I am a millennial and I remember when I had entered the workforce back in 2019, I was this shy, demure, goody two-shoes kind of girl who was just too cautious and conscious of saying or doing anything that would appear odd or upset anyone. From being too afraid to take too many breaks, timing the breaks, avoiding talking to colleagues inside the newsroom to feeling a dread in my heart every time I would have to ask for a leave from my chief news editor (CNE), I was a completely different person back then. In hindsight, I wonder why did I act the way I did. It goes without saying that over the course of 5 years, I have come into my own and I believe there's still a long way to go.
Back in the day, I used to view talking to my manager about leaves as a herculean task. I would literally have to mentally prepare myself for days before I walked into my manager's cabin. The funny part was that I always expected that either my manager would outrightly decline my request of leave, or she would avoid giving me any answer at all, or she would grant me leave with a stern, blank face. Even though I used to get a lot of leaves officially, the whole process of availing them without feeling like one is committing one giant crime was inevitable.
As years rolled by and as I gained more work experience, I learnt to loosen up. Besides, I feel a lot has changed in the milieu as well. There's a lot of conversation happening around work-life balance and perhaps that's the reason why people at senior positions have become more cognisant of the needs of professionals. Even today I always conjure up worst-case scenarios when I have to ask for long leaves. Thoughts like 'What if my manager gets pissed off from me?', 'What if my leaves affect my appraisal?', 'What if my request for leave gets declined?' , 'What if I am rebuked for asking for leaves in the first place?' plague my mind ceaselessly. Honestly speaking, it's not that I have had managers who have been too hostile or too strict to grant leaves readily. Some of them have been very forthcoming about it, but I feel it's just the way our minds are conditioned that we always feel like we're doing something sinful by asking for leaves.
So, when I recently saw a post where a manager posted how Gen Z professionals take leaves at workplaces, I was surprised. Here's his post:
how my gen z team gets its leaves approved pic.twitter.com/RzmsSZs3ol
— Siddharth Shah (@siddharthshahx) November 5, 2024
The words 'I will be on leave 8th Nov 2024. Bye' took me by complete surprise. The manner in which the professional in question has informed about his leave is simply too brazen, too hostile and too disrespectful. A) The professional here just bothered to inform his supervisor about his absence from work on a certain date. It was just a piece of information. No request was made and certainly no permission was sought. B) The last word 'Bye' simply goes on to signify that the professional is simply ignorant of the proper etiquette to communicate with a senior.
To be honest, there's a lot that I have personally learnt from Gen Z professionals. They're more chilled out, more vocal and more carefree. Seeing some of them around me, I am always reminded of how I was the opposite when I had joined the workforce. Gen Z professionals are not afraid and I like that about them. Something I can emulate from them and I am sure it will do me a world of good. However, when I see the manner in which some of them ask for leave and talk to seniors, I feel someone needs to put some sense into them with respect to workplace protocols and rules.
Will I ever have the heart to inform about my leave to my senior and not take consent from them? I don't think so. Do I feel bad about it? No, I think it's only in order to ask and not inform.