I Was Denied My Vacation Leave Because I Refused to Work Overtime
Workplace conflict, employee rights, and productivity expectations are hot topics as more people question how companies measure performance and handle work-life balance. Office drama tied to HR policies and long hours is becoming increasingly common. Recently, someone wrote to us to share a personal experience that highlights these issues.
Rachel’s letter:
My boss made us stay late for days to finish a project. Everyone stayed. I refused. I told him, “You don’t own me.”
Weeks later, I asked for my annual leave. HR rejected it and said, “This way, your total hours match everyone.”
I laughed.
The next day, the whole office turned pale when they found out I’d been quietly keeping a detailed timeline of the project: who did what, when they did it, and how fast they actually delivered.
So I sent one email to the entire team and CC’d the director.
It said, “Dear HR, if you measure productivity by hours instead of real progress and efficiency, you need to rethink your metrics and your work ethics. I’ve attached a breakdown showing each team member’s tasks and output during this project.”
The numbers were brutal.
I had the highest productivity while working fewer hours. Others worked longer but delivered less and took on smaller parts.
That email got HR into trouble because the director doesn’t want to lose me. Within hours, I got a message: my annual leave had been approved.
Now I’m the office villain. The tension is obvious. People avoid eye contact. Conversations stop when I walk in.
I know I took a drastic step, but I couldn’t watch my rights get stripped away just to “match” everyone else.
