1. COMMUNICATION Establish well-defined policies about time-off requests and make sure everyone in your organization knows them. Clear policies lead to easier decisions when unusual time-off requests arise.

2. RESPECT If time-off policies don’t adequately cover a particular issue, respect your employees by striving to be fair and compassionate in making a decision and presenting it to them.

3. CLARITY Do your employees take it for granted that time-off requests will be approved? Make sure their expectations are based on actual policies, not informal beliefs based on past behavior. Again, communication is essential.