Putting in for vacation time at work

[Colleen27]

So they should have an extra person for every employee? Generally, whoever fills in for the person taking vacation will either be doing more work or someone has to do theirs.

Not necessarily for every employee, but a floater for every department/function would be prudent. The bare-minimum staffing that companies have embraced over the last couple decades leave very little room for employees to be human beings. I ran into this a lot when I was in IT. Sometimes I was the only tech for the entire building, responsible for 100+ users/workstations. Any time I had to be off was a potential crisis if something went wrong, because there was literally no redundancy at all so even the most minor and routine problems wouldn't get solved until I came back. It was no different in journalism; I was the only reporter covering several communities and responsible for turning out a minimum of 5-6 stories a week. If I got sick, the workload didn't decrease. I just had to pack more into the days I was there. The two vacations I took while I was there were absolutely working vacations - I still did 2 or 3 stories, remotely, on my beat and my editor filled in the rest with less-local content from one of our other papers. And I left when my request for time off to see my daughter off to college was denied for the plainly stated reason that there was no one to fill in.

 

[tvguy]

Not necessarily for every employee, but a floater for every department/function would be prudent. The bare-minimum staffing that companies have embraced over the last couple decades leave very little room for employees to be human beings. I ran into this a lot when I was in IT. Sometimes I was the only tech for the entire building, responsible for 100+ users/workstations. Any time I had to be off was a potential crisis if something went wrong, because there was literally no redundancy at all so even the most minor and routine problems wouldn't get solved until I came back. It was no different in journalism; I was the only reporter covering several communities and responsible for turning out a minimum of 5-6 stories a week. If I got sick, the workload didn't decrease. I just had to pack more into the days I was there. The two vacations I took while I was there were absolutely working vacations - I still did 2 or 3 stories, remotely, on my beat and my editor filled in the rest with less-local content from one of our other papers. And I left when my request for time off to see my daughter off to college was denied for the plainly stated reason that there was no one to fill in.

We live in a world of "just in time" "only as many as we need" when it comes to staffing and supplies. I think the past two years have showed up, a small hiccup and the house of cards collapses. However not sure companies will change though moving forward.
My last job, I was kind of a floater. I liked it, but there were down sides. First, your floater has to know how to do multiple jobs. That usually means more years of experience, and that means higher pay, pay the some companies are not willing to give. Second, your floater has to want to do multiple jobs. That can be a challenge as some thing everyone should have a specific job. Third, your staff has to be willing to work with someone who can do multiple jobs. I ran into more than one co-worker, and one manager who told me I was crazy for allowing the boss to move me around as company needs dictated. Fourth, the person doing the scheduling has to learn to be careful to make sure they don't over schedule the floater. More than once I got notices that I was doing two different jobs on the same day. Or you get plugged in for overtime so that you don't get any days off. I was once scheduled for 21 days straight. I was willing to work it as I needed the money, but the big boss killed it because she did have the budget to pay me 48 hours of overtime.

 

[sam_gordon]

Not necessarily for every employee, but a floater for every department/function would be prudent. The bare-minimum staffing that companies have embraced over the last couple decades leave very little room for employees to be human beings. I ran into this a lot when I was in IT. Sometimes I was the only tech for the entire building, responsible for 100+ users/workstations. Any time I had to be off was a potential crisis if something went wrong, because there was literally no redundancy at all so even the most minor and routine problems wouldn't get solved until I came back. It was no different in journalism; I was the only reporter covering several communities and responsible for turning out a minimum of 5-6 stories a week. If I got sick, the workload didn't decrease. I just had to pack more into the days I was there. The two vacations I took while I was there were absolutely working vacations - I still did 2 or 3 stories, remotely, on my beat and my editor filled in the rest with less-local content from one of our other papers. And I left when my request for time off to see my daughter off to college was denied for the plainly stated reason that there was no one to fill in.

What does the floater do when he's not floating?

 

[Jennasis]

I can take time off whenever I want (I own my business)...but I haven't had a day off since May.

 

[luvsvacation]

Wow! Reading this makes me really glad I’ve never worked in an office setting. I can’t imagine someone telling me I couldn’t take a vacation when I wanted or for the duration I wanted. I’m a professional nanny (through an agency) and I’ve never worked for a family that gave me any issues about taking a vacation. I’ve had various amounts of paid vacation ranging from 1 week to 3 weeks, but I’ve always been able to take more unpaid. I am extremely dependable though and virtually never get sick. I plan my vacations close to a year in advance. I like to do some bigger trips of about 2 1/2 weeks (usually every other year or so) and then other smaller week long trips. Obviously with my job there’s no extra make up work to do when I arrive back. I really hasn’t thought before how fortunate I am. That would suck to come back to lots of work! I also get paid time off when they go on vacations.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Where I am, yes you CAN take off more than one week at a time. A lot of people will do the thing where they take off the week + a day.

Every place is different and has their own set of rules though.

 

[shh]

I can take time off whenever I want (I own my business)...but I haven't had a day off since May.

i get all the time I want, but it's never paid. Vacations cost gig workers double - the money they spend and the earnings they lose. Thankfully, my rates allow for that and build vacation time in.

 

[FreeTime]

It sounds like your husband needs to be sick that Friday.

An excellent reason to be terminated. Again, they need to know their workplace’s policy. In many of the places I have worked, calling off the day before or after scheduled PTO would result in extra attendance points, a write-up, or immediate termination. I put the same practice in place for my own business. Not to be harsh to people but strictly because of the reason you are suggesting. Why should do-workers have to scramble due to unthoughtfulness? No, it isn’t possible to have a floater always ready to go.

 

[Snowysmom]

At my company I can take off more than one week in my area. However, I cannot take off the first 5 business days of the month as it is our close week. I knew this coming into the job. I don't like to take off more than 6 vacation days at a time as my boss only does a fraction of my job while I am out and I have to come back and play catch up which can take me a couple of weeks.

I agree that if your DH explains the situation to his boss maybe they will make an exception. It is not like he is asking for alot more time off.

 

[ronandannette]

At my company I can take off more than one week in my area. However, I cannot take off the first 5 business days of the month as it is our close week. I knew this coming into the job. I don't like to take off more than 6 vacation days at a time as my boss only does a fraction of my job while I am out and I have to come back and play catch up which can take me a couple of weeks.

I agree that if your DH explains the situation to his boss maybe they will make an exception. It is not like he is asking for alot more time off.

As a manager that handles vacation relief for all my staff, it's simply NOT POSSIBLE for me to do their entire job when they're gone; I've still got my own full-time job to do. Between myself and the remaining people, we can keep the wheels on, but anything beyond the daily essentials will end up accumulating. It's been mentioned many times in this thread that a permanent "floater" would be ideal but I think having such a position, in most companies, is very, very rare.

 

[PollyannaMom]

So my question is, do lots of places not allow more than 1 calendar week off at a time?

Most places I've worked have been more flexible than that. But it reminds me of my mom having the opposite problem when I was a kid. She worked in a bank, and would have preferred to take two one-week vacations (one in summer when we actually went away, and then one of our school breaks). But you were required to take your two weeks in one shot (because it helped them catch things like embezzlement.)

What does the floater do when he's not floating?

We had floaters when I worked in mutual funds. In addition to covering other people's funds (which was most of the time - it was a large company) they were the ones to train new people, work on improvements (like building spreadsheets for things we did by hand) help get ready for audits, etc. If they actually had a rare day when none of that was needed, they would sit with someone whose fund they hadn't covered before and learn the little specifics about it.

 

[babydoll65]

Vacation policies are so different depending on where you work
I'm a Dialysis tech (35 years now) and get seven weeks off per year.
I'm only allowed two weeks off consecutively at any given time and can only have
two employees out at the same time (usually one nurse and one tech)
We start putting in for our next years vacation in December and everyone
Is allowed two weeks off to start (can be separate or consecutive) based
on seniority then after that its first come first served. Good thing for me is
that I have top seniority so I can always get the weeks I need for my Disney
trips but it wasn't always that way.

 

[Jennasis]

i get all the time I want, but it's never paid. Vacations cost gig workers double - the money they spend and the earnings they lose. Thankfully, my rates allow for that and build vacation time in.

And for us business owners not only is there no paid time off, but we have to PAY someone to keep the business running while we are away. So vacations are pricey. That's why we take vacations instead of days off.

 

[Colleen27]

What does the floater do when he's not floating?

Um, their job? I'm not suggesting that employers should keep someone on hand who has no function other than covering for other people when they're out, only that it isn't smart or sustainable to have such lean staffing levels that there is no room for employees in key roles to be human beings who get sick, take vacations, go to funerals, etc. It may produce slightly higher profits in the short term, but it creates an immensely stressful work environment and increases the pace of turnover and burnout in the long run.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Most places I worked were very restrictive to 1 week off and you could not take it with a holiday to get an extra day off! It was really more of an old fashioned attitude than anything else as there was no logical reason to say no.

I finally got my DH to start taking two weeks at a time last year. Friday he asked for three weeks off in November (over Thanksgiving) and his boss okayed it without blinking an eye. His employer is really focused on employee satisfaction and DH wears many hats and certainly earns whatever he gets.

Personally, I'd write the dates on notepaper and hand it to the boss. "It's our 20th anniversary trip". Don't say another word...no talking or squirming LOL! See what happens. The worst is a no and who knows? Good luck!

 

[tvguy]

So the no 2 consecutive-weeks of holidays is not the only stupid rule in your company/industry, then

If the staffing is there, you can take more than one week. No rule on that. But as it is someone is off every week of the year on vacation and it can be tough and unfair to others who need to get their vacation in. Like I said, I have taken as many as three consecutive weeks off, and the last 4 years got two weeks at Christmas.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I'm a teacher - so my "vacation" time is when there is no school, but I just want to say that I am sorry you are having trouble planning your vacation.

The stupidest vacation rule that I know is where my aunt used to work. She got 3 weeks of vacation time - but it wasn't just 15 days - it was she got 3 Mondays, 3 Tuesdays, 3 Wednesdays, 3 Thursdays and 3 Fridays. Apparently there had been someone there at some point that used all their vacation time to always take Friday off and have long weekends - the boss didn't like that, so he implemented this policy.

 

[kymom99]

I'm a teacher - so my "vacation" time is when there is no school, but I just want to say that I am sorry you are having trouble planning your vacation.

The stupidest vacation rule that I know is where my aunt used to work. She got 3 weeks of vacation time - but it wasn't just 15 days - it was she got 3 Mondays, 3 Tuesdays, 3 Wednesdays, 3 Thursdays and 3 Fridays. Apparently there had been someone there at some point that used all their vacation time to always take Friday off and have long weekends - the boss didn't like that, so he implemented this policy.

Wow, who keeps up with all that craziness?

 

[clh2]

Can you plan this trip when there is a holiday, I.e. Memotial Day, July 4th, Labor Day? Then perhaps you can take 5 vacation days, but get 6 works days off, with the holiday?

 

[bcwife76]

Can you plan this trip when there is a holiday, I.e. Memotial Day, July 4th, Labor Day? Then perhaps you can take 5 vacation days, but get 6 works days off, with the holiday?

We've done this before as my husbands' work can be restrictive with vacation time so this is a way to get a day off without having to get an extra day off. Case in point. for our upcoming Alaska cruise, we get back on August 1st which is a holiday here in BC (most of Canada actually) so my husband didn't have to take another day off (which could have been problematic).