I've booked the trip of a lifetime

[soundsintheair]

DH & I have been looking for ages and after a few drinks we have booked to go on a holiday of a lifetime, however I need to tell my manager next week. I will need 3 weeks off including over Christmas /NY

I work for a smallish team and we have to split the leave between us as we can't all be off at the same time, so it will mean that some of their Christmas plans will be affected if they were hoping to have time off. I know he might tell me I can't have it off in which case I would leave my job.

I feel awkward about it but also I've just got to that point where I just want to do what makes me happy. Aibu?

Why book it before leave is agreed?

YABU. That's lovely for you, but I think it's customary to secure one's leave before booking a holiday! Don't be surprised if they push back on this. If I were your employer, I'd be deeply unimpressed.

Bit selfish, it seems it's either give me the best deal of all the staff over Xmas holidays or I'll flounce off and leave you in the lurch. Can't see this ending pleasantly.

Well if you’re prepared to just quit then that’s it really isn’t it. Either they’ll agree (which may well piss off everyone you work with) or you’ll be unemployed.
I presume you don’t really need your job?
Seems a bit of an odd thing to do in my opinion. Book so much time away without checking with work first. But if you can do without your job then it doesn’t really matter.

I don't think you're going to get your leave authorised this close to Christmas, depending on what industry you work in. In the NHS, no-one is allowed to book annual leave over the festive period. If you're happy to hand in your notice and take the holiday of a lifetime as part of your notice period, then that's great, but it might affect your reference.

Where are you going?

Erm, wow!
I mean, congrats but that’s a bold decision to make considering you have a job where you are required to share the leave. Mind you if you can just leave then it’s fine really, they have enough notice for you to give notice and for them to rehire.
Where are you off to?

Did you though? Did you? This is one of those threads isn't it 🙄

Oooooh we're are you going?

I did this once, booked over 3 weeks off and felt no remorse for my team as I had been there over 15 years and never asked for anything, so I felt I deserved it. You only have one life and sometimes you can afford to be a bit selfish.

I've been thinking of leaving/finding a new job for a while. I'm fed up and just lost my mojo a bit. I accept it's probably not the best way to go about it.
I do need a job but can realistically afford to go 3/4 months without working.

We're going to Mexico btw

I’d start looking for a job to begin after you return from your holiday of a lifetime.

I think it's a bit nasty of you to announce this so close to Christmas knowing that you're going to screw some of your colleagues over. Does that not bother you or you don't like them so you don't care?

If you've been looking for ages, I don't see why you couldn't have planned something with more notice then no-one else would have been impacted by your decision.

Good for you.
Happy holiday and job hunting.

You wouldn’t get 3 weeks leave off with a couple of months notice in most places I have worked, and definitely not over Christmas.

Fine, book the leave but I’d fully expect you to have to resign to take the time off.

ps, we allow people to take extended holidays for a ‘trip of a lifetime’ - Mexico (if it’s just a beach holiday) wouldn’t usually meet this

It's pretty unreasonable, OP.

You knew that this would have a negative impact at work. It wouldn't have hurt to speak to your employer before booking it.

To book it and then bring out the big guns by threatening to leave if they don't allow it is just really unpleasant, even if you mean it - it could have been a much gentler and easier conversation if you just waited.

YABU to be honest. I'm all for doing what makes you happy but not step on others when doing so. You should hand in your notice and give them time to find another person rather than mess up Christmas leave for everyone else.

YABU, this is really nasty to book it this close to Christmas knowing it affects your colleagues christmas plans.

If you're in a position where you're able to value a holiday above staying in your current job, that's fine. I doubt your colleagues would be factoring in your Christmas plans if they wanted to take a new job with a starting date in December.

We can have extended periods of leave although it has to be agreed first.

Unfortunately, in this scenario, it is likely that your colleagues will have to pick up your workload and it is them I feel for.

What's your job?

Hmm so either your holiday request is accepted, leaving all your colleagues in the lurch, you go away knowing you've screwed your colleagues over and you return to an awful work atmosphere in a job you don't enjoy.

Or it is denied, you quit your job and go off on your trip of a lifetime with the stress of having no job to go back to and only a few months to find a new job on your return.

In your position I don't think I could enjoy a minute of the holiday!

Somehow I don't think you'll be getting a leaving present...

We get paid extra over some of the Christmas period so more than half of us chose to work last year including myself. So the issue of them wanting leave might not be the biggest issue, although obviously I don't know 100%. It's a customer relations role.

Weird not to be able to control yourself and book a holiday when a bit drunk! Do you normally do impulsive stuff like this?