A reader writes:
I’m trying to e book a birthday getaway for myself and my accomplice within the subsequent few months. It’s nothing excessive, only a lengthy weekend away that may require a Friday and a Monday off. I’d wish to preserve it a shock till the week of the getaway. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate to achieve out to my accomplice’s line supervisor (who I have no idea however do have an e mail for) to ask her to pre-approve the mandatory depart for her? Alternatively, I might attain out to her colleague (who I do know), who would then ask the supervisor on my behalf.
I don’t want to overstep any boundaries by doing this, so I simply needed to test it was a suitable factor to do.
As a supervisor, this sort of request from a accomplice (or from a coworker performing on the accomplice’s request) would make me actually uncomfortable. Right here’s why:
* I don’t know if my worker desires to spend her day off that approach. She may very well be saving it up for one thing else later within the 12 months and I’m not comfy overriding that call for her.
* In a whole lot of jobs, planning for day off entails actual planning, not simply lining up somebody to cowl for you — for instance, ending a draft early because you received’t be right here to complete it later within the week, getting a colleague the numbers they’re ready on, shifting conferences round, and even simply figuring out to not inform a shopper you’ll name them that day. Maintaining it secret means none of that work can occur, or somebody must manipulate the state of affairs to plan causes for why these issues must occur.
* I don’t know what the state of your relationship is. It’s in all probability wonderful, however what in case your accomplice doesn’t truly wish to make a journey collectively proper now? What in the event you’ve been bugging them to take this journey with you they usually’ve been utilizing work as an excuse to not, and received’t be thrilled to find you’ve circumvented that with out their okay (whereas docking their accrued trip on the similar time)? Once more, this in all probability isn’t the case however I don’t know and it’s not my enterprise.
In the end I simply don’t have any enterprise deciding whether or not or not certainly one of my workers will need days off that they don’t even know are being requested.
There’s one other approach to do that although! Are you able to as an alternative ask your accomplice to take these days off for a shock you’re planning, with out explaining the small print? Sure, it’ll give just a little little bit of it away, however it’s a greater option to do it when another person’s job is concerned.