Everyone needs a break sometimes, but some people aren’t good at taking care of themselves. Some organizations are taking it upon themselves to ensure you get enough time to rest, relax, and recover because they know that you are more effective when you’re healthy. Let’s see what some companies are offering in terms of time off:
Rest and reset days (All-company Days Off)
The concept of random days off is new to me, but I’m excited to join a company that recognizes the need for more downtime. My firm calls our collective day off “Disconnect Days,” and we get at least one day off each month. The day off is always on Friday, and they look for opportunities to combine the day off with other holidays so employees can all have a lovely, long weekend. Talk about awesome!!!
Holiday Shutdowns
One of my clients shuts their whole operation down between Christmas and New Year’s. The entire company is closed for about two weeks at the end of each calendar year. The company is smart enough to know that people are mentally checked out, anyway, and that trying to squeeze any productivity out of people during that time is a waste. By shutting everything down, they encourage their staff to enjoy time with friends and family, so they return refreshed in the new year.
More paid holidays
Comparison is the killer of joy, but when I joined my last company, I noticed that folks in our India office had about twice as many holidays as the United States. I knew this was true from my previous experience working with offshore partners, but until I saw the list of holidays they have off, I was a bit shocked. We Americans work way too much. I wish that we had two regular holidays per month – how awesome (and predictable) would that be? Instead, we have few holidays, and they’re not always shared; every state of the union has its own recognized holidays. If your company operates in different jurisdictions, you need to pay attention to when other locales have time off.
Unlimited PTO
My last couple of employers offered unlimited paid time off (PTO). I had heard about this experiment many years ago, but I was dubious about it. Would people feel comfortable taking time off, or would they work more than before? This experiment has been going on for quite a while now, and the evidence shows that yes, people will take off the time they feel they need. Will some people abuse this benefit? Probably, but that’s up to management to handle. I appreciate knowing that if I need a mental health day, I need to care for a sick child, or I want a break, I can take the time I need to reset and recover.
Sick time
Some employers offer separate pools of time available for time off or leisure versus illness. Nowadays, most organizations lump all time off together, but for more traditional companies, you accrue sick time that (unlike vacation time) can be rolled over from year to year. If you have a catastrophic accident or become ill, you can use all accrued sick time. The bad part about this is that if you never need to use the time but decide to leave the organization, you won’t get paid out for any of your sick time. Fortunately, one company I worked for (fortunately) had a very liberal sick time policy – if you were ill, they didn’t want you in the office. That year, I had a bad reaction to the Flu shot, which laid me up in bed for a week, and later in the season, I got the Flu again and had to take another whole week off. Had I not had sick time, I would have used up all my time off for the entire year due to illness!
Paid parental leave
Back when I had my kids, there was no such thing as paid maternity or paternity leave. The one good thing that Bill Clinton did while in office was passing the Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows people to take time off without fear of losing their jobs. That said, any time off had to be self-funded, so taking the total amount of legally allowed time off for having a child (12 weeks) was an expensive proposition. Many organizations now recognize that this is a significant burden for their employees. Most people don’t have the financial means to go that long without a paycheck, but going back to work too soon could be detrimental to children. My new company offers the benefit of a fully paid 12-week parental leave if you have or adopt a child. I only wish this benefit had existed when I had my kids.
Unpaid time off or leave of absence
If you want to travel the world on an extended European or African vacation or go to some remote island to do volunteer work, you might need more than the standard week or two of vacation. Companies that support their employees are willing to negotiate unpaid time off for people who want it. I have had several colleagues who did this – they took anywhere from four to eight weeks off without pay, but they came back to their jobs without any negative repercussions. So, if you want to take that crazy trip, make sure your employer knows that you’ll be hiking Kilimanjaro for a month (but don’t expect to get paid for it).
Vacation Buy-up
If you’re not fortunate enough to work somewhere that allows unlimited time off, you might want the option of being able to buy an extra week’s worth of vacation time. When I started at one of my former employers, the beginning time off per year was only two weeks (which seems like a joke to me now), but you could buy an additional week off. Paying for extra time off was a no-brainer to me. I knew that I would need more time off during the year, and I would much rather pay for it than worry about not having enough time off accrued to take it when I needed it.
Ability to Roll-over time off
Again, Americans tend to be work-a-holics, and many people don’t take their earned time off. Not using your vacation hours does not make them martyrs or better than other employees. If anything, it makes them unhealthy and overworked. I think people should be required to take a minimum amount of time off each year, but for the people who opt not to take their time off, being able to roll the time off over into the next year is a decent option. Employers have different policies about this, so make sure you know what your company allows. One of my previous companies would pay out any accrued time off beyond a certain amount of time to encourage people to use their vacation.
Volunteer Days
Some of the companies I have worked for gave employees one or two paid days off per year to volunteer. One organization even partnered with groups that needed volunteers and organized the opportunities. I was a Girl Scout troop leader for a few years, and I appreciated being able to take a day off work to prepare for a troop camping trip – it was no small effort. If there’s a worthy cause you are passionate about in your personal life, having paid volunteering days is a great way to give back.
Final Thoughts
The COVID-19 pandemic made most working folks re-evaluate what’s important in their lives, and the one thing we can never get back is time. People need to have breaks – the Industrial Revolution ended a long time ago, and it’s time to herald in new ways of working, and being creative about time off is one of those ways.
If you missed any of the previous blogs in this series, check them out:
- Innovative Employee Incentives in the age of COVID
- Incentive #1: Work Environment
- Incentive #2: Workspace & Tools
- Incentive #3: Work Schedule
- Incentive #4: Health & Wellness
- Incentive #5: Professional Development
Now, what about you? Does your company offer any of these time-off options? Are there other time off opportunities you have? If so, I’d love to know what they are – drop me a note in the comments section below!