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.Β
βI wonβt be available.β
Imagine youβre at work and your boss asks you to come in on Saturday. Saturday is usually your day offβcoming 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 donβt want to give up your day off.
If you consider yourself a millennial youβve probably been raised to believe you need to justify not being constantly at work. And if youβre a gen-Z kid youβre 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 youβd rather not give up your day off. Cave when they pressure you to come in anyway, since youβre not doing anything important.
Tell your boss youβd rather not give up your day off. Over-apologize and worry that you looked bad/unprofessional.
Lie and say youβve got a doctorβs appointment or some other activity that feels like an adequate justification for not working.
The fact is, it doesnβt matter to your boss whether youβre having open heart surgery or watching anime in your underwear on Saturday. The only thing that affects them is the fact that you wonβt be at work. So telling themΒ whyΒ you wonβt be at work only gives them reason to try and pressure you to come in anyway.
If you sayΒ βI wonβt be available,β giving no further information, youβd be surprised how often thatβs enough. Be polite and sympathetic in your tone, maybe even sayΒ βsorry, but I wonβt be available.β But donβt make an excuse. If your boss is a professional individual, theyβll accept that as aΒ βnoβ and try to find someone else.Β
But bosses arenβt always professional. Sometimes theyβre whiny little tyrants. So, what if they pressure you further? The answer isβpolitely and sympathetically give them no further information.
βAre you sure youβre not available?βΒ βSorry, but yes.β
βWhy wonβt you be available?βΒ βI have a prior commitment.β (Which you do, even if itβs only to yourself.)
βWhatβs your prior commitment?βΒ βSorry, but thatβs kind of personal.β
βCan you reschedule it?βΒ βIβm afraid not. Maybe someone else can come in?β
If you donβt give them anything to work with, they canβt pressure you into going beyond your obligations as an employee. And when they realize that, theyβll also realize they have to find someone else to come in and move on.
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