In an account shared with an online community, this employee presents a difficult situation where their coworker approached them demanding their day off on Thanksgiving, arguing that their time with their kids was more important than the employee's time with their family. This creates a delicate situation, and after their manager told the pair to "work it out" the employee has been left wondering… what exactly was there to work out.
Does having kids in the make one employee's time off request more important than the other?
In several different jobs, I've worked through holidays when family wanted me to be present. It's not a great experience.
On the one hand, you have an obligation to your employer, and the looming threat of being fired if you don't turn up. On the other hand, you have the expressed disappointment of your family for missing "another" holiday and valued time together. Although they say that they understand, and you know that they do, you can still feel the pressure of their silent wish that things would be different.