Holiday's in Poland! Not allowed thanksgiving off.

I'm an American living and working in Wroclaw and the surrounding areas! I recently asked my boss if I could have Thanksgiving Day off so I can do all the preparations and cooking! He was extremely angry that I would ask for an American holiday off, since no 1 here in Poland cares about them! Anyone have any thoughts about his reaction?

Sometimes you have to fit in. In this house the traditional English Christmas dinner is always on 26th December, not 25th.

Your Polish boss was right. This is Poland, not US. How about Poles in US demanding a day off on Polish national holidays? Ridiculous, wouldn`t it?

If the Poles took every holiday they have off, that would mean people would only work once a week!

it is quite simple actually. it is not a holiday in poland why should your boss give you the day off? just call in sick

Can an Irish man have his Holiday from work in the USA?
Can a Mexican or an Egyptian, what about the Thai water festival?
There are hundreds of holidays in hundreds of cultures.
Why do you expect to get out of work? because your from the USA?
I hope you get what I mean and I am even sure that there are some not exactly north American holidays in the US (St. Patricks day ;).

That`s a gross exaggeration, of course. :):)

I dont blame him, come back to the US and try to get Paczki day off:)

I think that you've got the wrong end of the stick... he probaby doesn't agree with you demanding a day off that is not relevant in Poland. What does your contract state?

The question is, if you had just asked him for a day off without mentioning the reason why, would he have given it to you? You have to be fly like that sometimes. ;)

brace yourself because july 4th is not a holiday here either

Well, I was going to post some useful advice, but this comment


proved you don't deserve any advice.

Ericlipis,

Consider this: On December 24th, which is when the main Christmas meal takes place in Poland, many people (shopworkers) will still be at their place of work until late afternoon. Unless, of course, Dec 24th falls on a Sunday.

If they can't get the day off for Christmas Eve, why should you get the day off for something that means nothing at all in Poland..

Have your meal in the evening or celebrate at the weekend.

He is just boss..they are never happy :)

yes, correct. you're in poland not america now.. deal with it.

Angry reaction is not justified.
Refusal to honor the holiday is.

I'm pretty sure they wouldn't allow Poles working in the US to take a day off on May the 3rd. Heck, some employers they don't allow employees to take some of the US holidays.

Give the man a break! He made a simple faux pas. How did his question about asking for a day off become a demand for a day off?

Yes, it would be completely normal in the USA to ask to take off from work on a day of particular cultural, religious, or ethnic importance to you. And it would be completely normal for your boss to evaluate the request, and if there was no just cause (for example a disruption to the company, or lack of staff coverage) to deny the request, give the day off.

Most progressive companies in the US offer employees 2 or 3 floating holidays allowing them to choose at the beginning of the year if they want to take off a holiday that is relevant to them, but not their coworkers. For example: Good Friday, Rosh Hashanah, Chinese New Year, MLK Day, St. Pat's, Yom Kippur, Eid, Cinco de Maya...


No, it would be completely reasonable to request the day off, or November 1st off.


Completly normal to request off Good Friday, or St. Pat's


Why does Poland have to be such a bitter pill to swallow? Some people actually enjoy it here.


You can see from the responses to your question that your boss is not the only angry person in this world. Enjoy your time in Poland, make the best of it, and understand that there is a lot that you will never understand.

Happy Thanksgiving

Back to my original question... what does his contract state? Was he looking to get an extra day off, in addition to his regular holiday allowance? Was he being arrogant in an "I'm an American, give me a day off on Thanksgiving" kind of way?

hahahahaaa My contract states that I need to confirm my lessons on the Friday before! ie. if he says on Friday, I need to work at 8 am on Monday and I can't I just tell him! Thanks for the advice!

I work for a english company in poland and get both sets of holidays! :)

There was no Arrogance at all in my requesting a day off. Also he did comply after telling me I need to find my own replacement, which I did. However like you stated read the contract, which I did and found that if I do not confirm my lessons on the Friday of the week before I do not have to work the classes I don't want to. Please be aware I came to him at the end of Oct and asked about this. I didn't demand or do any such thing. Thanks for the advice on reading the contract too!

Yep, i did mention that in my original post.


EUREKA! Result


Do you still get paid for them?


Does your boss not like Americans? or you? or is he just normally grumpy? or did he have a good reason?
I know when you teach it is vital you, the teacher are there, perhaps this was his concern. Perhaps you misinterpreted his response?

If I do not work, I do not get paid! I work Ohhhhh I am going to put the English pronunciation for this (Umova Ojaywa) I know it isn't even spelled remotely right.

The boss was right. It stinks to not have the day off, but you have to do what you have to do. My American friends and I held our Thanksgiving on the Saturday after the real Thanksgiving when I lived overseas.

Don't sweat not having some US holidays off. You are in Poland now and have to conform to Polish holidays. But just think that you may have off from work for a Polish holiday when all the Americans will have to work.

I lived in Denmark for a few years and couldn't wait for the Easter holidays. We had 5 days off for Easter. I loved that!

Neither is Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day...But like everyone said, you work in Poland now, gotta OBEY them Polish rules....Sorry, boss was right ;)

However...the US embassy in Poland is closed that day....

Such a problem??? Couldn't you ask for day off ( holiday) and organise replacement.

Unfortunately, there seemed to be when you complained that you were not granted the day off. My understanding is that native speakers, whether they be Yanks or Brits, have a reputation for being a bit chesty here - this is how I (and apparently many others) viewed your initial post - sorry.

Because of this reputation, I try to conform as best as possible to Polish traditions and customs while I enjoy their wonderful hospitality - after all, I am a guest here. I enjoy my free days during Polish holidays and count my blessings that the most important American holiday (Christmas) is shared by both cultures.

It's not a day off even i Poland :)

Actually the US Veterans Day is the same day as Polish Independence Day, so technically that day is a holiday. This is what my Polish friend told me, so I believe him.

That's true. Veterans Day in the US started out being called Armistice Day. It's the symbolic day that World War 1 ended. They called World War 1 "The war to end all wars" in the US. However, once WWII cropped up and everyone had more dead soldiers on their hands, they changed the name to Veterans Day so they could honor the dead soldiers from WWII as well.