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J.K. TrotterHamilton Nolan
8/20/14 10:29am
For those of you who are wondering, this is from Gawker Media’s internal employee wiki/intranet/whatever:

Though the expectation is that full time employees should have 15 days of vacation per year, we don’t have a formal vacation policy and do not track days off: we care more about outcomes than face time. However, we do need to arrange cover for your absences, so please let your manager know in plenty of time (we recommend at least 2 weeks prior notice) that you wish to take time off: dates are subject to your manager's approval. Our PTO is “use it or lose it”—you will not get paid for any unused vacation on termination, and nor does unused vacation accrue across years.
In addition the company provides the following paid holidays:
Full Days Off
New Year’s Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving Day
Friday immediately following Thanksgiving
Christmas Day
Half Day
Friday before Memorial Day Weekend
Friday before Labor Day Weekend
Christmas Eve
New Year’s Eve
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  Scott KidderJ.K. Trotter
  8/20/14 10:33am
  Don't forget sabbaticals!
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  cheerful_exgirlfriendJ.K. Trotter
  8/20/14 10:34am
  That's a healthy vacation policy, you also get a paid sabbatical or something after a few years right??
  
  My husband gets zero paid vacation days and zero paid holidays even though he is unable to work on many holidays because construction is forbidden on holidays in many towns around here.
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stacyinbeanHamilton Nolan
8/20/14 10:12am
I can't stand people who say, "Oh, I'm too busy to take a vacation." No, no you are not. You are not that important, I promise you. You are lucky enough to work for a company that GIVES YOU those days, do not squander them.

Speaking of that, has Caity taken her unlimited mozzarella stick vacation yet? (Am I allowed to ask that now?)
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  JescoWhitestacyinbean
  8/20/14 10:21am
  In a lot of cases, it isn't being too busy, but there being no backup at a given position. Nobody in my entire department does what I do. If I take all of my vacation time, even if I split it up, I invariably come back to a mess of things that need to get done yesterday. All that relaxing on vacation lands me in a mess of stressing the fuck out for a few days after.
  
  Then there's the way some managers act when you want to take time off. They will treat employees like they're slacking, despite those days being part of their compensation package. It's unbelieveable, and sick or personal days are even worse. I've been told, after taking a sick day, that the next time I do, I'd better be on my death bed. Thanks, boss!
  
  That being said, I try to always use my vacation time, even if it means taking one or two days here and there to ease the load I'll come back to. I don't get any awards for not taking the time and I'm leaving myself unpaid if I don't, so I, and I can't believe I'm typing this, will suck it up and use all my days, as I've earned them.
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  stacyinbeanJescoWhite
  8/20/14 10:28am
  We have a similar "no backup" situation in a few departments at my company, it's terrible. I know it's awful but what if someone gets hit by a bus tomorrow, to not have another person who knows how to do that job is not only bad for the employee but bad for the business as a whole.
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UhWutWutHamilton Nolan
8/20/14 10:15am
This could not be more true and it is baffling.

I make sure to leave every day as soon as my 8 hours is over. Why would I stay longer like some of these people? That's insane. I'm already driving, plus lunch, plus the 8 hour day. Is free time not important to people I work with?

People I work with don't take vacation days. Sometimes it will get to the end of the year and they will take days at the end as some sort of bullshit sit at home unplanned vacation.

WTF is wrong with people? Obviously some jobs people feel pressured to do more work and make up their work. But your vacay days are there and usable. Use them. Take more.
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  Tidal TownUhWutWut
  8/20/14 10:23am
  Well I can't speak for everyone, but some of us genuinely enjoy what we do for a living.
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  UhWutWutTidal Town
  8/20/14 10:28am
  I do like what I do and am proud of it, but that doesn't mean I am going to sacrifice my life and my interests outside of work.
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United States GhostHamilton Nolan
8/20/14 10:09am
Would that we could, Mr. Nolan! Would that we could. When we take a day off, no one helps with our workload, because staffing is stretched too thin. So every day off comes with the distressing knowledge that we'll be working overtime to catch back up when we return!
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  levarienUnited States Ghost
  8/20/14 10:15am
  And we know that anything that goes wrong while we're gone is our fault. And we better get our act together, because there's a bunch of kids that would kill for our job! And we need to make sure that we are setting our priorities, because only those people that want to be here should be here! Any volunteers to work over the weekend?
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  Emerald D.V.United States Ghost
  8/20/14 10:18am
  In any civilized country, organized labor action would fix that.
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Gabrielle BluestoneHamilton Nolan
8/20/14 12:02pm
Or you could cash in for realz
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NoelblueHamilton Nolan
8/20/14 10:12am
Thank you, Sir Nolan. I am in Human Resources, this is exactly my philosophy and I am (shocking, I know) of a small minority in my dept in this regard.

Is there anything more dysfunctional than the American relationship to their employers, in which 'you only deserve anything if you give us everything' is married to 'we can fire your asses at any time, and we will do our utmost to never be dependent on you'? And we buy it, hook line and sinker!

Sigh. Hopefully the revolution will need an HR Generalist to keep things running smoothly.
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  levarienNoelblue
  8/20/14 10:30am
  Hopefully the revolution will need an HR Generalist to keep things running smoothly.
  
  Start making some self evaluation forms for revolutionaries.
  
  "How would you rate your success at bringing down the system this quarter?"
  
  "Have you taken cooperative action to destroy "the man."
  
  "What do you see as your future with anarchistic chaos?
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  pdxwhyNoelblue
  8/20/14 10:37am
  I am getting pressure to take a vacation NOW from both HR and my boss. The thinking is that if people do a rollover, then it gets even harder for getting work done in the following year!
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Venus_in_fursHamilton Nolan
8/20/14 10:33am
When I worked at Drugstore Chain XYZ, our vacation days were paid based on average hours worked (I was hourly). I'm not sure of the math, but I do know I lost money when I took vacation days, and that was incentive enough not to take them.
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