There seems to be some kind of fear around taking Annual leave (A/L) or Paid Time Off (PTO). I don’t believe it’s a bad thing, as in a corporate world we seemed to be punished for taking time off. In school, the kids who had 100 % attendance got recognised and rewarded. Further instilling this mindset that taking time off during the working day is wrong. I was suffering a similar dilemma these past few months, and I ended up taking time off because, why not.
Reasons to take time off
Do whatever I want with my time off
You’re A/L or PTO entitlement, is your entitlement. You can use it for whatever reason you want. I celebrated my birthday this month, and I wasn’t sure if I should take time off. I ended up not taking it on my birthday, but the day after. Why? Because I wanted to, and plus I could celebrate my birthday the whole day, knowing I didn’t have work the next day. Some people don’t like taking days off for their birthday, so they would judge me for things like that. However, just because it’s not preferential to them, doesn’t mean it’s not preferential to me.
I don’t want to go to work
Another reason I mainly take time off, is because I don’t want to go to work. I get tired, uninspired, and quite frankly bored. So why not? I even take them on random days like Tuesdays and Thursdays. They break up the week and it means I don’t feel pressure to make plans. I take time off because I don’t want to get up to do something; I want to relax, and not think about life during the day. I want my brain to slow down. So, why on earth would I take time off to make different plans during the day? My brain isn’t slowing down, it still races, and I feel exhausted when I go back to work, which to me really defeats the point of taking the time off.
Things to consider when taking time off
You do not need to tell people why you’re taking the leave. Most of the times I take leave, my manager asks me “if I have plans”. That is because they are taking a general interest, nothing to raise to HR or anything. Either way sometimes I give them an answer, and sometimes I just say, “Just taking the time off”. It doesn’t hint to anything I’m doing, because that’s essentially none of their business.
When you should mention your reasons
Sometimes they might need to know you’re reasoning for time off. One time I provided a reason, was when I took time off because I felt burnt out and exhausted. I no longer wanted to turn up to work, because it was becoming overwhelming, on top of my situation with my nightmare house. I informed them, I was feeling rough and took 2 random days off in a two-week period. After the first day, I sat down with my manager, and we re-distributed my workload. It made turning up to work a little less demoralising, so I was ok with it.
Contractual obligation of time off
In some cases, your employer can dictate when you can take holidays. This happens when the business is reliant on typical holiday times, so you can’t take time off during Christmas or summer break. It can be frustrating that way, but it opens you to taking time off at different points in the year, where it won’t be busy. It’s important to check what’s written in your employment contract, so then you can plan your holidays, without nay breaches.
How much notice to give?
One thing I can advise is, if it’s not an extreme emergency, it’s best to give at least a week’s notice, unless your work specifies. Mine doesn’t necessarily specify, but a week is a reasonable amount of time, for them to be aware, and to approve of the leave. Yes, it is your entitlement, but you still have to respect the people giving you the time off anyway. Maybe if you’re taking long periods off as well, I’d consider giving more notice, as work plans can be discussed in advanced.
How I spend my time off
If I haven’t booked time off for pre-made plans, I tend to spend the day doing something that makes me feel productive with my life. I enjoy creating content for the blog, so I’m happy to spend the day doing that. Sometimes, I try and look at my finances, and see if I can do anything better with them.
If I’m really knocked out, I’ll just watch tv all day, because sometimes the brain and body, just need a black out. Either way, I find taking time off incredibly valuable to me, and I encourage anyone to use it whenever they can/ feel like it, subject to contractual terms of your employment.
Moral of my story:
- Do what you want with it– It’s your leave, as long as you request it, they can’t tell you what to do with it.
- You don’t need to have plans to take time off– If you don’t want to work, you can easily use you’re A/L to not turn up to work, it’s fine
- Check your contract agreement – Abiding to this can help reduce surprise and confusion
- Give reasonable notice of absence – It’s courteous to do so, unless its an emergency.
- Take time off– We all need a break sometimes, take it.
