Last year, I worked both Christmas Eve and the Christmas Day shifts simply because, as I was told, “no one with children could cover them.” I do not have children, so that apparently makes me the designated holiday mule. I didn’t complain then; I covered the entire shift, missed my traditional family dinner, and came home late to cold leftovers in an empty apartment.
This year, the new holiday schedule was released, and, surprise—my name was assigned to Christmas Eve again. There was no discussion about it, no attempt at a fair rotation. It was just my name slapped onto the holiday like the shift inherently belonged to me.
I told my boss, very politely, “I cannot do Christmas Eve again this year. I already covered the shift last year. Someone else really needs to take a turn now.”
He stared at me, aghast, as if I had personally ruined the entire upcoming holiday season for everyone. He immediately said, “Well… employees with their families truly need that time off. Maybe this job isn’t entirely for you if you’re truly not willing to be flexible now.”
“Flexible,” in this context, always equals: sacrifice your entire life so that others don’t have to sacrifice theirs.
I asked him directly why child-free employees are always expected to give up every single holiday. He simply replied, “Because it impacts parents more significantly.” I argued, “But it impacts me too, just as significantly as anyone else.”
The very next day, HR called me in to discuss why I was “refusing critical shifts.” I explained everything clearly—the clear pattern, the blatant unfairness, and the unfair assumption that my personal time somehow doesn’t matter.
They did not care about the facts at all. They stated flatly, “Holiday priorities are certainly different for parents. You absolutely need to be understanding of their needs.”
I asked them in return, “Understanding… or merely available to be fully exploited?”
HR did not flinch. They concluded, “If you truly cannot support the team during this important peak season, perhaps this isn’t the right working environment for you.”
The translation was clear: Work Christmas Eve, or they will make my life miserable enough that I will quit this job.
When I was leaving the room, two child-free coworkers quietly stopped me and told me they had secretly received the exact same threat before—but they never once dared to say no to management.
So now I am officially the problem employee. Not because I actually did anything wrong, but solely because I finally stood up and said I genuinely wanted one single holiday to myself this year.
