Negotiate Time Off at Work

Richard Paguirigan

Law 402

Week 1, Topic 1:

Employee and employer relationships are long term relationships. Many people have jobs that they go to every week in which they are responsible for not just fulfilling their job functions but also interacting with co-workers and management personnel. Such relationships require the utmost care and cooperation by everyone in order to preserve such relationships and to ensure it is mutually rewarding to all concerned. When not working, many people are at home tending to their obligations with their families. Family relationships are just as important to many people as employer relationship, if not more so, and sometimes it can be quite a challenge to balance the two when certain situations arise.

No doubt, Joe has been working a lot of hours lately, apparently more so than normal. Working such long hours can often take a physical and mental toll on a person. In this light, the balance of time has shifted favorably toward Joe’s employer at the expense of his family time. Joe wants to attend his daughter’s soccer match on Friday; however, he needs to take off from work earlier than his normal departure time in order to attend his daughter’s game. To make matters worse, his employer has just experienced a network systems failure which may require employees to work overtime to effect repairs and Joe is concerned that he will be called on to help in this emergency. An ideal outcome for Joe would be to take some time off and leave work early Friday to attend his daughter’s game.

“In the collaborative strategy both the relationship and the outcome are important to both parties. The two parties usually have long-term goals that they are willing to work for together”(Lewicki 81). Given that the relationship and the outcome are important not just for Joe but his supervisor as well, a collaborative strategy is in order. They must find a way to work toward a mutually beneficial arrangement. Intangible concerns such as pride,...