'Now there's tension in the office': Employee refuses to cancel nonrefundable vacation after coworker schedules wedding the same week

Everyone deserves time off. That's the whole point of PTO… it's paid time off, not "paid time off as long as it doesn't inconvenience Karen from accounting." But in a lot of workplaces, especially smaller offices, vacation calendars quickly turn into a game of Tetris, where you're expected to move your carefully planned week abroad just because someone else suddenly decides they need the same dates.

That's what happened to one employee who'd booked a nonrefundable trip overseas to visit his girlfriend's family. He put his October vacation on the calendar months in advance, but when a newly engaged coworker set her wedding for the exact same week, she asked him to cancel. Her argument? A wedding is "a bigger deal than a trip." He refused, understandably, since changing flights would cost him hundreds of dollars—and suddenly he was branded "selfish" in the office.

The truth is, PTO policies exist so employees can rest and recharge, not so they can argue over whose life events are more important. You shouldn't have to negotiate or feel guilty for taking your well-deserved time away from work. If you planned ahead, that time is yours — end of story.