Why am I writing about vacation in the fall of 2022? Well, for a few reasons:
Reason #1
My husband and I recently took a weeklong vacation to attend the Greyhounds Reach the Beach® event held every October in Southern Delaware. We’ve been going for as long as I remember—even when I first started HR Resolutions. We would attend mid-week to mid-week, so I didn’t need to miss an entire week of work. Post COVID, it has morphed into a multi-week trip. This year? We stayed in Delaware for a month! Our routine? Barry surf fishes in the morning and I work. He’s happy; I’m happy. The hounds? They sleep. Honestly, greyhounds sleep an estimated 20 hours a day—do not let their speed fool you!
Reason #2
I need to start blogging again and what better topic to write about than vacation. It’s a topic that everyone can relate to, and you don’t need to be in HR to be interested in the topic. You don’t need to manage people to be interested in the topic. If you do manage people, you should be interested in the topic.
Reason #3
Vacation is important. It goes beyond “just” being a perk. Imagine a car running 24/7 with no break. How long is that car going to be functional?
Reason #4
Vacation is a very popular ask from our clients. How much should we offer? Should we go to unlimited PTO? Won’t people take advantage? Should we call it PTO or vacation?
My original blog about vacation was written more than 15 years ago (see excerpts below). Not surprising, the work environment, HR, and I have all changed since then. Here’s a glimpse of just how much:
Sounds relaxing, doesn’t it? Do you look forward to the time away from work? Do you recognize how relaxed you will be when you return? Are you ready to tackle those new projects with 110% of your energy and focus?
- Today’s commentary: Since remote and hybrid work has become more popular, I can work wherever I’m located (i.e. Southern Delaware for an entire month.) I am energized not only from taking a week with my husband, hounds, and friends, but also from the change in location. The beach is my happy place!
Are you like lots of people who worry more about time out of the office than they worry about hours in the office? Most employees face their greatest stress during the first few days back from vacation or the few days leading up to a vacation. All the work we attempt to handle in anticipation of our vacation leads to longer hours/extra days. Then, when we return, no one was doing our work while we were out, so we have last week’s work to do along with this week’s work! Or, worse yet, the blackberry and laptop become just another family member when we’re away.
- Today’s commentary: So, when I’m actually and truly disconnecting, the week before and the week after can be brutal. I’m blessed by a staff that handles most of my work while I’m out, but I still need to get them ready, and I have to catch up with them when I get back. (Hah! Blackberry…now that’s funny!)
Even the definition of vacation (thank you Merriam-Webster) sounds relaxing: “a period spent away.” For your own peace of mind, for your health and for the good of the company—take your vacation! Set yourself up for success while you are out and when you return. Take advantage of “extended” voice mail message options and use the “out-of-office” automatic response in your e-mail systems. If you feel you must take calls, have one person take all your calls and only forward urgent/critical calls to you. Only turn the phone on once a day or every other day.
- Today’s commentary: Not too long ago, the most important thing I learned from working with a professional coach was that I could not take care of others unless and until I took care of myself. Please stop and think about that. Phrased differently: If you’re not taking care of yourself, how will you take care of others?
Employers: Encourage your employees to use their vacation benefit. It’s good for them and it’s good for you by providing more relaxed, better focused employees who have had the opportunity to take a break.
Now, let me answer the burning questions in Reason #4 above:
How much should we offer? How much are your competitors offering? Not just your direct competitors but the market where you are hiring. You are competing against other businesses in your area. HR Resolutions, as a small employer, starts at one (1) day per month during the first year. The number is not right or wrong— there is a cost to offering vacation.
Should we go to unlimited PTO? Won’t people take advantage? Truth be told, at HR Resolutions, after one year of employment, time off is unlimited and I still can’t get people to take time off! Now, you do need to set parameters such as how will unlimited PTO work if someone is out for surgery? You are the one that sets the rules. What if someone takes advantage? Have an honest and real conversation with them about expectations. You are the one that sets the rules.
Should we call it PTO or vacation? Honestly, it’s just semantics. However, in some states, you must pay out accrued and unused vacation but may not be required to pay out sick leave (as an example.) If you go to a PTO model, you will need to pay out the total bucket.
Got questions about your time off policies? We’d love to have a conversation. Time off should be viewed as a part of your company’s total compensation package, retention plan, and culture!
