I was threatened to be fired by my boss at GIII the day before I took my vacation abroad. Because she “forgot” I was taking a 7 day vacation, that I have discussed with her six months prior and every week leading up to the three days before she threatened me. Every time politely reminding that I will be gone with possibly no service and telling her how my work progress is going and what will be done before I leave.
It’s nuts! Idk how people expect for their employees to not take vacation
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I am not sure it is a Fashion Industry issue, it is an American issue. The culture doesn’t allow it. And the US is not alone unfortunately.
I am European, and we learn early in life the importance of taking breaks, that makes us more efficient, productive and motivated. For some reason that train of thought didn’t reach the US yet, of Japan, where I lived and worked for 5 years…
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I agree with you on this!
I’ve had many other European coworkers who would get so upset when someone would try to pull them into a last minute meeting or drop off urgent work on their desk during lunch or when they are leaving work. Personal boundaries should be respected or if you want someone to work past their time pay them over time!
It seems like a cultural thing here, people are expected to work more and are shamed when they take a full lunch break, vacations, paid leave etc.
then people wonder why so many people suffer from burn out
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Wow. You were really treated like a bad kitty! 
it’s often that employees take the brunt of punishment for their bosses bad actions. I hear it all the time. Terrible.
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That’s true, it’s a general cultural thing. I wish we could learn from Europeans, but I don’t see that happening in the US
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I’ve definitely experienced my fair share of this. I had a boss that wanted me to fly home Christmas Day so I could be in the office on the 26th. I had saved plenty of days and was one of the only people in the office not with family in the state. I ended up flying back in the wee early morning hours on the 26th and went directly to the office. She berated me for not flying back the night before.
However, things changed the next year when she went on a holiday vacation and realized IT’S NICE TO GET A BREAK and her tone shifted in oncoming years. She compensated weekends we worked with additional PTO during the off-season and the environment in the office greatly improved. (Though she’d still call and email throughout your entire vacation).
Some advice no one asked for:
I’ve noticed if I ask for time off, the reaction is typically “It’s not a good time” or “Can’t you take less time?”
But when I change the wording and say “I am taking time off,” it gives less chance for resistance and is always met with an approval.
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The emails and texts and calls from a boss when they know you’re on vacation is so disrespectful! That’s happened to me as well.
Also, love your tip on stating and not asking for vacation. I always state that “I will be taking off the following days…”
I do not leave room for a boss to take advantage and manipulate my deserved time off.
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Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever taken even 5 or more consecutive business days off since working for companies in NYC…with the exception of when one of my parents passed away and I went home out of state. Because most of the places I’ve worked for were understaffed, I tend to break up my time off, mostly taking off Thursdays & Fridays so I get somewhat of a break.
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Ok but like…if you can’t finish the work in 8 hours…something is wrong.
I get it I get it, dedication, giving 150% but like…no…
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Vacation shaming is rampant in this industry.
I started a new job and told them when I was hired that I was getting married in 8 months, and was able to negotiate an extra 2 weeks of vacation (instead of the 5 days they were offering) so I could get married, and go on a honeymoon. We agreed that my honeymoon wouldn’t be directly after my wedding, so my time off would be broken up. And I accepted the salary they offered since this was more important to me.
Lo & behold, when it came down to my wedding, they insisted I only take 3 days off instead of the 5 I was planning on. I had family & friends flying in from all across the country (and also a few from europe) and I wanted to be able to spend time with them. I literally worked a full day and then went and got my eyelashes done at 8 pm!
After my wedding, I went back to the office as they forced me to do. Then 2 days later they fired me.
I only wish they had fired me BEFORE my wedding- that way I could have spent those extra days with my out of town parents & guests.
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I learned about this the hard way early in my career, when I “negotiated” an extra week of vacation when I was hired, but it was not in writing or part of my offer letter. The owner of the company said it would be “our arrangement. (hah)” I learned to get everything in writing and negotiate to carry over days you may not be able to take. However, I’ve also learned from bad experiences that some people get taken advantage of, and some don’t. You need to show yourself to be dedicated, and good at what you do, but still have boundaries. It doesn’t necessarily mean you will get fired, some bad bosses just push as much as they can until you push back.
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