WorldatWork [Infographic] Time Well Spent: A Guide to Holidays and Paid Time Off Policies [February 2024] https://lnkd.in/gEAFkZSX   This report summarizes the results of a Winter 2023-2024 WorldatWork mini-study exploring U.S. holidays and leave policies.   In December 2023-January 2024, WorldatWork fielded a brief study to update our data on which U.S. holidays organizations are offering, whether they offer alternative work schedules, and how they structure and manage paid leave. Paid leave is covered in more detail in our larger Paid Time Off Programs and Practices Study, last conducted in 2019 (available here), but this mini-study includes the topics we've most frequently been asked to update. 

I would love to know what demographics were included in this poll, because I could count on one hand the amount of people I have personally known that felt they had sufficient PTO. (And I'm including maternity/paternity leave or lack there of.) PTO, if you have it, often includes vacation/sick leave/maternity leave. It is every instance you may need to be out of work. Dental cleanings, doctors appointments, a flat tire, etc. I am talking every unavoidable aspect of human experience into what might be 14 days of PTO. People hold off on utilizing it because they know they can't predict their future and have to stash it away in scarcity. Heavy workload? Sure. By now, most of us are aware of the fake job postings while corporations remain understaffed to juice every drop of profit that their workforce will never benefit from. Even still - everyone is afraid of being laid off. It doesn't matter how many messages of encouragement to rest and utilize PTO you send to shape your company culture if your employees are constantly double and triple checking how many hours of emergency they have left. I'm exhausted of articles minimizing these issues to seem like they are a canva graphic solution away.

The unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day weekend, just lapsed. It's time for beaches and vacations. Or, it could be. A recent survey showed a persistent trend remains: U.S. workers do not use all of their paid time off. A whopping 75 percent of respondents to a Harris Poll said they don't use all of their vacation time. Why aren't workers taking their full, paid breaks? They cited performance pressures and overall heavy workloads. Even if on vacation, workers still check in: 86% said they peek at emails while on PTO. 👉 Do you maximize your PTO? Share below. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e9y8agKe Summary ✍: Todd Dybas

🚀 Reassessing Paid time off to boost attraction/retention efforts? 🚀 In a recent survey conducted by Lockton, 70% of employers are revamping their time-off strategies are doing so to boost recruitment and retention. 67% believe that enhancing PTO programs will give them the edge in the battle for top talent. 🌟 We've condensed these findings into an executive summary, capturing current PTO trends from over 1,200 responses. Here's what stands out: 👶 Parental Leave: Enhancing parental leave is a priority for many firms, essential for maintaining competitiveness by supporting work-life balance and diverse employee needs. 🧲 PTO Benefits: A significant 82% of employers view robust PTO benefits as vital for talent engagement, emphasizing the necessity of work-life balance.   🌐 Inclusivity & the Aging Workforce: Addressing the needs of an aging workforce, including caregiving policies and health coverage, points to the need for more inclusive practices. 🎉 Company-Wide Holidays: Shifting towards company-wide holidays offers a unified break for employees, enhancing well-being and job satisfaction.   🌎 Floating Holidays: Implementing floating holidays fosters cultural diversity and personal observance, promoting inclusivity and respect. If you're keen on contributing to our future surveys or eager for more in-depth insights, please don’t hesitate to reach out. 📞

Always a good reminder for the summer and people taking PTO. Employers can help to mitigate the issue by better prepping for workers’ time off, explicitly telling employees not to answer emails, and creating and promoting a culture of work/life balance and overall well-being. #WorkLifeBalance #EmployeeWellbeing #PTOAdvice

Writer and Editor Kathryn Mayer reporting for SHRM says as summer kicks into gear, scores of employees are readying to use their paid time off (#PTO) to go on #vacation and spend some time away from the #workplace. But organizations are experiencing a problem that could spell trouble down the road: Employees are #working #duringtheirtimeoff. If you are guilty of this, please raise your hand. An April The Harris Poll found that even when they did take time off, 60% of respondents said they struggled to #fullydisconnect from work, 86% said they would #checkemails from their boss, and 56% took #work-#relatedcalls during their time off. Nearly half said they felt #guilty about taking #timeoff in the first place. And another survey of workers from online learning platform ELVTR found that a large majority of employees (68%) admitted to working during vacations. #Employers can help to mitigate the issue by better prepping for workers’ time off, explicitly telling employees not to answer #emails, and creating and promoting a culture of #work/life balance and overall well-being. Because some employees spend time on vacation working so they don’t come back to a pile of tasks, managers can also consider implementing return-to-work #procedures that help ease employees back into their work duties from their PTO, especially if it was a significant amount of time off.

Question: What should we do when one of our designated paid holidays falls on a weekend when we aren’t open? Do we need to offer an alternative day off? Answer from Janelle, SHRM-CP, SHRM-PMQ: No, you don’t need to offer an alternative day off. There are no federal laws requiring private employers to provide paid time off for holidays. However, there are potential benefits to offering an alternative day off: • It can boost employee morale. Employees won’t feel that they “lost” a day off—and three-day weekends are always appreciated! • It may save you from having to process a host of time-off requests for weekdays around that holiday. • It communicates your commitment to work-life balance, an important factor for engagement and retention. This Q&A does not constitute legal advice and does not address state or local law. TAKEN from HR Support Center 11/23

Mini Rant: If your company observes all US Federal Holidays, you have Monday, February 19, 2024, off. One of the most shady tactics I've witnessed in recent years is for companies to stay silent about Federal holidays with their WFH staff. Many people work because they were unaware they get President's Day as PTO. To be clear: It's immoral for a leader to do that to their team. So allow me to alert you that you might have a 3-day weekend, like Brand Shepherd. We observe the US Federal Holidays schedule.

Question: What should we do when one of our designated paid holidays falls on a weekend when we aren’t open? Do we need to offer an alternative day off? Answer from Janelle, SHRM-CP, SHRM-PMQ: No, you don’t need to offer an alternative day off. There are no federal laws requiring private employers to provide paid time off for holidays. However, there are potential benefits to offering an alternative day off: • It can boost employee morale. Employees won’t feel that they “lost” a day off—and three-day weekends are always appreciated! • It may save you from having to process a host of time-off requests for weekdays around that holiday. • It communicates your commitment to work-life balance, an important factor for engagement and retention. This Q&A does not constitute legal advice and does not address state or local law. TAKEN from HR Support Center 11/23

Planning a quiet vacation this summer? You're not alone! ☀️ A new trend shows Irish workers are more likely to 'quiet vacation'—taking time off without officially doing so—compared to their British counterparts. Shane Duffy from Click Offices shares insights and advice for both employers and employees on managing this phenomenon, in our latest article 📌 https://lnkd.in/eS4Sapdy. Discover more on how to balance work and time off effectively. 🌴💼 What's your take on quiet vacationing? Share your thoughts below! 👇 #QuietVacationing #WorkLifeBalance #ClickOffices #Summer2024 #holiday #workplace #HR #Humanresources