Spin-Off from Work Hours: Do You Take Your Vacation Time?

[ronandannette]

And if not, why not?

I get 5 weeks a year (25 days) - started with 3, got an extra week at 5 years and 10 years. I take every single day and sometimes borrow against next year (which we are allowed on a case-by-case basis). I take at least 1 actual week-long vacation per year, sometimes more and extend several long weekends. Most of my days are used to attend to family and/or personal needs. Our company does not offer personal days or flex days. We are allowed 7 sick days per year; any excess is deducted from vacation time. Unused days do carry over, but it's use-or-lose after 5 years.

 

[aprilchem]

I voted other - we don't have vacation days or sick days where I work. You just sort of come and go as you please, and nobody says anything as long as you are doing your job. So I take a lot of "vacation time" (I'm planning to only work for four weeks between June-August), but nobody writes it down or anything.

 

[Klayfish]

Without a doubt, yes. I work hard and use the vacation I'm given. I used to bank it and just work, but as I've gotten older my feelings have changes.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Prior to this year, our days were use them or lose them, so I always took all. I did carry several into 2017 with our new policy. I get 3 weeks. Had 4 weeks at another job & almost always carried some over.

A typical year for me, I take a week+ in the Summer for a family vacation & another week at Christmas break (our company shuts down). And then whatever is left I take here & there.

 

[YachtClubWoman]

I said yes - but my company's policy is unlimited vacation time. It is the best!

 

[Julie's Haircut]

I've always taken every minute of my allotted vacation time. I'm hit the maximum of 6 weeks after 25 years a few years ago and it's use it or lose it. No carry over. I usually take 3 or 4 fulls weeks scattered throughout the year, and the rest as individual days.

 

[sonnyjane]

Oh HECK yeah. I get two paid weeks a year and then any other vacation I want to take is unpaid, but that's a great perk. Last year I probably ended up taking about six weeks off total. I'd rather make less but have flexibility to travel! It's so important to step away from work for a little while to refresh yourself.

 

[E&Cmom]

I have only been there since the summer but yes we are encouraged to use our vacation time . My first ones are In March and I am very ready for them!

 

[Jennasis]

I am self employed so no Paid time off...in fact, there isn't really ANY time off. Though we did decide in 2014 to buy DVC to force ourselves to go on vacation once a year. So we go on vacation but don't get paid. In fact, I have to hire people to take over our business while we are away so vacations cost me a LOT.

 

[tasha99]

I voted no paid vacation, but I budget 3-4 months into my life. I don't want regular full time work because they never let me off as much as I want. Contracts or on call jobs work better for taking a lot of time off

 

[Chelley00]

I am required by the bylaws to take all vacation allotted to me (I'm in a financial position and the rules are there to help eliminate fraud - people who are embezzling tend to stick around to stay on guard I guess is the reasoning).

I hurriedly took a week and a day off in December because we canceled a trip last year and I went to work that week so I wouldn't stay home and cry All of the sudden it's December and I still had vacation days I had to use.

 

[Turn the Page]

I only work during the summer and am a SAHM the rest of the year so I don't get paid vacation.

DH gets 4 weeks a year but generally takes 3 weeks and is paid a bonus for the fourth week. I don't think he can bank it until the next year but I never asked, it hasn't been an issue before.

 

[nicolita3]

I take some of it, I can bank up to 120 hours of vacation and 100 sick. Its just really stressful sometimes to take a vacation. There are only 2 of us in my department so I usually have to work overtime the week before and after my vacation. I've only taken a week off at a time.

 

[disney4us2002]

I earn about 4 weeks between vacation and personal days and I typically take most of them. We also have the option to earn comp time and those hours cannot be saved so I take them as individual days periodically. I have used very little sick leave and it can accumulate and count toward years in with the state so I have more than 600 hrs of sick. At least if (God forbid) I needed surgery I would have a good amount of time to take off for recovery. We have 8 in my specific team so we can all take off except for 2 for coverage. I like two weeks together over summer, Thanksgiving week and the week between Christmas and New Year's.

 

[Christine]

We can bank some hours but anything over is use or lose. So I always take the use or lose amount every year. Even if I don't go anywhere. I would never allow myself to lose it.

 

[indimom]

We accrue both sick and vacation/comp time at a set ratio and they roll over year to year. I haven't used any sick days since I started over 3 years ago. I've got about five weeks banked there if I ever need it. Thanks to people using their sick time for vacations, we now have rules that you must have a doctor's note OR the first two days must be taken from your comp bank. Annoying, since I'm often only sick for a day or two, and not enough to bother going to the doctor.

My comp time is used for vacations and to cover days when I'm called off due to a low census. I didn't take any vacations during my first two years at this job. But I've taken two trips since last June.
I probably won't take any time for the rest of this year or next year. The two vacations plus several call-offs left me with about 40 hours in my comp bank and I prefer to keep it in the 60+ range for emergencies. Also, we're going to be busy with preparing kid #2 for college, so I doubt we'll have time to take off.

The biggest hitch in our comp "rules" is you must have the time in your bank when you request your time off, and only two staff members per floor can take time off at the same time. So, if you want a particular summer vacation date in July (when everyone with kids is taking off), you have to have the hours in your bank as early as Dec-Jan to make your request or other staff members will have the week booked before you.

 

[SanderMC]

I voted yes but technically I do bank. I receive 34 days a year as a combined vacation/sick time. We can roll over up to 5 days into the next calendar year however if we don't use those by the end of March we lose them. So generally I will roll over 4-5 days only because I don't want to be caught at the end of the year sick with no days left to use. However I always end up using all my vacation. Normally I'll end up taking a week in March to ensure I use them all.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I don't get paid vacation time, but I can take a few weeks off whenever I need to, so I take vacation time when I need a break and when I can afford to miss some of my paycheck. I usually work a couple days of overtime to make up the difference.

I also usually have 4-5 days off in a row, so the need for a vacation is diminished. I can also schedule myself an entire week between shifts and still get in a full week's work.

 

[tzolkin]

I have always worked flexible jobs without benefits, so no specific "vacation time" for me.

DH always takes vacation time. We don't keep track of the number of hours he has (like plan specifically just to use up the time), but we go on a few vacations per year and it has never been an issue. (If he has a bit of time left, he just winds up using it the following year if we are travelling more then.) His current company just offers benefit time off (instead of vacation, sick, personal days) which works out well for us since he has almost never called in sick in his life.

My father had never taken a vacation day until a few years ago when my parents came on a Disney trip with us. (He has a salaried position and the time off does not "roll over", so he basically just threw away all that time.) He still wound up working for a few hours each day during the trip from the hotel room. This is a big factor of why my husband makes sure to take a few trips per year where we spend time focused on each other and the kids where he doesn't think about work at all.

 

[richmo]

I allow some of it to roll over, but its my choice to do that. From my point of view, I will never allow "use it or lose it" vacation to expire. I had one job years back that turned into a situation where you were pressured not to take vacation. That happened once; I found a new job after that.