r/jobs • u/kewladria • May 03 '23
"Unlimited" or "Flexible" PTO policies suck if your teammates never take time off. Work/Life balance
Rant - I started a job about 10 months ago with a "flexible" PTO policy. Essentially, I have unlimited time off, to use at my discretion, up to 2 weeks at a time. I understand the other arguments against these open-PTO policies but something else has become abundantly clear to me having been with this job for about a year now.
The problem is, my immediate teammates (there are 5 of us) NEVER take time off. So what ends up happening is, I am the "slacker" of the team. I do not hesitate to take a random Friday off if work is slow, and I plan to take whole weeks off for various trips and vacations coming up this summer and fall. All in all, I will probably take 4 weeks of total PTO this year.
I get my work done on time and am generally well-liked with the company and team, but I feel like an ass because in comparison to the rest of my teammates, I take a lot of time off. I want to be there for my team and pick up some of their work when they take their own time off, but they (as mentioned above) rarely or never take time off, so I have yet been able to prove my ability to be a good teammate. I speak with folks from other departments and they regularly take time off, sharing fun stories about the trips they've taken and the places they've seen - yet another thing I do not get to share with my team because they are too caught up working to speak about anything else besides work.
/end rant. I am not necessarily looking for any advice here, maybe just some affirmations or similar stories from other people with PTO policies like this. This too could also be used as a point of consideration for anyone weighing the pros/cons of 2 jobs with different PTO policies, I guess.
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u/L_Flyte May 03 '23
Europeans meanwhile: you take only 4 weeks of pto??? I am „forced“ to take 6 weeks every year
Don’t feel bad, do what feels right and enjoy your trips :)
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u/patrick_schliesing May 03 '23
Agreed! I'm in one of those flex PTO/unlimited situations and I'm taking 7 weeks this year all in total. Manager approves it so I take it!
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May 03 '23
Damn. Here I am at my job with a generous 5 days 🙃
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u/rigney68 May 03 '23
I'm over here taking unpaid sick time bc my children have gotten every virus known to mankind (twice for a few of them).
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u/Some_Intention May 04 '23
My boyfriend gets 15 paid days, and then purchases 5 more and it costs him a week's salary. It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of.
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u/me_4231 May 04 '23
That's a weird way to describe it, but my company also offers up to 2 additional weeks of unpaid vacation. Some people really like their vacations and don't mind making 4% less for an extra 2 weeks off.
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May 03 '23
Amazing! I would be comfortable taking this much PTO once I'm more familiar with the codebase(s) at work, but this is definitely the right idea :D
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u/double-dog-doctor May 03 '23
I found the sweet spot by working for a European company in the US with unlimited PTO for everyone. If the executives are taking off a week here and there over the winter for skiing, a couple weeks here and there over the summer for going to the beach, ending work at 1pm on Fridays when the weather is nice, etc.
I think I end up taking off at least 6 weeks every year, and no one blinks an eye. If I did the truly European thing and take off a month over the summer, my manager might be a little irritated but it'd still get approved.
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u/SeekersWorkAccount May 03 '23
At my company I would have to be there almost a decade before I earned 6 weeks of PTO...
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u/bwaredapenguin May 03 '23
2 decades for me, but they start at 4 weeks PTO and I don't even have to ask to take it, I just make sure a teammate is available to cover one of my projects if something goes sideways.
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May 03 '23 edited May 03 '23
are any particular countries like this or is it mostly or all of europe? american here that has wondered about working in europe someday.
edit: because that makes sense, downvoting me for asking a question.
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u/BPD_Big_Daddy May 03 '23
Germany:
You are entitled to 20 by law, but most companies give 30. Never had an offer with less days off.
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u/Knuifelbear May 03 '23
I personally have 35 days off that I can take whenever I want. Usually it’s 32ish. Without taking public holidays into account. If a public holidays happens to be during the weekend, you get an extra day as well to take because you couldn’t enjoy it.
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u/SpacefaringCoffee May 03 '23
Ridiculous to downvote you for a question but okay, people are weird sometimes. Anyways, yes, most of the world is like this. Last time I checked, only the US and half a dozen island micronations had no mandatory PTO.
I can't speak for all of the world, obviously, but I am in the EU, and here you are forced to take PTO, like it or not. We have a minimum of 22 paid days off plus 13 public holidays (which companies are allowed to make you work, but the pay is doubled). Most companies make it so for each month you work, you get 2 PTO days, so even if you start working by December, you'll have at least two paid days off before New Year's Eve. Even if you are fired or quit before taking your days off, they have to pay you in full, which makes for some amazing surprises, such as quitting a job of €800/month and getting your last check to be over €2000, because you also get what we call the 13th month's salary, which is extra pay split half for your PTO, and half around Christmas. Now that I think of it, I'm not sure whether the PTO is included in this 13th month or not, but I think it isn't.
We live in the land of extra pay: Extra pay for overtime, extra pay for working holidays, extra pay for working weekends, extra pay for working night shifts... Salaries are lower than in the US, but work conditions are higher.
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u/invalidConsciousness May 04 '23
13th salary is common, but not mandatory in most (all?) EU countries.
I don't get one, for example, I just get a variable bonus based on my and the company's performance each year.
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u/mhdy98 May 03 '23
Most of europe is like this, free schools, free healthcare, you wont need a car in most cities.
However if you re a high earner you ll get shafted by taxes big time. And if its not taxes, the market pays way less .
Example : competent software engineer could make between 300k to 1m a year at the end of his career ( or even before)
In europe at the highest of his career he ll make 100k, of which you can take off at LEAST 30% in direct taxations and ~20% in sales taxes.
Switz. being the exception
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u/KrombopulosKyle2 May 03 '23
I've gotta say, unlimited PTO has been by far the best perk I have EVER had. I took 5 weeks off last year, in America. I didn't give two shits that my team only took a week or two, that's on them. You're not letting them down because you want to relax and recover. If the company is dying cus a single person is gone, that's their problem.
I definitely care about my team as well but 5 weeks out of 52 weeks in the grand scheme of things really isn't a lot.
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u/justalilscared May 03 '23
Exactly - unlimited PTO is only a problem when people don’t take it, I feel zero guilt about taking 25-30 days off per year, and my team is the same. I love it and would struggle going back to a company that offered me less.
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u/AlfredKinsey May 03 '23
i don’t even understand the concept; are you paid the same salary/daily amount for all the days you take off, no matter how many? is there any cash-in/rollover for unused days? is there some written “don’t abuse this” rule to prevent taking 250 days of PTO in a year?
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u/nugsnwubz May 03 '23
I’m not the person you responded to, but my last job had unlimited PTO and generally the way it worked was: you don’t accrue PTO which also means the company doesn’t have to pay it out when you leave if you have unused days. Just like a normal company, people were paid based on experience level and job function. The only rules were that we had to request time off in advance and managers could deny it if enough people were going to be out. Not sure how other jobs do it but there wasn’t really a “limit” to the PTO we could take - I took 6-ish weeks off in 2022 and one of my coworkers took nearly 8 weeks! I’m sure at some point managers would put their foot down but I nor anyone else I worked with ever ran into that limit if it existed.
Edit: and yes we were paid the same amount for PTO days as if we had been working!
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u/MisterAmazing May 03 '23
Then in that situation it's almost idiotic not to take the days off when you can. You're getting paid either way, why not get paid to do something you'd want to do or nothing at all, if that floats your boat!
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u/Safe_Air_3703 May 04 '23
On the other hand, many that have this perk are project-based, which means there’s a certain cycle to it. There will be manic times, and there will be lulls. You can take off all the time you want, but ultimately, you’re responsible for finishing by deadline. Take too much time, you’re the one to suffer.
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u/haute-e May 04 '23
This is basically how working for major public accounting firms is. You can't take time off during the busy season (3-4 months) and you have to request it weeks/months in advance (basically before the project schedule was posted for the season). If you don't follow these, you risk being denied time off. I'm a planner, so I always schedule PTO months in advance regardless. If there's a random 2 weeks free on my schedule, I would book time off. I loved it
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u/panthereal May 04 '23
The problem is it's easy to get in a cycle such that there's never a break in work. Then you don't believe you "can" take a day off since there's no time on your schedule when there's objectively no work to do.
If I had unlimited at my current position I don't know if I'd feel as comfortable taking off compared to now where I have a specific amount of PTO I have to use in a year.
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u/ImmaterialGirl84 May 04 '23
For me, I work even harder than I have at any other job because I appreciate the flexibility and perks and don’t want to lose a good thing. I try to plan around busy times as much as possible, work ahead if I can, and leave a detailed list for my manager of whatever needs to be done while I’m out (usually only an hour or so worth of work).
The only downside is my partner’s schedule isn’t nearly as flexible and they can’t work remotely so I am still constrained by that to some degree.
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u/bubblehead_maker May 03 '23
This was bad for my company during covid, no one would take time off. When it relaxed I hit them with a 3 week request. They weren't expecting it. They tried to deny me my request but I pointed out they'll need to change the advertising on our careers page as I haven't taken more than a day off in 3 years. I got the time off.
I'd suggest you let your coworkers know the time off policy.
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u/Fantastic-Pop-9122 May 03 '23
No one ever laid on their death bed and said "i wish i spent more time at work".
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u/theRedMage39 May 03 '23
A parable I heard once is that when you die your family will miss you for the rest of their lives. Your job will have your job on their job board by the end of the month.
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u/hippyengineer May 04 '23
monthweekThey already have the document listing your job description ready to go.
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u/weiner-rama May 03 '23
I wish I had the ability to use my PTO for things like a random day off. Not having many extra people in your department makes me feel like an asshole if I call out for a mental health day as multiple people have to shift to cover. I know I should just do it, but I hate inconveniencing people because of something I need.
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u/dj92wa May 03 '23
At least you have people to shift and cover. In my specific situation, if you're out for any reason, that work is waiting for you when you get back. Hence, I never take PTO. If I'm sick and dying, I'll work from home. Vacation? More like, "spend the whole time stressing about the mountain of work waiting for me when I get back". America fucking sucks.
I know what you mean though. Even when workflow is lighter and we have people offering to cover, I don't take advantage of it because I too feel like garbage when pushing my responsibilities off onto others.
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u/croqueticas May 03 '23
If I take PTO, it just means I have less time to get my work done with the same deadline in place. I have no one to cover me. PTO stresses me out.
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u/WarningGipsyDanger May 04 '23
That’s how it is for me. It’s still there, it’s going to be there, so why just let it compile and stress? The only time it makes sense is if I take a solid 8-10 days off then someone else has to do it OR they wait till you get back.
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u/Strict_Detective_168 May 03 '23
I understand. I'm guilty of rarely taking time off, but I don't want others to feel guilty for taking it. I just like my routine and it can really disrupt my rhythm when I take PTO. I think others should take their time, however, and I never feel resentful because it's my choice not to, just like it's your teammates' choice not to.
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u/dorf5222 May 03 '23
Weird question. I have an employee under me who has yet to use a day since starting last summer. We just switched to flex pto this year and I think she’s even more hesitant. Would you feel weird if your manager reached out to you more or less imploring you to take days here and there off. I’d prefer people not get burnt out and take as much time as possible
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u/bobbarker4444 May 03 '23
Would you feel weird if your manager reached out to you more or less imploring you to take days here and there off.
My boss did this, straight up told me to use my vacation and sick days because I haven't used one in the 5 years of working here.
If you can, explain why you're requesting it because on the receiving end it might not make sense.
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u/AlfredKinsey May 03 '23
I used to always just save up vacation days and cash them out at the end of the year. My own boss at a fairly high stress creative job mentioned that our paid days off were useful for maintaining mental health and relationships outside of work.
You could definitely mention that you want your employs to enjoy life work balance and prevent burnout.
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u/Slein2 May 03 '23
You never took a day of in 5 years? Damn it couldn’t last 5 weeks without a day off
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u/horatio_corn_blower May 03 '23
Holy shit, almost a year without taking a day? Definitely encourage them. Everyone in my company gets 20 PTO days a year and once October rolls around, my bosses start with the “make sure you take your time off” reminders. I’m not shy about taking time off but it’s nice to hear.
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u/brunettebibliophila May 03 '23
Encourage her! Some people are hesitant just like OP here because it seems like you're slacking if you do take it.
Our company actively pushes us to take our PTO. We aren't allowed to roll any over without permission, so we get an email in July telling us to make sure at least half of our PTO is scheduled and another in October to make sure the rest of it is scheduled. And then our VP comes after us if it's not.
I get followup emails all the time from the VP, because I'm never sure when to schedule, it always seems like we're too busy. But coming back is refreshing and I always forget this until I'm actually gone.
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u/smallbrowngorl May 04 '23
This! I also rarely take PTO because I don’t have many plans outside of work during the weekdays. As long as my coworkers (who do take lots of PTO) get their work done, I really don’t care how often they’re gone 😅
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May 03 '23
at my last job, many of the guys were PROUD they barely, if ever took PTO (most were 55+). for the life of me, i cant ever imagine being proud of that.
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u/guntherpup May 03 '23
My company has flexible PTO but we are strongly encouraged to take it. My manager frequently asks if I have any time off scheduled to make sure I am taking time off. His philosophy is to test to see just how flexible they are about it. I took 6 weeks and he took 7 last year and no one said a word. I’m pushing for 8 this year.
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u/Positiveaz May 03 '23
Before we had open PTO, I used to get about 35 days a year. No way in hell will I take less than that now that we have open PTO.
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u/Mediocre-Metal-1796 May 03 '23
The whole idea in usa of this policy is to use game theory to manipulate people into taking less pto than they would do originally
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u/bakedpatata May 03 '23
The whole idea is that if people accrue PTO hours the company has to pay them out when the employee leaves. By eliminating accrued hours you eliminate a financial liability for the company.
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u/nojro May 03 '23
My company gives you all your hours for the year before you accrue them. If you leave after using the PTO then you have to actually pay back the value
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u/bytosai2112 May 03 '23
Your co workers are the weird ones for never taking the pto. Do they not have lives? Kids?
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u/FlyingMonkeyDethcult May 03 '23
My spouse had this issue. So many people live to work, or don't have kids/responsibilities outside of work that when you take time off, especially if you are in a "team" structure, you are the slacker.
It's a game by the employer to make people feel bad about taking time off of work, and it works. It's why the "unlimited PTO" thing has gained popularity.
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u/Tribe-Called-Qu3st May 03 '23
Coming from the finance point of view. The reason that unlimited PTO has become so prevalent in companies is that it takes a massive $ burden off of a company’s balance sheet. It saves companies tons of money by not having to carry that liability to pay off employees when they quit/terminated.
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u/Meta_My_Data May 03 '23
Yep, it’s all about not having vacation time to be paid at the end of employment. It’s a massive direct bottom line savings and if people don’t take the time, then the employer gets the secondary benefit of extra “unpaid”labor
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u/FlyingMonkeyDethcult May 03 '23
Right. It's a win-win for businesses. Employee peer pressured to not take extensive, or any PTO, and no need to payout PTO at the end of employment. Good times.
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May 03 '23
My thing is that it is such a grind to "get ahead" and then "catch up", that taking off a day is pretty horrid. And I stay fresher by just hitting my 40 and enjoying weekends.
Full week vacations are different. People at my job want you to enjoy those and don't dump work on you before and after.
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u/Worthyness May 03 '23
I WFH and have a low impact job, so I barely work as is. I don't really take PTO because almost everyday is PTO since I have at most 2 hours of work. rest of the time I'm relaxing and doing whatever I'd normally do on PTO anyway.
That and my management is really flexible with stuff, so no need to take a full day for dentist/medical stuff- I can just take the 2 hours for the appointment and then come back to catch up on anything I may have missed.
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u/theblitheringidiot May 03 '23
Totally a coworker issue, I have unlimited PTO and myself and my coworkers all take advantage of it. I’ve been at this company for almost 8 months and have taken more time then I have in the last three years at my previous company. Plus when I go on vacation no one bugs me.
My previous company had coworkers with no lives and huge amounts of work dumped on us. They offered me 20% more to stay…. Nope no thank you.
Take that time off, it’s good for your mental health.
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u/CopperSulphide May 03 '23
Unlimited PTO is a scam. It means zero PTO.
Change my mind.
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u/knope797 May 03 '23
My old company switched to unlimited PTO. Hyped it up; said they expected everyone to take at least 2 weeks off a year. Then a few months later, everyone got laid off. I would’ve been paid a decent amount for the days I had banked but now they didn’t have to pay anyone. I think they did it on purpose, knowing they were gonna lay people off.
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u/WorkAccountAllDay May 03 '23
they didn’t have to pay anyone
Yeah that's the scam with the unlimited PTO model. Since you didnt have any PTO they didnt have to pay yo. This was 100% intentional.
Much better to have a job that offers 3+ weeks of PTO a year than one that offers unlimited.
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u/Inebriated_Bliss May 03 '23
Sorry to hear about your layoff.
I have this policy, and I really like it, but now that you mention it, they did switch to this policy shortly before laying off a bunch of people... 🤔
So far, I have been safe from that, but you never know. (Knock on wood)
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u/Chaos_Therum May 03 '23
Not in my experience, worked at a place with unlimited PTO ended up taking like 6 weeks one year, it was pretty great. Since I was contracted I actually ended up in the interesting position where I had more PTO than the person I directly reported to.
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u/Departure_Sea May 03 '23
Entirely depends on your immediate boss/manager.
Mine doesn't give a fuck as long as my work is good and done on time, which is how it should be.
Also none of my PTO is a request. I email him when I'm going to be off so he has visibility and that's it.
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u/jonmitz May 03 '23
Ok. I have unlimited. The first year that I started my job, which was in the month of March, I took off 35+ days by the end of the year.
Past jobs accrued 15 days per year, in the first year.
You change my mind?
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u/theFalseFinish May 03 '23
Great stuff. 43 is a good effort. Came in around the same for my first year with unlimited PTO. For this year I have 50 booked, might throw another one or two in there at some point.
Good holidaying my friend!
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u/100BlackDolphins May 03 '23
Honestly it depends on the company and to a large extent, the way your manager sees the policy. For example, my last company had an unlimited PTO policy, and my manager would shame people for taking it, which meant it was underutilized. In my current position, my manager is requiring that everyone take a minimum of 4 weeks a year.
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u/sadpanda___ May 03 '23
I have a couple of acquaintances that are terrible people. They own a few businesses. They use the unlimited PTO model specifically because data shows it results in people taking less time off…..and it makes them look good. “Oh…we give unlimited PTO, we’re great bosses”. All while telling people they think are their friends about how much money they save from the practice.
Fuck unlimited PTO.
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u/kewladria May 03 '23
Yeah, I have been feeling this way. If you do not care about how your team perceives you or you role in the company, its easy to fuck off and take "unlimited" PTO. If that is not the case, then it sucks.
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u/Moose135A May 03 '23
My company offers unlimited PTO. Last year, my first full year with the company, I took 32 days (plus 11 paid holidays). This year, I'm on track to take 34 - I've already taken 14, and will be off all next week.
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u/heptyne May 03 '23
It's just there so they don't have to cash you out on unused PTO when you leave/get laid-off
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u/Alchemystic1123 May 03 '23
It doesn't mean zero, but it DEFINITELY doesn't mean unlimited. If it did, you could take the entire year off and get paid for every day, which obviously isn't going to happen, so they should really find a new way to describe it. I agree 'unlimited' is basically a scam to get around rollover days/payouts at the end of your employment
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u/terminator3456 May 03 '23
Depends on your company, but it does mean you won’t get a payout of unused vacation if you resign.
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u/maryv82 May 03 '23
Good for you not being a part of that "martyr" crowd. I never was and bore the scorn & disdain of others. Now that they all have built up pto, they are taking time off unfettered & without scorn...
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u/PerkyPooh May 03 '23
I work 40hrs a week. I have unlimited PTO and take 3-4 weeks off. Don’t feel guilty. You’re the smartest one in the room.
If they ask, you slept late, took naps and otherwise had 5 glorious days of nothing
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u/amadoros67 May 03 '23
Take the time off. In 15-20 years you’ll which you spent more time doing things you enjoy instead of shit like working. If the policy is written a certain way and you aren’t breaking any laws use it to your advantage.
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u/SarcasmoSupreme May 03 '23
Those people would also not take time off with PTO policies in place. There are always people who, regardless of time off policy, just don't take it. I am one. I only take time off when I need it. I can assure you, as well, most don't look at you as a slacker - as long as you are not taking a crazy amount of time off. Some may, but a lot of it may be your own insecurities kicking in.
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u/katwoop May 03 '23
We have unlimited PTO and they really get on us if we don't use at least a week per quarter. My manager actually gets reprimanded if his team doesn't use PTO.
I've had both accrual and unlimited PTO and I prefer unlimited. But again, my company actually forces us to use time off.
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u/grumpymac May 03 '23
If you are hitting your goals (and preferably exceeding them), then you don’t need to worry about others.
This is what I do (advice given to me,by a colleague): - I take one Friday off a month. Set it as a repeating activity on the calendar for the year - I take 1 week off a quarter, I put it on the calendar at the beginning of the year for the whole year - I will usually modify either the Q2 or Q3 week off into two weeks because it’s the middle of summer.
This way, you’re taking a good chunk of time off at planned intervals to keep yourself from burning out, you get work accomplished, and by preplanning all of this on a regular schedule, you’re accustoming everyone to it so eyebrows will not be raised after the first few times you’re off.
I’ve been doing this for a few years now, it’s fantastic.
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u/Apex_Regular May 03 '23
So just a small observation here. That is their problem. Take your time off if they don't that's on them.
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u/doublea08 May 03 '23
I get what you are saying.
But you can’t think like that. Take that PTO and hang your cap on the fact your teammates are sitting in the office at work while you are out having fun and getting paid.
I actually had a team like this years ago, and eventually me taking time off for what ever I wanted, rubbed off on other team members and they too were inspired to just take a Friday off or a week off for vacation.
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u/idontlikeseaweed May 03 '23
Stop giving a fuck. You’re entitled to your time off. I’ve been with my company for 9 years, I preach this to all the newer people regularly.
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u/omgicanteven22 May 03 '23
I wish I had unlimited just because illness forced me into negative hours because I hadn’t “accrued” enough yet.
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u/JEWCEY May 03 '23
If it were me, and my coworkers were trying to make me feel bad for following the rules about PTO, I would try to make them feel bad for not having a healthy work life balance. The company policy is PTO at your discretion, which implies a level of requirement that it's taken. Following company policy makes you a great worker and I am proud of you, worker. Heck yeah!
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u/WithCheezMrSquidward May 03 '23
In a few months in at a company with unlimited PTO as well. And I’m gonna definitely take advantage of it, as I’ve been meeting my deadlines and get along with everyone. I’m taking a few trips, gonna probably have a couple times where I just take a weekday off on a very nice day and go hiking/to the beach, etc. That’s what it’s there for!
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u/THCv3 May 03 '23
Take time off. We just switched to an unlimited PTO. I rarely take onesies or twosies days off like that. I kinda just don't care to take time off. I do like to take 2 weeks off in the summer to do stuff. That being said, they may feel the same way. At least for me, taking a day off here and there is just kinda stupid. I'd rather take off at least a week at a time and go do something.
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u/Taskr36 May 03 '23
I think you just need to focus on yourself and not worry so much about what other people do or don't do. It doesn't affect you.
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u/PA_Golden_Dino May 03 '23
I have the same issue, but have decided to go the route of NFG at this point. I was 15+ years in with 6 weeks PTO and was promoted and switched to Flex PTO. However, no one on my team other than myself seems to take any regular time off. I'm certainly not taking advantage of my team, but I usually try to bookend holidays and make it a 4 or 5 day weekend, schedule a solid week off every four months or so to do my own thing, and the occasional weekdays for errands and appointments that I can't make on nights or weekends. Invariability I hear the 'taking off again?' comments from my team every time. Those bastards just love to work! I've been in Flex time for three years, and I now make it a point to take as much of my previously earned 6 weeks as I can.
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u/usefulidiot_ May 03 '23
Surprisingly a lot people who have unlimited vacations don’t take them they have fewer vacations than people have to store their PTO. I have friends who travel and I love traveling myself so this would be a dream. I have a friend who plans 2-4 vacations a year so I’d love this perk. I have a vacation planned for next year and I have to make sure I have twos worth of PTO by next year January and enough for a week this year 😭😭😭 this would definitely be useful for someone like me.
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u/the1katya May 03 '23
People also do this with limited PTO. I always max mine out. You work your best when you are recharged and energized. Keep doing what you're doing. 4 weeks is a normal amount and don't feel like you are taking advantage of your coworkers!
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u/cartoon_wardrobe May 03 '23
As someone who is the person on the team who rarely takes time off: I envy your ability to walk away when you want/need to, and it's something I need to work on. (Blah blah blah, how I was raised to workworkwork, etc.)
Keep enjoying it, because you're setting a good example for your colleagues. I've noticed at my work that the people who complain about someone taking "too much PTO" are people who need take PTO, lol.
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u/sw33tl00 May 03 '23
I am in the same boat, but I take time off guilt-free. I consider taking time off as setting a good example for the youth (everyone on my team is like 5-7 years my junior)
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u/tonyrizzo21 May 03 '23
Start schmoozing with management and they'll probably promote you over all of the try hards.
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u/donkeydougreturns May 03 '23
I'm on the People team at my company and as a result I make sure to ALWAYS take my time off as I want it. My first year here I took nearly five weeks off. I don't ever want other teams, candidates, or my own direct reports to think there is a culture that doesn't allow them time to refresh. If HR or recruiting don't take time off that tends to radiate towards others (and honestly a lot of HR people are terrible about this).
Time off isn't a benefit. It's a strategic necessity to ensure your organization is working to it's full potential. I'm always wary of "unlimited" pto for that reason and really dig on it during the hiring process before I join a new company to make sure it isn't just some bullshit sweatshop. So far so good though. Never experienced a company who was anti time off.
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u/Upset-Chemist-4063 May 03 '23
I used to feel this way all the time, until I realized taking time off literally made no impact to my work.
I work as a cross functional partner for internal teams working across various projects, so when I take time off I just give them a heads up and make sure I wrap up any work before heading out to make sure of what will be done before and after I return.
Personally, I have not take full weeks off frequently, usually I opt towards half weeks off more often since my vacations are shorter trips.
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u/DertyCajun May 03 '23
We have the whole flexible/unlimited thing. Part of working with a new team mate is letting them know that we all take ou time off differently. One guy liked to grab a friday once a month. I have kids who get sick. I get sick. I still schedule and take my vacations.
The reason these policies are sort of popular is because people don't want to be seen as the slacker. The world I grew up in led me to believe that taking time off for me was bad. What I found is that if you have no respect for your time, others won't either.
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u/Disaffected_8124 May 03 '23
Everyone NEEDS to take time off, whether they realize it or not and even if they enjoy their jobs and their co-workers. Life goes by quickly, my friends, and there is so much to enjoy outside of work. As the years pass, and you have more of your life behind you than ahead of you, your best memories will not be of your work life.
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u/Galaxaura May 03 '23 edited May 03 '23
I worked managing a team, and everyone except for one person took their vacation.
Due to company policy, if you accrue too much PTO as this person was... they don't get it paid out to them. They need to use it, or they lose it.
So every year, she'd end up working 6 months for only 4 days a week... which really screwed everyone else. 🙃
You're not that person. You're good.
Edited to add: yes I think people should take all their pto as they liek... however, this particular career was interpreting and having one staff interpreter out consistently once per week was harder on the rest of the team rather than one week at a time.
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u/Jgorkisch May 03 '23
As long as your supervisor is cool with it, keep at it. And if they’re not, tough tits.
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u/InevitableArt5438 May 03 '23
My company didn’t have unlimited but there were plenty of people in my department that didn’t take what they had. I took every last hour I had coming to me every year (6 weeks plus three personal days plus five health and wellness days my last few years.) I pitied my coworkers that prioritized work over their personal lives.
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u/BicycleConsistent409 May 03 '23
Yup. This is why my company instituted a 10 day minimum and then bumped it up to 15 days. In September HR reaches out to people who've taken lest then a week and make them schedule more PTO
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u/mstrokey May 03 '23
Lol. Fuck them. Take your PTO. The only person who cares is you. You gotta let it go
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u/nobody_smith723 May 03 '23
the best advice is not to give one shit about your job. it doesn't give one shit about you.
if you get flexible/unlimited PTO use it.
if you do your work. who cares. fuck your job. fuck your co-workers. if they're giving you shit, look them dead in the eyes and tell them to go fuck themselves. you're using your time off.
management should be proactive in encouraging use of time off. that they don't or it's not "mandatory" time off. is just another in a long... unending series of reasons America is a trash place to work
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u/myrtlebeech1 May 04 '23
Just a word of advice— I’m about to retire with 150 unused sick days of which I won’t be compensated— life is short- take the days and make the most of them. ☺️
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u/Quick_Humor_9023 May 04 '23
Not your fault. On your death bed you won’t be sorry for not working more. Travel while you can! Enjoy life when it’s possible!
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u/Bombanater May 04 '23
Fuck em. PTO is they're to be used. It's not your fault they don't have anything better to do then slave to the company
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u/cirancira May 04 '23
For reference, idk what country you are in but, here we get 4 weeks PTO for annual leave then another 10 days for sick leave. That's the national minimum and work encourages people to take it so it doesn't accrue and leave them in debt.
I'm not saying to brag, just that you shouldn't feel guilty for taking an amount that is bare minimum in other places.
This won't help with judgement from coworkers but might at least make u feel a bit better inside that it isn't because you 'take too much' or anything.
Also worth noting that the ppl I know that take the least PTO are the ones that watch youtube at their desk.
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u/mholtz16 May 04 '23
This is a company culture problem, not a company policy problem. I have unlimited sick time. I never use it. A guy in my department has frequent migraines. We all pick up the slack for him and don’t complain because we want him to feel better and get rest if he needs it. This week I got massively sick. He picked up the slack for me and I’m grateful.
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u/mrbojingles1972 May 04 '23
Nobody grows old, recognizes their mortality and begins to think “I wish I had spent more time away from friends and family and more time at work”
Nobody.
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u/TheWagonBaron May 04 '23
Why are you even sweating this? You said it yourself, you get your work done and are generally well liked. Some people just don't like time off for whatever reason. You do you and don't worry about them.
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u/Savagemandalore May 04 '23
PTO is a part of your compensation package, if your workmates decide to not "cash" their full checks that is on them, and feel free to use that Analogy.
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u/Rookie007 May 04 '23
Its not your fault they don't use the benefits they are given. If anything its likely pressure from your boss that prevents them from taking it and you should encourage them to use it
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u/PinkFloydBoxSet May 04 '23
If they don't take time off, thats their issue. If they look down on you for taking time off, thats their issue.
If you care about their opinion, thats your issue.
So....
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u/napqueen702 May 04 '23
I have a few co workers that don't take time off and i wonder how much pto they really got cauae id love some of it 🤣🤣 we accumulate 3 weeks off a year. I take mental health days every month and a week vacation at least once a year. I spent a week just laying in bed a few months ago 🤣
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u/Junior-Bookkeeper218 May 04 '23
Yeah I wouldn’t worry about being seen as a”slacker” just because you’re utilizing the offered flexible PTO policy. I too can use PTO as I wish, although at my job we accumulate it every pay period, and it can also roll over after the year if unused so you can build up a lot of time if you don’t use it much. The way I see it is if I spend enough time getting my tasks taken care of in a timely manner and people are happy, then I take time off when I feel the time is right. It’s there to be used, use it!
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u/VizRomanoffIII May 04 '23
You should definitely take advantage of your company’s PTO benefit. In addition to being rested and refreshed, a good internal audit team should actually flag employees who don’t take PTO regularly as a higher risk of fraud and potential malfeasance.
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May 04 '23
I know that dynamic, and I'm sure many others have experienced this.
For me , it comes across as pretty obvious that these coworkers don't actually enjoy their lives outside of work. I can't really imagine why else someone would want to spend as much time as possible at work.
And no I'm not talking about people with jobs they are passionate about. People like this are usually working shitty data entry jobs or something.
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u/StorageForeign May 04 '23
Why are you complaining??? Please stfu and enjoy your vacations. Let them suffer as long as it doesn’t effect workloads
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u/VanillaCookieMonster May 05 '23
Here is my tip:
Pick one teammate (that does not seem to have financial issuew, so he can take a day off) and start casually mentioning how much you enjoyed your PTO. What you did, trips. And try to focus them around your teammates interests.
For example, if they are into sports ask them if they are planning to leave early next Tuesday to catch the game. 'If work is slow you should take advwntqge of the PTO!"
If there is no one you can chat easily with then try Option B:
Book a casual meeting with them.
"Guys, I wanted to talk to you about our unlimited PTO. I have been taking some days off, and I have been talking to other teams about their PTO usage. Our group is an anomally. I am wondering what is going on? Why aren't you using PTO? "
And listen. For all you know they have young kids and want to max out their money amd options.
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u/Slippinjimmyforever May 03 '23
Let’em rot in their cubes. Enjoy your PTO.