The company I worked for allowed 2 people per work team to be out on PTO at a time. Anyone else would be put on a wait list. They also awarded PTO by seniority meaning if 3 people all wanted that day off then the 2 who had been with the company the longest would get it. They hired a ton of people and decided to go with first request for get one year to that everyone would get an equal chance at PTO.
Cue my coworker who was a non practicing Jew. She requested all the Jewish holidays off along with all the Christian holidays. Since she was the first request she got them all. Wouldn't trade a single one although many people on the team had very young children and could have certainly used PTO around Easter and Christmas.
So the next year of PTO starts and 5 of us decided to come in bright and early the day PTO opens for requests. We proceed to put in requests for every single Christian and Jewish holiday rotating who would get it and the 3rd person would would be wait listed. We also took summer holidays and put in for some Mondays and Fridays off for long weekends.
Coworker arrives at her usual 9 am start time and is very upset to see that all of the holidays and summer weekends are not available for her. Throws a toddler tantrum about it going to HR. We all got pulled into a meeting about it but in the end there was nothing anyone could do because we all followed the rules. She's always request trades and nobody would trade with her.
The following year they put in a rule that if you had a specific holiday off the year before you couldn't have it again the following year. The 5 of us reviewed the PTO used the year before and put in for the following year following that rule. Coworker once again got nothing good.
Your coworker sucks. That being said, your work's vacation policies suck far worse.
Sounds like healthcare. That's similar to how my workplace is, but people are willing to discuss major holiday PTO because we don't hate each other.
I mean, they all talked about it, but also excluded the AH🤷🏼♀️
Yup. All Dr. My Wife’s PTO is planned out a year in advance. But they actually have a meeting once a year where they get together and haggle it out. Not this “whoever gets there first” policy, that’s insane.
THANK YOU. Guaranteed the company would love to know they’re scrapping amongst themselves instead of organizing.
She played a selfish game and won the proper prize.
As a non-practicing Jew she could play a shellfish game.
Acting that way is just not kosher!
L'chaim
She was trying to milkik the days off, but OP got their pound of fleishik.
F.A.F.O!
The Cruz effect
F.A.F.O!
This is my kind of coworker group lol. I salute you my petty friend.
Team building at its finest
Teamwork makes the dream work! Love it!
Especially if that dream is an entitled coworkers' nightmare!
I love what they did. When I first saw that they banned people having the same days off next year I thought, “Bummer”. I then read that they simply swapped the days around to win for a second year and I gave a quiet chuckle. Well done.
Jewish holidays never land on the same dates (like 12/25), so I’m laughing thinking about OP and buddies googling the Jewish holiday dates for the next two years to plan their strategy.
OP: Hey, what’s Purim?
FRIEND: I don’t know, but you have that day off. Mazel tov.
Team Petty for the win!
I won’t back down You could stand me up at the gates of Hell but I won’t back down
Tom PETTY for the win!
Petty LaBelle!
Petty Crocker!
Nothing brings a team together like a common enemy. Nice and petty!
[deleted]
Says she's non-practicing, plus she took Xian holidays too
In my team only two people from the team can take PTO on a specific day. We have a holiday bid where we pick our top priorities, supposed to make things equal, and the one with the most seniority gets PTO on that day, so the same people get certain holidays, but if someone with lower seniority uses one of their higher priority spots that day they will bump them out.
The holiday bid is put in in November, and then after the first if January anyone can choose whatever day, as long as someone else on your specific team doesn't already have it off.
I've been there about 6 years now so I'm up in seniority a lot of people have left, so I moved up, but there' s this one lady who has the same birthday as me, she's a really nasty person. And she's been there 25 years to my 6.
For 4 years she has gotten what she wanted, and my/our birthday off. So last year I put in for my birthday as the first priority, and two of the weeks she normally took, and got them.
I waited a couple months and cancelled my PTO for those two weeks, didn't really want them, just wanted her to miss out.
Others had taken a day or two in those weeks, which locked her out of her normal vacations, and warmed my cold dead heart.
Was a lovely birthday that year
Well played. The hysterical part in all this was that we did the same thing. Took the days to get them blocked on the calendar and then would cancel them allowing others to grab them.
I'm confused... if you didn't want the day off for your birthday, then why can't she take the day off? Why block her from taking something that you didn't even want? Sounds like you ruined her birthday for no reason?
I took our birthdate off, but I screwed up her week long vacations she usually took that year because she took my birthday off the previous years, and I had to work.
Once I figured out the system I was able to enact my petty revenue. I stopped her from her normal
I did put my birthday for first priority this next year, won't know until January, but I didn't take any other time off, plan to take 4 day weekends with the rest of my PTO. Will be over 1 a month.
There was a reason, payback.
I love to see teamwork!
The team brought their "A" game.
It is awesome when a team comes together to collaborate for a good cause
Where I worked we had one person (Bob) in each department who kept up with the calendar and who was on vacation. That person also arranged coverage for sick days, PTO etc. We were allowed 2 people off at a time.
Once I wanted a 4 day weekend for one of my grandchildren's birthday and went to "Bob". We got the calendar out All the weekends were taken but a lot of them had Bob's name on them. I was like, "Oh well. When is a weekend open?" Bob laughed and erased his name from the date I wanted. He told me he put his name on every holiday and weekend because in every department the same people always got the best time off. His system was to monitor who got what and if someone who rarely asked for time off wanted it VOILA! That day was available because he just had to take his name off.
now THIS is a Bob i like!
I had a coworker (RA) that wanted all the Jewish holidays off. So I got a calendar with the Jewish holidays on it.
Another person I was working with (NH) was married to a Jewish lady and it helped him remember the holidays. He was very forgetful and missed a lot of holidays. I added his wedding anniversary and his wife’s birthday on it as well.
RA would demand days off that weren’t Jewish holidays, but insisted they were.
For Christmas I gave our boss a Jewish calendar.
Practical meets petty, to perfection!!
First she acted like a b!tch then got mad when it came back and bit her in the a$$. Well played.
She wasn't acting
Nice line
Bitch ass censorship
Why are you censoring bitch and ass?
Because I can't remember what moderators get upset over what language. I'm already banned elsewhere on Reddit for language.
Perfect example of FAFO! Well played.
sounds like this policy needs to be reviewed, we only allow 2 people to be off per team might work well if you have a team of 3-4 it does not when you have a team of 50.
Your coworker is an ahole but your owner not having company wide holidays is an ahole too
Probably something in healthcare. It’s not like it’s a privately owned manufacturing company. Hospitals don’t get time off.
Well played! I had a similar co-worker many years ago. She was a JW who didn't celebrate any holidays (against her religion) but wanted to maximize PTO around three-day weekends and other holidays that we were closed for so she could travel, etc. I don't blame her, but she would come early (the only time she ever would) and get everything off before anyone else could and was snarky when asked for trades by others who wanted to see family or travel to them for special events. She was also the breakroom food thief. Not a good colleague to have.
This PTO policy is bullshit and is designed to pit colleagues against each other.
Lol Play stupid games, win stupid prize.
This is why its its always better to be good to people. High five OP!. 🙌
If you want your employer to change a really stupid rule, just follow it to the letter and watch the fun begin.
Another lesson to not mess with the FAFO generation, pettiness runs deep in our souls
Coworker definitely sounds like an asshole but your company policy will one day land them in trouble with labour board or whatever.
Religious Jews have up to 13 days each year which they can't work on (except in certain situations like life and death), depending on what day of the week they fall out on.
Of course, if you're a religious jew then there is basically no reason to ask for the Christian holidays also and it is completely reasonable to swap with your Christian friends so they can have their holidays too.
I am practicing but not Orthodox. I used to love working Christmas and Easter because I would get anywhere from 1.5-3x overtime pay. Missed a few movies and Chinese takeouts, though.
Yeah, a Jewish colleague offered to cover shifts the day before and the day after Christmas, or as he calls them, Wednesday and Friday.
Glorious! Did she ever get smart about this?
I had a similar problem when I realised that it made sense to book all the prime dates on the 2nd January and then subsequently cancel the ones I no longer needed. The company I used to work for gave priority to parents because apparently single people couldn’t possibly have plans for holidays and long weekends.
This is too American for us Europeians
My company has these same rules. In my area, there's. 4 of us and only one gets off per day and the others wait listed. Our PTO doesn't open until 10am CT on the day the supervisors say it opens after everyone is there that day. 4 of us got together in October before the 2026 calendar opened to go over the holidays as a group to give everyone a better chance at the holidays/days each wanted and try not to block anyone for 2026. It worked well. Myself, I got the holidays I wanted. Even though I had one of those last year it wasn't a problem to the others as they wanted others that they had in 2025.
Bigger area in our dept has 32 people and I believe 4 off. They didn't get together since they are so big. Most were not happy from what I was told. Rarely the wait list days get approved.
What a garbage environment.
As a non-practicing Jewish person, I used to have an agreement going with my reception partner. I'd take off Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) and let my partner have Christmas. Trying to scam all the holidays is just selfishness.
I think I love you
Ted?
Happy cake day!
There should only be two rules for PTO - (1) must be applied for in writing and dated, (2) first person to apply gets it. No favouritism, no seniority, and no using kids or religion as an excuse.
Team work made the PTO Dream Work!!!!!
Karma.
How many years did this coworker last
-----------Wouldn't trade a single one although many people on the team had very young children
You lost me with this. Who has children has zero bearing on PTO decisions. Your company's policies are ridiculous.
LMAO. Love it.
Where are you working bro, ancient egypt as a slave? This is not an acceptable policy at all. And if it is legal, then your country sucks.
PTO is to be used as you want/require. With appropriate notice the company needs to have a genuine reason to refuse and 2 people being off is not good enough.
I hope you get to experience a better employer and better workers laws.
Whilst I salute your pettiness, I don’t agree with the insinuation that people with kids are more deserving of time off. Everyone should have equal right to taking holiday time.
She was, of course, still shitty for taking all the holidays.
I love this
Seniority coupled with limited slots isn’t conducive to a good work environment. Ranked choice would be better but not perfect either. Some people are just going to want certain days off (holidays) every year.
Why doesn't your company close on Easter and Christmas? Is it such essential work?
I work in healthcare and we operate 24/7. I always volunteer to work Xmas because I’m Jewish and it’s just another day for me. Someone who observes the holiday might as well get the day off.
Your coworker sucks but I also wanted to point out that having children does not mean someone deserved time off more than someone without kids.... That always annoys me
I think what they meant by that is the rude coworker took ALL the holidays for herself and refused to switch with anyone for any of them. People with children generally do want to have at least the opportunity to try for at least ONE holiday with their kids.
They didn’t say they should be MORE entitled to the day off because they had kids. It was more a reflection on their greedy coworker taking ALL the holidays for herself.
Those days off were promised to her 3,000 years ago
😆Never gets old!
I can't believe she still on the team..... is she?
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes
She won the stupid prize
Beautifully executed. Bravo!
Is there anything better than screwing up her plan while also being extremely fair in spreading the PTO holidays around the entire team?!!
Play stupid games win stupid prizes
"Coworker you were the annoying selfish one, so f*** off"😤👅🖕
LOVE THIS!
Can I join your team? I love me some petty people! 😂
I was the manager of a department like that. What a PITA. I also had to coordinate my time off with my boss.
Sounds like Aon, in NY
Companies that keep changing their policies without thinking them through are the absolute worst.
But they were promised to her 3000 years ago!
Not sure I believe this. Jewish holidays do not work the same as holidays in other religions, and specifically the majority of "holidays" most of us in the west celebrate and take time off for are Hallmark holidays. The vast majority of us in the west do not celebrate "Christmas" because they're Christian, the same goes for Easter.
The Jewish holidays also operate on a lunisolar cycle, meaning a lot of the time they fall on "weekends" or the middle of a week and specifically the day you take off is usually exactly that a single day.
A non practicing Jew would absolutely not take off the "Jewish" holidays as they very rarely coincide with any useful days off in the western calendar and it would absolutely serve no purpose to take them off other than wasting your PTO.
No. Hanukkah is not an official Jewish holiday, and either way it would be considered no different than any other person taking time off during December near the holidays.
Passover is both a Christian and a Jewish holiday. It can overlap with "Easter" due to the lunar nature, but again, no big deal here. Remember Christians and Jews share the Torah/Old Testament.
Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah sure, non practicing or "two days" Jews will sometimes take these off, but as the name suggests those are just two days. That usually fall at the end of September or beginning of October. Not many of us usually take off time during this period.
This is a fluff story for someone who doesn't actually know how Jewish holidays work.
Our town has a large Jewish community, and the town’s public schools are off for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Passover, in addition to the typical Christian holidays. Passover and Good Friday usually coincide with Spring Break, and the school system has configured the fall semester to accommodate RH and YK.
And with the increased Hindu community, the schools added Diwali last year.
Which town?
But that works for everyone which is cool.
A suburb of Hartford, Connecticut.
It's cool of your town to accommodate everyone. I still believe OPs story is a made up fluff piece.
PTO for random days off that mean nothing to you, I don't buy it. I'm curious as to what OP considers "Christian" holidays that people actively take time off for and are "exclusive" to Christians. The only one I can consider is Easter but again, Passover and Easter get overlaps due to the lunar nature at time, and Easter is always a Sunday.
Christmas on the other hand is absolutely a secular holiday.
In the US that would be illegal, violating the first amendment, for those who would be religious. It doesn't actually matter if specific people don't practice.
Your CW is definitely an A, but that new policy is not good.
Sounds like costco
Kop
That’ll teach anyone involved for revolving their lives around imaginary friends called Jesus or Abraham
Oh, so admit you're an anti semite, and purposefully ganged up on the presumably only Jewish employee. Bit somehow, you're the hero in this story. Thumbs down, loser.
You forgot that the Jewish coworker also took all the Christian days and would not trade? This is not antisemitism, this is karma.
Christian Holidays are Government holidays. Jewish Holidays aren't. This does come across as not so cool. It's also none of OP's business who does or doesn't practice their own religion. The whole country has to take off for Xmas without choice. And I'd go out on a limb and say most Christians don't go to church on that day. So, yeah, it comes across a little fucked up.
There are a whole heap of companies in the US that don’t provide any holidays. If you don’t want to take off for a religious holiday it’s easy to find an employer that will be happy to let you work those days.
Bingo. The "Christian" holidays are all red days anyway. That makes them public holidays. They're for everyone.
No. A couple of common holidays are xian-derived, like xmas (which moves around) and Easter (which is always a Sunday).
Here's what I want to know: did that co-worker take off for Simchat Torah? 🤣
https://youtu.be/eRv5sj6p8iU
(Edit to add: actually I agree with you. I just get a stick up my butt about national holidays because we don't actually have any.)
Name one Jewish Holiday that's given by the government. I'll wait.
I'm assuming you're not in Israel, so none of them.. what?
You are absolutely correct.
Okay, name me 2 Xian holidays that are given by the US government.
My point (and it's kinda dumb, and I'll be more nuanced going forward) is that the US does not have any national holidays. We have days that are guaranteed days off for government employees but there is no day where all business is closed.
But it really is true that of all the standard American cultural holidays, only 2 have religious ties (xmas, easter). The rest are all based on culture and national history. (Here's my quick list by month: Jan is NY day and MLK day, then Valentine's Day, St Patrick's Day, easter, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, 4th of July, nothing in August, Labor day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and December is xmas and NYE.)
So, all that said, YES American culture is extremely xian-normative. Most Americans have no idea of what a stew they live in, until they actually become friends with more than 1 each of all us outsiders, whether Jewish or Muslim or Hindu. (Or gay, for that matter. It being more than 1 is significant.) It sure does get tiring not being the thing that almost everyone else is, and always battering assumptions and deciding over and over again whether to pass (if that's an option), doesn't it?
So, if you're part of the Latke clan, do you prefer sour cream or apple sauce? (https://youtu.be/b2WJc3sL6B0) Or maybe, ¿por que no los dos? :-)
Bro, do you have schizophrenia?
Not as far as I know. And you?
And it's the OPs job to police the way people practice their religion? That's discrimination brotha!
So, you can't read? Nice "thumbs down loser", while you're by far the most down voted comment on this thread 🤣
Just because it's not popular, doesn't mean it's not right.
And you do know that bots make up a large share of the votes, not real users.
I guess bots are getting better at recognizing jerks on the internet lol