When 'seniority' is management's passive-aggressive Swiss Army knife

You asked for the week off at Christmas for four straight years and each year your boss replies with the same defensive ritual: “no, seniority-based scheduling.” Translation: I am probably being hated by a human who treats staffing like a chessboard they got to play with on Sundays.

Inventory (evidence): 1) four years of identical requests, 2) one boss who says no every time, 3) a holiday you want to see your family. That’s not a scheduling policy; that’s pattern recognition begging for a hypothesis: either your workplace runs on an impartial seniority algorithm or the algorithm is a single, very grumpy human.

The Reddit chorus hits the healthy options: “Time to go job hunting,” “Good for you for standing up for your rights!” and a retired teacher noting fast-food jobs wreck study time. All sensible. Also amusing: claiming seniority as a shield is the managerial equivalent of calling a timeout in the middle of a marathon because you tripped.

Practical playbook (malicious compliance-friendly, deadpan tested): document the denials, ask for the written policy, offer to trade to someone with more ‘seniority’ (they hate that), or file the formal complaint if your labor laws back holiday leave. If none of that works, update the resume—seniority that functions as spite is not a feature, it’s a resign button.

Final note: rules only look neutral until someone uses them like a spatula to flip your life. Collect receipts, pick a strategy, and don’t let “seniority” be the sacrament that cancels your family. Either win Christmas back or win a better job—both are doable; only one requires waiting four years to lose it again.