but I once said my grandmother who lived in Boise was having a heart valve replacement and I might need to donate blood because we have the same blood type... My grandmother is in really good shape and lives in Cali. You just cant talk about the trip with your coworkers...

Dont judge me!!!

Tonka wrote:Unless your 16 and working at McDonalds just tell them that you have a vacation planed, you should had said something earlier but didn't and your sorry. If that don't fly your working for a shity company so who cares if they fire you. Don't let "the man" run you.

Anyone here that is the only position in a company for a specific job function knows this is backwards thinking.

Wow! I didn't expect so many responses. Lesson learned that I need to keep more people aware of my plans. But I went ahead and talked to my bosses (I have a couple) this morning. I told them the story (yes, the truth) and they were really excited for me, quickly told me yes and then went into their own stories about backpacking, fly fishing, and camping in the mountains. So I'm good to go on the trip with their blessing, and I think I actually scored some points with one of them. So I'm feeling relieved after all the doom and gloom that I was getting from this forum. Maybe I'm naive but I'm feeling really good about the trip, didn't have to lie, and seem to be just fine with my bosses.

For those who were wondering, I work at an engineering firm in the GIS department. I am only an hourly employee so they don't necessarily need me in the office everyday, and they don't have to pay me for time I don't work. Thanks for all the advice, and I'll play it smarter in the future.

Outstanding! Sounds like you work for a much better and more level headed group of people than most of the folks here were anticipating!

Gotta keep those priorities in order!

kayakerSS wrote:I work at an engineering firm in the GIS department..

I know your pain

mstender wrote:

outofstep80 wrote:I expect my company to treat me with respect and be straight forward about things, in return I expect myself to act with no less consideration.

I believed in this whole respect thing as well until one Monday morning shortly before Christmas I was called into my bosses office and told to get the hell out because my project was put on ice and my position was eliminated. This came without any warning.

That other people in the world (perhaps even most of them) are assholes does not mean you have to be one too, does it?

Being self-employed, as I am, has its advantages. These issues hardly ever come up. I haven't had a vacation since 2003.

kayakerSS wrote: So I'm feeling relieved after all the doom and gloom that I was getting from this forum.

For those who were wondering, I work at an engineering firm in the GIS department. I am only an hourly employee so they don't necessarily need me in the office everyday, and they don't have to pay me for time I don't work. Thanks for all the advice, and I'll play it smarter in the future.

Had you explained your exact position at the beginning I don't think you would have gotten as much "doom and gloom" as you did. The fact that they don't have to pay you for vacation time and that they don't need you every day I'm sure made a bit of a difference in their willingness to give you their blessing.

Anyway, glad it worked out and don't forget to post a TR here from your adventure.

These days, ones job is all. If you value it, I wouldn't ask for time off that early unless I'd done it up front when hired. As already said, you gotta show responsibility and you gotta really get your teeth into the job and be utterly proactive - the new power on the block.

I'm just fuming at the bungling incompetence, slack attitudes and unprofessionalism of the UK workforce. Wish I was working in Germany, where they really know how to sort things out. Man, I could just turn any Company around right now.

Unless the trip is otherwise something the Company can show as prestige - "Look at our guy..."

The best time off I ever saw was, the UK's first space woman, Helen Sharman. She worked for the MARS chocolate company. That's dead

kayakerSS wrote:Wow! I didn't expect so many responses. Lesson learned that I need to keep more people aware of my plans. But I went ahead and talked to my bosses (I have a couple) this morning. I told them the story (yes, the truth) and they were really excited for me, quickly told me yes and then went into their own stories about backpacking, fly fishing, and camping in the mountains. So I'm good to go on the trip with their blessing, and I think I actually scored some points with one of them. So I'm feeling relieved after all the doom and gloom that I was getting from this forum. Maybe I'm naive but I'm feeling really good about the trip, didn't have to lie, and seem to be just fine with my bosses.

For those who were wondering, I work at an engineering firm in the GIS department. I am only an hourly employee so they don't necessarily need me in the office everyday, and they don't have to pay me for time I don't work. Thanks for all the advice, and I'll play it smarter in the future.

Good. Now do yourself a favor and read peladoboton's post and do that going forward. When you get back, work your ass off. People will notice (at least your bosses). And don't brag about your trip to your coworkers, generally speaking. Have fun.

Folks here must have some uptight coworkers!