How to Ask for Time Off The Right Way

 In Employees, Employment, People

Requesting time off from your employer in advance can be stressful. If you don’t want to disappoint your employer or make them upset by asking for time off, it can be difficult to approach them with this conversation. Whether you need the afternoon off for a scheduled procedure at Northwest Surgery Center or have planned a weeklong family vacation, no one likes asking for time off. There are, however, better ways to bring about this conversation than others. Keep reading to learn how to ask for time off the right way (and actually get it).

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Share Details

While sharing too many personal details about the reasoning behind your request for time off is often unnecessary, letting your employer know the specific reason why you will be unable to work at a particular time is likely to help your case, since you should only be asking off for reasons that are justified anyway. If your request is vague or you sound uncertain in your communication, your boss is less likely to agree. Think through which details of your circumstance would be good to share, then let your employer know what’s going on as soon as possible.

Work Hard in Advance

To avoid getting behind on work while you’re gone – which would not be a good look for you as you asked for time off, and would put you in the position to have to play catch up upon your return – take the time to get caught up on work in advance, if you’re able. Work a bit ahead to make sure that you will not fall behind on work when you’re gone. This will not only benefit you in the future, but will communicate a level of responsibility and strong work ethic to your employer, who trusted you with time off to begin with.

Ask, Don’t Tell

It’s not likely to sit well with an employer if you tell them what dates you need, instead of asking if you can have it in the form of a polite yet formal request. At the end of the day, your boss should determine whether or not you get time off, so be sure to ask them respectfully – this will make them more likely to say yes.


Put it in Writing

While you should make your initial ask for time off in person if possible, sending your employer a follow up reminder email or putting your days off on the company calendar will serve as a helpful reminder to your boss that you will be gone, and will show that you have gone the extra mile in taking responsibility for this request.


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