Elizabeth Dempsey-Beggs has been making headlines after she posted a TikTok mentioning how she often denies time off requests by her employees, and there is a solid reason behind it. At first, one may think, “Wait, why is a Gen Z acting so boomer?” but believe us, her thought process is something else entirely. She may sound the type to deny any leave requests that come to her desk (especially after knowing she has previously served in the army as well), but this 28-year-old’s decisions are deeply rooted in empathy and trust.
Elizabeth Dempsey-Beggs manages a team of outside sales representatives and often denies any leave requests for medical emergencies, family issues and other major life milestones. And she has a very good reason backing this philosophy. She believes that time off is meant to be for rest and rejuvenation and should be taken accordingly. It is not for emergencies or life changing events.
When any of her employees request time off for personal reasons, she straight away tells them to take as much time as they may need (without even having the HR involved). Now that surely is new! Dempsey-Beggs, as the director of sales, brings a unique edge with her prior experience as an Armor Officer in the U.S. Army. “My role is not to have people working for me, but to work for everyone who is on my team,” Dempsey-Beggs says. She practices a style of servant leadership where she wants to build an environment of trust and communication.
She is the prime propagator of rest and recovery, and taking care of one’s mental health, as this directly affects performance, she mentions. She strongly believes that “if you don’t recharge, you can not perform.” From time to time, she also encourages her team to use their time off for fun, pre-planned activities, rather than unexpected life events. And when it comes to life-changing events, she says “If you came into work when your parent was in the hospital dying, to sit in a meeting because you couldn’t take the time off – you are not actually at work, at least not mentally, and what good is that to anyone?”
For all the other managers out there, who wish to balance empathy with high performance she puts out a single question, “Do you want an employee that resents the company, resents you, and is going to do the bare minimum or, do you want to build a team that will take care of the company because they take care of them?”
In a world where hustle is often rewarded and placed before humanity, Elizabeth Dempsey-Beggs is rewriting the rules. Her approach isn’t just Gen Z-forward—it’s people-forward. By redefining what time off means, she’s setting a bold example of what empathetic leadership can look like. Turns out, real productivity begins with permission to pause.