Since once in a blue moon I actually discover a decent rule for adulting, and since I know I have followers a few years younger than me who are just entering the workforce, I want to tell you about a very important phrase.ย
โI wonโt be available.โ
Imagine youโre at work and your boss asks you to come in on Saturday. Saturday is usually your day offโcoming in Saturdays is not an obligation to keep your job. Maybe you were going to watch a movie with a friend, or maybe you were just going to lie in bed and eat ice cream for eight hours, but either way you really, really donโt want to give up your day off.
If you consider yourself a millennial youโve probably been raised to believe you need to justify not being constantly at work. And if youโre a gen-Z kid youโre likely getting the same toxic messages that we did. So in a situation like that, you might be inclined to do one of three things:
Tell your boss youโd rather not give up your day off. Cave when they pressure you to come in anyway, since youโre not doing anything important.
Tell your boss youโd rather not give up your day off. Over-apologize and worry that you looked bad/unprofessional.
Lie and say youโve got a doctorโs appointment or some other activity that feels like an adequate justification for not working.
The fact is, it doesnโt matter to your boss whether youโre having open heart surgery or watching anime in your underwear on Saturday. The only thing that affects them is the fact that you wonโt be at work. So telling themย whyย you wonโt be at work only gives them reason to try and pressure you to come in anyway.
If you sayย โI wonโt be available,โ giving no further information, youโd be surprised how often thatโs enough. Be polite and sympathetic in your tone, maybe even sayย โsorry, but I wonโt be available.โ But donโt make an excuse. If your boss is a professional individual, theyโll accept that as aย โnoโ and try to find someone else.ย
But bosses arenโt always professional. Sometimes theyโre whiny little tyrants. So, what if they pressure you further? The answer isโpolitely and sympathetically give them no further information.
โAre you sure youโre not available?โย โSorry, but yes.โ
โWhy wonโt you be available?โย โI have a prior commitment.โ (Which you do, even if itโs only to yourself.)
โWhatโs your prior commitment?โย โSorry, but thatโs kind of personal.โ
โCan you reschedule it?โย โIโm afraid not. Maybe someone else can come in?โ
If you donโt give them anything to work with, they canโt pressure you into going beyond your obligations as an employee. And when they realize that, theyโll also realize they have to find someone else to come in and move on.
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