#vacation #TimeOffWork #TimeOff #vacations
You may go on vacation to refresh and recharge.
You may take a vacation to catch up on chores at home.
Mostly, though, you go on vacation to get away from work.
Yet, 63 percent of professionals cut their vacations short because of pressures at work.
So says a statistic published by USA Today. It was also published Monday, Nov. 18, 2018, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
One can read a lot into that number. The employee may be frightened about losing his or her job. The employer hates it when key employees take time off, so they pile up the work for that employee while he or she is gone.
Or, companies run with so few employees that when one is gone, the whole operation suffers.
Here’s something to ponder, if you are an employee: your employer gives you vacation time as a benefit in hopes that you will use that time to relax and come back raring to perform.
Use that time to its fullest, if you know you will never get it back. In some cases, it may pay off for employees to “save” their vacation time to get a nice payoff when they retire. Most employers, though, don’t offer that. For most, it’s use it or lose it. For those, not using vacation time puts money back in the employer’s pocket.
Still, there could be some very good reasons to cut one’s vacation short. Perhaps there is a co-worker facing a grave illness and doesn’t have enough vacation time to get paid for all the time off he or she will need to fight that illness. Perhaps the healthier workers may want to donate some of their time to that person.
A hurricane or some other disaster could strike your place of business while you are away. It may be important for you to get back and help get the business back on its feet.
But just because your employer doesn’t WANT you to use all your vacation, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. If an employer lets you go because you used your vacation, legal action is possible. Or, better yet, find a better place to work.
What if you could go on vacation worry-free, with no pressure on you to return until YOU want to? One might call that financial independence. There are many vehicles out there that potentially could give you the ability to one day fire your boss, and go on vacation whenever you wish, for as long as you wish.
But, you have to be willing to look at something that may be outside of your comfort zone – something you could do part time, without affecting what you are doing now. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Meanwhile, if you have a job in which you can just be off, where no one really replaces you and there is no pile of work sitting on your desk when you return, consider yourself fortunate. Or, to put it another way, you can perhaps consider yourself expendable and you might need a little more job security.
One of the definitions of job security is whether your boss has to replace you while you are gone.
But regardless of your job situation, using your vacation time is money in YOUR pocket. Cutting your vacation short puts money back in your boss’ pocket.
So, take time off if you can get it. Enjoy. Use all that your employer gives you. It’s time you will NEVER get back.
Peter
Tag Archives: vacations
WE LOVE VACATIONS, BUT SHOULDN’T WE BE WORKING?
#vacations #vacation #working #jobs
Ah, vacation.
We work so hard for it.
We wouldn’t want to be on vacation all the time, would we?
Brian O’Connor, a philosophy professor at University College in Dublin, Ireland, took on this subject in an article published April 29, 2018, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Although annual leave is a right in many workplaces, it is of significant value to employers, too,” O’Connor writes.
Studies urge employers to embrace paid leave, the article says. It refreshes workers, and gives employers opportunities to expose others, who would do the work of the vacationer, to other jobs in the company, thus gaining workers with more diverse skills, O’Connor writes.
O’Connor’s point: vacations are designed as a respite from work, but we all need to be working, rather than being on vacation all the time.
Let’s break this down further. First, as employees, most of us get paid time off in a variety of fashions. There is vacation time, which tends to increase with years of service – up to a maximum, of course.
Then, there is sick time which, in theory, is there to use as needed for illness or other emergencies.
Finally, for those with certain jobs, there is paid time to attend educational seminars, specific offsite training etc.
Some employees will abuse some of this time off, particularly sick time. We’ve all heard the expression of calling in well. Sick time, of course, should ONLY be an insurance policy for illness and emergencies, and should be used only when necessary. Mental health days, unless they are for a specific diagnosed condition, should not be taken. (People with a diagnosed mental condition may have fewer employment opportunities).
Some people don’t get any of this paid time off, despite the encouragement to employers to provide it.
Others are generously paid for NOT using their time off when they retire.
Others, depending on the job they have, are literally punished for taking time off. They have to work extra hours prior to leaving on vacation, and face a huge pile of work when they return. Others can just comfortably go on vacation, without added pressures or work before and after.
With today’s technology, some can take the job with them on vacation. If you are one of those, you may need to set some new priorities.
Though O’Connor’s article argues that vacations are merely a rest from toil, and that toil is something that doesn’t please you, it can be argued that a permanent vacation – or a change in your life – may be needed. There are many vehicles out there that, for a few part-time non-job hours a week, can give you the freedom to change your life for the better. To check out one of the best, message me.
Despite the nobility of labor, if you don’t enjoy what you do, or if what you do does not provide you with the life you want, it may behoove you to look at alternatives.
Your personal goal should be to go on your longest vacation ever – retirement – as soon as you are able. In today’s work world, that decision sometimes can be made for you.
Peter