4 ms·

I actually don't get what's the problem here. I manage a team and one time I booked a vacation and then we hired a guy. He quit (he was the only person to ever

I actually don't get what's the problem here. I manage a team and one time I booked a vacation and then we hired a guy. He quit (he was the only person to ever quit that was working under me, company is treating employees good) and said in the review that this was horrible from my side. Am I not suppose to take a vacation ever?

jiggawatts 6y ago
You can take vacations whenever you want, but you can't hire new staff and just let them twist in the wind concurrently with you taking time off. Holidays are planned ahead. Don't hire at the same time. Easy.
- yanderekko 6y ago
  On the great hierarchy of potential conflicts that can be caused by taking your vacation on day X instead of Y, missing a new direct report's start date by a couple days is a very minor concern. Particularly at a larger company where a new hire will have to go through a bunch of onboarding busywork and has a buddy. I can understand why this would be bad optics to someone who's insecure and junior, but it really shouldn't be a big deal.
  - derangedHorse 6y ago
    It’s not about being insecure and junior, it’s about being a good manager and putting the right tools in place to help your employees succeed. No one — junior, senior, insecure, or secure — wants their time wasted doing nothing. It’s one thing to go on vacation, but it’s another to not put the proper support system in place for the new employee as to not keep them in the dark. That’s just one of the things that differentiate bad/average managers from the best. Unfortunately this industry is just too polluted with managers like the one referenced in the blog post who end up contributing to bozo explosion
- x0x0 6y ago
  Reality: hiring takes an unknown amount of time. Candidates often prioritize prompt hiring, to do things like start health insurance, paychecks, etc. On growing teams with open reqs, this is equivalent to never being allowed to take a vacation.
- romanovcode 6y ago
  > Holidays are planned ahead. Don't hire at the same time. Easy. This is not realistic and quite frankly bad suggestion. "Yeah, we would hire you next week, but since manager is on vacation we can hire you only in three weeks." Said no-one ever. And what's the problem in taking those first two weeks to just slowly get to know the code and get to know your workmates? If I had a situation like that I would be thankful that I don't get shoved into work immediately and can take my time.
corty 6y ago
I've seen this attitude quite often in juniors: The manager is always supposed to be available. Not immediately answering your email so you need to follow up with a phone call? Thanks, you just interrupted my talk with my boss and his boss about our department budget, and your colleague next door could also have solved your urgent problem. More often the reverse complaint is uttered, and because of the power differential I think that direction is far prevalent. But ideally, both sides should learn to see each other as human beings with limited lifetime, limited availability and patience and a life outside of work. As a manager, this is a little easier to accomplish: just scold your subordinates for answering emails off hours and remind them to take their vacations seriously. They'll learn quickly to do the same for you. Everybody wins.

jiggawatts 6y ago

You can take vacations whenever you want, but you can't hire new staff and just let them twist in the wind concurrently with you taking time off. Holidays are planned ahead. Don't hire at the same time. Easy.

yanderekko 6y ago
On the great hierarchy of potential conflicts that can be caused by taking your vacation on day X instead of Y, missing a new direct report's start date by a couple days is a very minor concern. Particularly at a larger company where a new hire will have to go through a bunch of onboarding busywork and has a buddy. I can understand why this would be bad optics to someone who's insecure and junior, but it really shouldn't be a big deal.
- derangedHorse 6y ago
  It’s not about being insecure and junior, it’s about being a good manager and putting the right tools in place to help your employees succeed. No one — junior, senior, insecure, or secure — wants their time wasted doing nothing. It’s one thing to go on vacation, but it’s another to not put the proper support system in place for the new employee as to not keep them in the dark. That’s just one of the things that differentiate bad/average managers from the best. Unfortunately this industry is just too polluted with managers like the one referenced in the blog post who end up contributing to bozo explosion
x0x0 6y ago
Reality: hiring takes an unknown amount of time. Candidates often prioritize prompt hiring, to do things like start health insurance, paychecks, etc. On growing teams with open reqs, this is equivalent to never being allowed to take a vacation.
romanovcode 6y ago
> Holidays are planned ahead. Don't hire at the same time. Easy. This is not realistic and quite frankly bad suggestion. "Yeah, we would hire you next week, but since manager is on vacation we can hire you only in three weeks." Said no-one ever. And what's the problem in taking those first two weeks to just slowly get to know the code and get to know your workmates? If I had a situation like that I would be thankful that I don't get shoved into work immediately and can take my time.

corty 6y ago

I've seen this attitude quite often in juniors: The manager is always supposed to be available. Not immediately answering your email so you need to follow up with a phone call? Thanks, you just interrupted my talk with my boss and his boss about our department budget, and your colleague next door could also have solved your urgent problem. More often the reverse complaint is uttered, and because of the power differential I think that direction is far prevalent. But ideally, both sides should learn to see each other as human beings with limited lifetime, limited availability and patience and a life outside of work. As a manager, this is a little easier to accomplish: just scold your subordinates for answering emails off hours and remind them to take their vacations seriously. They'll learn quickly to do the same for you. Everybody wins.