this post was submitted on 24 May 2024
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Work Reform
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A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.
Our Philosophies:
- All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
- Income inequality is the main cause of lower living standards.
- Workers must join together and fight back for what is rightfully theirs.
- We must not be divided and conquered. Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues.
Our Goals
- Higher wages for underpaid workers.
- Better worker representation, including but not limited to unions.
- Better and fewer working hours.
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And here I am, thinking my 30 days are too little.
My friend has unlimited PTO. He’s not even shamed for using it.
I’m envious.
Typically, people take fewer days off when "unlimited", as they don't feel they are owed any particular amount.
Also, in the US, employers have to pay departing employees for any unused PTO. If the PTO is "unlimited," there's (perhaps counterintuitively) nothing to reimburse.
Wow, I hadn't even considered this. Here I was jealous.
Honestly, having had both paid out PTO and unlimited, I'll take unlimited. It sounds like you're getting fucked by not getting your PTO paid out, but you also aren't incentivized to hold onto your PTO on the off chance you get paid out if you leave. I've found my mental health to be better now that I'm actively taking my leave instead of rationing it since I can just take it without wondering if I'm going to have to take an unpaid day late in the year.
If your employer is halfway decent, sure. Unfortunately some (like mine) will start denying pto requests once you hit 2 weeks. So then you say "fine, I'll take it unpaid" and they say "that's not an option." The fuck it is...
You and I have been in very similar positions.
That's only true in California. Accrued PTO does not have to be paid out, nor rolled into the next year. Some employers will pay it out but it's not a law. Except in California.
Fair! I suppose find myself with sooo much excess vacation time since WFH means I don’t have to take “me” days to recharge like I did when I had to go into a horrible open office every day.
I’m technically offered 10 days. I’m lucky if I use 6 or 7…
Is it because they wouldn't be approved? If I have leftovers near the end of the year I just take a few Fridays off, giving myself some long weekends
No, I think my supervisor would approve as many days as I want as long as I also get all of my work done. There’s always just too much work to do, it seems.
But that's not your problem. If you cannot handle the work assigned to you, you are overworked and that's the fault of your employer. I think what millennials and zoomers are doing is just not falling for the bullshit we've been living with for so long.
I think this bullshit is more prevalent today than in the past. Companies found more loopholes to go around (for example unlimited vacations[1]), the worker protections aren't enforced as strictly.
I believe this phenomenon is likely US specific.
[1] unlimited vacations look great on paper, but with them the company no longer needs to track of 2 weeks of vacations, so they no longer need to pay them when you leave the company and not used them and also doesn't have to force you to use it. The peer pressure makes you unlikely to take more anyway to not look like a slacker.
There will always be more work to be done. You can work until your dying day and there will still be more. Make your life worth living.
I remember reading a quote from someone that said something along the lines of "No one on their deathbed ever says 'I wish I'd spent more time at the office'".
God, same. But please realise that it's not your fault if you have more work than can be done. Take the time off to refresh. Both your mental health and your work performance will be the better for it.
I've recently got in the habit of scheduling all of my time off for the year in one go. Sure sometimes I regret it, because I'm right in the middle of something when time off comes, but ah well
The shareholders:
o7
the beauty of having time off is not having to give a fuck about boss' problems.
Consider taking alternate Mondays and Fridays, same 4 day week, but a 4 day weekend every other week.
So wait, those 10 days are just the maximum limit and not the minimum limit?
They are.
Use it or lose it.
Maybe you can buy more days off through the benefits system?
I can, and I do most years.
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