They Can't Make Me Work Weekends...Can They?

Dear Stanley,

I am working at the trading desk of a big financial institution. Recently, they laid off a bunch of people. Then all of a sudden activity kicked up again when everybody in the world decided to refinance. As a result, I've been working weekends and even some holidays. There is a schedule they print up of who's supposed to have weekend duty, but they pretty much disregard it. On the next two Saturdays, I have important stuff to do. I asked my boss if he could guarantee me the time off, and he said "probably." What good is probably? My question is this: Is it possible for me to actually tell my boss that I can't work the next two weekends? Can they fire me if I make an issue out of this?
I'm sorry, my friend, but because you told your boss of your problem, you are now unable to accomplish the proper strategy -- which is to call in sick on the days you cannot work. Usually it's best to pick something very contagious, like the flu or an eruption of something scary, like shingles (people who have not had chicken pox yet can get it from you).

Now, since he knows you have a problem, you will have to face the choice of outright, blatant resistance or expensive acquiescence. If they DO make you work, ask your boss if he can defray the expense this is causing you. If he makes you work and doesn't help you with the money, I would say that you should begin looking for another job immediately and not rest until you have one. You are working for an oppressive regime, and unless you want to mortgage your life to these mean bozos, you're going to have to do what's necessary to free yourself or establish some guidelines for them. They don't care about you, your expenses, or your plans to go to the wedding.

Your boss, by the way, sucks also. I know he's up against it with HIS bosses, because they don't even give him advance notice on how much work there is going to be this weekend, and he probably has the exact same problems with his life that you have with yours. Problems in a Stalinist state don't affect the rank-and-file alone. But a good boss stands in front of the crap being leveled at his or her people. In this case, your boss should protect you, assign work where it will do the least harm, and give you a break.

This leads me to my final piece of advice: See if you can find the last remaining ember of humanity in your boss and appeal to it. It's not about the workflow. It's not about his bosses. It's about one person helping another. "Come on, Bob," you might say. "Please. I'm beggin' you. I really need to go to these weddings and I'll catch hell if I don't. If you give me a break here, I won't forget it. Please."

If that doesn't work, I don't know what else you can do except figure out what the next step of your life is going to be. And when you do quit? Do it without notice on a Monday morning. We all have to enjoy life a little bit now and then.