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Have you ever stressed out about annual leave getting cancelled or moved at late notice by your boss?
If so, you've probably dreamed of standing up to them, even if most of us probably feel we have to go with it and adapt our plans, as annoying as it might be.
A viral TikTok posted this week has showcased just how stressful these conversations can get, but also shows off one employee's no-nonsense response, and it's brilliant.
The video comes from Australian TikToker Michael Sanz, who goes by @theoutsourcingexpert and specializes in business content and staffing.
Its sees Sanz reading out a series of screenshots of messages between an employee called Noel and his boss, Nick.
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The whole debacle is about Nick trying to cancel a three-week holiday that Noel booked seven months in advance due to an unrelated staffing shortage.
The boss opens by saying that someone called Jenny has resigned and that Noel's leave is therefore cancelled, without leaving much room for negotiation.
Noel politely pushes back a couple of times to ask whether there are ways around the problem, like hiring temps or virtual assistants to help out with admin.
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The boss is completely unwilling to listen, though, despite being told that the leave is for a family wedding in Bali and that all the flights for Noel and his family have been booked and paid for.
It all comes to a head when the boss attempts to kill the conversation by saying: "Mate, can't stress enough, your leave is canceled, we just can't do it. I'm sorry."
That attempt to be blunt backfires, though, because Noel is having none of it. He responds: "Hi Nick, I actually don't want to come back to work now. I'm quite shocked at this email. I'm going to take my leave earlier and start from today. While away I will think about if working with a company that doesn't promote boundaries is a place I really want to work at. I'm also sending this as an email to Aaron and HR as it's totally unreasonable."
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That is an absolute blast of a message, but Sanz stresses in his video that it's also completely justified and entirely reasonable in its tone, pushing back on a wildly unfair imposition by Noel's boss.
There are plenty of people backing Noel up in the comments, with one popular response writing: "Business owner here. Unacceptable by the boss. Not the employees problem. Enjoy Bali!"
Another observer made the wry comment, "Anyone else wondering why Jenny left?", suspecting that this business might have even more staffing problems than this story lets on.