Some workplaces understand the value of furthering their employees’ development. Some do not.

What would you do if you couldn’t work specific shifts because of schooling, but your manager insisted on scheduling you for those shifts anyway?

Read how this Redditor battles leadership’s betrayal along with personal obstacles, but ultimately comes out on top.

See the story below to get started.

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.

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.

The OP was initially supported in this endeavor!

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

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.

This was difficult for the OP to handle and required assistance.

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.

Then, a work shift occurred.

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.

Now, this is where things get really wild.

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

And guess what? The managers had to cover these shifts!

It was with even greater satisfaction [that] 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. 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.

Does Reddit think the OP was rude to their managers or did the upper management owe it to them after retracting their initial promise? Let’s read the comments below to get a better idea.

Redditors were very supportive.

They even said the managers were bullies.

People gave their well wishes.

And many could relate.

Good for this nurse practitioner for taking care of themselves in a toxic workplace!

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.