Although most organizations have thorough and specific policies on paid leave, they cannot tell a supervisor how to respond to every leave request that employees make.
The policies provide strong guidelines, but sooner or later every manager gets a request for time off that requires individual judgment.
When requests for leave or vacation are submitted in advance, for example, there are times when the supervisor must consider not only the policy guidelines, but the staffing schedule and the department’s workload before approving or denying the request. Usually this process is smooth. Most of the time supervisors approve requests without discussion because they want to say yes and because employees know when it’s not a good time to request time off.
Problems can arise, however, when an employee feels compelled to ask for leave when the department is busy or understaffed. When this situation occurs, the supervisor has to find a way to decline the request without hurting the employee’s morale.