Microsoft

The flexibility (remote, hybrid, in office) was great until they became obsessed with cutting costs. Discretionary time off was one of the worst things to happen to this company.

Your growth in a job often depends on your team and your relationship with your manager.

Unfortunately, I had a hard time with a manager who wasn’t respectful. They used Discretionary Time Off (DTO) unfairly against me. For example, after I worked an on-call shift, my boss told me I couldn’t take the compensatory day off like others because I had recently taken my birthday off.

It was also hard to get time off approved. Last year, I only managed to take about 10 days off—my birthday and a five-day trip I had planned. I wasn’t even able to take time off for Christmas.

There were times when my manager made me feel embarrassed in front of my team, even though they would later say they “had my back.” When I tried to share feedback, it was brushed aside, and they would talk about their own personal struggles instead. Despite getting poor ratings as a manager, they didn’t seem to make changes to improve.

That said, this experience was only with one manager. My other managers before this were supportive and professional.

Get rid of discretionary time off.