Why do employees opt not to take their vacation time? (employer, job)
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For me, my Job doesn't have PTO, so taking long vacations is something I rarely do. If I do decide to take a vacation, I make it a short weekend vacation usually.
I may not go on an actual "vacation" but I always use my time off, every bit of it. It's a benefit of the company and I use it. I need time just to get away from work and take care of some things in my personal life. Even if its just cleaning the house and doing laundry. I absolutely use it. I get 3 weeks. 2 of the weeks I must take in a week increment, and the 3rd week I can break up into days. A day off here and there is a godsend.
I always take my vacation... because if I don't use it... I lose it.
I think most people fall in this boat. If you get paid vacation, you take it, even if you just sit at home all day watching TV while on "vacation." Unless you're a workaholic, there's no reason to work for someone else when you don't have to.
I am paid at the end of the year for vacation days I don't take, so I typically don't take all of mine and get the extra money. I never use all of my sick days because I am not sick that often and I am not going to lie to my company and say I am sick when I am not.
That being said, I still check email and return a few phone calls when on vacation. Spending an hour or two responding to email keeps me from having to stay late to catch up when I get back.
In my last thread, we had some good discussion on work/life balance, as it pertains to checking work emails on personal time. Many of you agreed with me that we need to draw a line between the personal and professional -- at least for those of us who work in a typical 8-5 office setting which normally does not entail dealing with life-and-death emergencies.
According to this article (as well as the general anecdotal evidence I hear through the office grapevine), more and more Americans do not even take the vacation time that their employers have provided for them, that they have rightfully earned:
Why do you think this is so? Look, as I have stated previously, I don't hate my job. But I don't love it, either. It's a funding mechanism for me to spend time with my family and pursue my hobbies during off-clock hours. Nothing more. My boss definitely doesn't have to call me twice when it's time to go at 5:00. And if, at the end of the year, I have earned 'X' number of off days, you can bet your next meal that I will have no problems taking them. I would even posit that not doing work when off the clock, getting outside and getting fresh air on weekends, and spending my vacation time with my family or pursuing a hobby actually makes me a better employee during the 40 hours I am there, as it provides some much needed recharging time.
Many are in a situation where if they go out on vacation they put themselves so far behind it is more stressful to spend the next few weeks catching up than the relief they gain from the vacation. I think it's typically easier to take half weeks instead of full weeks. So Take off Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and go on a 4 day vacation. This way you can get away, but at the same time you really aren't putting yourself completely behind in your work.
This only makes sense if you can either roll over vaca days or get paid for unused days. Other than that, you are a chump of the highest order if you don't use all of your rightfully earned vaca days. Got a few chumps in my office.
This only makes sense if you can either roll over vaca days or get paid for unused days. Other than that, you are a chump of the highest order if you don't use all of your rightfully earned vaca days. Got a few chumps in my office.
Yep, this! In my old job vacation days didn't roll over and people still didn't take them. At my current job vacation rolls over and you can cash out whatever you have net of 80 hours (after cashing out you need to have 80 hours left over). Basically you don't take any vacation time in 1 year and every year after that you can cash out your 80 hours! Some people do this...some people just have nothing to do and no where to go.
I would think a good number don't like their families and really have no desire to take a vacation with them :-/
This only makes sense if you can either roll over vaca days or get paid for unused days. Other than that, you are a chump of the highest order if you don't use all of your rightfully earned vaca days. Got a few chumps in my office.
Not necessarily. Sometimes you have to pay your dues for a few years to get a certain promotion or raise. If you knew that if you only took 75% of your vacation days, put in a few hours of unpaid overtime that you could get a 25-50% pay increase over the next five years, wouldn't it be worth it to pay your dues so that you can enjoy a dramatically higher salary later?
Some people don't take vacation because they are working towards a better job, and putting in that extra effort is what it takes to get the pay increase that they want.
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