It is a well-known fact that when employers help their employees develop, it is good for the company.

Unfortunately, many managers can’t seem to accept the fact that it is sometimes necessary to deal with a short-term inconvenience to get the long-term benefits.

The manager of the man in this story tried to force him to work when he needed to be in class, despite previously promising flexibility.

Let’s see how that worked out.

Deny the flexibility you promised? Fine. Cover my shifts and still have to pay me.

I was in a supervisory role as a charge nurse.

I’d worked in this position for about three years. I had great reviews and earned consistent raises and performance bonuses.

Sounds like a great employee, and he is asking for some flexibility so he can continue his education and become even more valuable.

For now, management was only too happy to agree.

I approached my managers and requested that they agree to a flexible schedule if I worked on my masters degree.

I wasn’t asking for time off I just wanted them to adjust my schedule when it came time for my practical rotations.

They agreed as they wouldn’t be losing any productivity and would be gaining a nurse practitioner for the system.

While things seem to be going well at work, his personal life was suffering.

About a year after I started the program it became apparent I was going to need to divorce my wife.

We’d been married for many years. It was quite a blow.

I called the employee assistance program and got some therapy that was very helpful.

My managers also suggested I apply for FMLA (family medical leave act) leave due to their concern for my mental health. I was very grateful.

I had been working for this system for a number of years and had many, many hours of PTO (paid time off) saved up.

But I figured the FMLA leave would be a smart thing to be approved for in case court times were scheduled when I was working.

I was approved for up to forty hours per week for a year.

Now that the workload at school was picking up (combined with the stress of the changes in his home life), he needed to cut back on his responsibilities at work.

About a year into my masters program it became necessary for me to step down from my role as a charge and take a staff nurse position.

My main manager was livid. She took it very personally and stopped talking to me and greeting me.

I was very hurt initially.

And of course, rather than being supportive, management goes back on their promise to offer a flexible schedule.

As my practical rotations were about to start I reminded my managers of their promise to be flexible with my schedule.

They denied my requests for flexibility and began to schedule me almost entirely for the times I would request off.

At first I was frustrated and very hurt that they did this.

But I remembered that I was approved for FMLA leave. FMLA is a special form of leave and cannot be denied.

As my managers were not keeping their promises it was with great satisfaction I began to call off every morning I needed to for my rotations.

Rather than providing a flexible schedule that worked for everyone, management now has to scramble for last minute coverage.

I didn’t give them any advanced notice because I was not required to.

It was with even greater satisfaction I learned my managers began to have to cover my shifts themselves on occasion.

As I had PTO hours saved up I still got paid as well.

Just more proof that when you treat an employee poorly, they will quickly find another employer.

I finished all of my rotations in this manner and took a job at a different system after I graduated.

I worked at the new system for a few years before I was hired back at my old system as a provider.

I loved seeing the look on my old manager’s face when I took my first shift at her hospital as a provider and not under her chain of command.

I love it when an employee follows the rules perfectly in order to stick it to a boss who was a jerk.

Let’s take a look at what some of the comments on this post had to say.

This Redditor loves the cunning, and so do I.

Why would you be a jerk to someone who is already overworked and stressed out?

At the end of the day, everything worked out well.

I’m not sure what ever happened to the ‘treat others the way you want to be treated’ rule, but this manager could have benefitted from it.

Treating people well will is almost always the way to go.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.