prevent them from accruing more . So , if Jane in accounting has 57 weeks of accrued vacation , she gets to keep all 57 weeks , but she doesn ’ t get more until she ’ s used 53 weeks of it . |
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SHUTTERSTOCK ILLUSTRATION |
Problem 2
Your culture discourages PTO usage .
Many businesses say one thing but do another , and I suspect this is the real problem here .
Do leaders take time off ? Or is the senior vice president coming into work with a fever and hacking cough ? Was the last time your chief marketing officer took a vacation for her wedding , and even then it was a long weekend ?
If you want people to take PTO , they need to see that it ’ s accepted by management . That means the bosses have to take time off . And when the bosses take time off , they need to truly take time off — they shouldn ’ t be responding to work emails or phone calls .
But most importantly , your leadership needs to encourage people to take time off when they are sick and take vacation time every year . Remind leaders that when employees are on vacation , they should not respond to emails , stay logged into Slack , join a conference call or get that one little report done .
Managers need to reward people who take a vacation and not punish people who take a break with worse assignments , poor performance ratings , or negative comments . The latter is a tough habit for some people to make .
Think about a meeting Monday morning where Joe just got back from a week of vacation time . What do you say ? If your first instinct is , “ Well , I ’ m glad Joe decided to join us instead of taking a week to be lazy ,” you ’ re not funny . You are discouraging people from taking a vacation .
Try saying : “ So good Joe is back ! I hope you had a wonderful time . I can ’ t wait until next month when I ’ m
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taking two weeks off !” It switches the viewpoint .
For sick time , managers need to set the tone by staying home and not working remotely either . Being ill means time off . You will need to work on cross-training employees so someone can handle emergencies .
And you need to train people to let other people be sick . Getting sick isn ’ t a sign of weakness or lack of career dedication . It ’ s a sign that you are mortal . Unless your company has solved that mortality problem , people do get sick . Morally , you need to encourage people to take time off when they are sick , and you need to make absolutely sure that contagious people do not come into the office . Period .
And one scary note : Having a culture that punishes people for taking PTO means you ’ re opening yourself up to violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Family Medical Leave Act . People are entitled to
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protected time off in many situations . If you make it clear that people who don ’ t work all day every day aren ’ t eligible for promotions , projects or praise , you ’ re inadvertently committing ADA or FMLA interference . It ’ s not what you want .
Suzanne Lucas spent 10 years in corporate human resources , where she hired , fired and managed the numbers and double-checked with the lawyers . On Twitter @ RealEvilHRLady . Send questions to evilhrlady @ gmail . com .
Do you have trouble getting your employees to take paid time off or sick leave ?
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August 2021 | comstocksmag . com 19 |