Employee gets fired just after returning from pre-approved vacation; says if he knew before he left, he would have saved money

performance review and bonus, which they now believe played a role in the timing of the decision. “If he had just been upfront before I left, I would have saved that money and used the time to look for a new job instead of trying to relax,” the post read.

The user later added an update saying they planned to file for unemployment after learning from others on the subreddit that some jurisdictions require notice or severance.

How Reddit users reacted

The post quickly drew responses from other members of r/OfficePolitics, many of whom shared similar experiences or offered perspective on how layoffs often work. Some users suggested the manager may not have had much control. “Boss may not have had the option to tell you. Managers are often just message deliverers,” one commenter wrote.

Others echoed that sentiment, sharing stories of managers who were informed only days before layoffs. One user described a former manager who learned about a termination shortly before it happened and was “devastated” afterward.