Amy Graham’s Post

Ingo Rauth Ph.D. shares his experience of having unlimited paid time off (PTO) and how it led him to reflect on his own insecurities and misconceptions about taking time off. I have unlimited PTO (Paid Time Off) 🌴... but I felt insecure and guilty about taking time off.   I joined the @Refinery Team last October and felt excited about our unlimited PTO policy. But being "confronted" with taking time off surfaced my age-old doubts about vacations: ·      I will not be able to get all my work done. ·      I will let others down. ·      Taking time off means I am slacking.   Realizing how my excitement turned into doubts made me ask my colleagues for advice.   The answers I got made me realize that:   1.      I did not know a fair amount of PTO, so I needed to know the average number to orient myself. 2.      I often commit to projects and outcomes without checking in with myself about my personal needs and limits. 3.      I often waited for others to share their expectations instead of clarifying my own. [JB3]    The bottom line is that my guilt was not so much about taking time off. It was the result of not managing my vacation proactively and defaulting to working as an easy response. This realization made me curious.   How do you go about managing your vacation?   LMK!

Last week, I took PTO. I was fortunate enough to visit family and friends abroad, see new cities, have deep conversations, and eat some amazing food. I also left my laptop at home and did not work while out of office. The fear: I will miss something important. Someone will have an issue and I won't be there to help. I will be so behind when coming back. The list of false objections goes on and on... The reality: Everyone had what they needed to before my PTO. I have more energy, new ideas, and more determination to dive into my work. We need to stop treating breaks from work as an "indulgence" and start incorporating this into our regular process. Volunteering, spending time with family, traveling, getting outside, taking PTO, etc. are all things that make us BETTER employees and people, not activities that takeaway from our work. #leadership #worklifebalance

It’s July 1st - halfway through the year. How are you and your team doing at actually taking your PTO? I took the last three workdays off and my sister flew in from Montana to spend a long weekend together. I only get to see her once, maybe twice, per year. We didn’t do anything super fancy. Had morning coffee on the deck (one of my dogs joined us, as the picture shows). Had a make-your-own pizza night. Went to a comedy show. Went to a rugby match. Went to Trader Joe’s (three times, actually, since the closest one to her is four hours away and she was jonesing for a TJ’s fix). I put her back on a plane this morning feeling grateful for having spent this time with her. The last time I took multiple days off from work consecutively was December. I’ve taken a day here and there this year, but I feel infinitely better after these few days off. When I log back onto my laptop tomorrow, I will do so refreshed. I didn’t realize how drained I was until I stepped away for a slightly longer break. I’m a more productive employee when I take time off. I’m a better manager. My husband would readily say I’m even a kinder person in general when I take PTO and disconnect. So, back to my original point: we’re halfway through 2024. Don’t hoard your PTO for the holidays. If you’re a manager, encourage your team not to do so, either. Take some now. Go somewhere. Go nowhere. Just make sure to TAKE 👏 SOME 👏 TIME 👏 OFF 👏. You won’t regret it. PTO is 100% necessary. I will die on this hill.

Good advice

Dialing into every call during PTO, won't get you promoted. It rarely impresses anyone. Taking on everyone's work they don't do, won't get you a raise. Working every night and weekend guarantees you only one thing That you'll get burnt out. And then when you're burnt out, uninspired, and hating your job you'll be less productive THEN people will notice. Not in the way you intended. So, take on the project because you WANT to. Log in on PTO RARELY if it's needed Work on nights and weekends to get AHEAD because you want to have some flexibility, not because it'll impress Protect your time and energy so you're revitalized and a contributor. You'll be happier and so will your employer (this from a former people pleaser who STILL struggles with disconnecting but does her job well and knows no extra hours logged = safety). Be a good human PS: If you're looking to work with the a paid career and life coach that failed yoga, DM for a free intro to see if we’d be a good fit to work I've been working with professionals who try to balance it all for the last 1.5 years on the down low, and helping those laid off for free for 4 years. We can all do our part

Been there with my last job - and never got the respect or promotion I deserved so I left. The person they promoted into my old position is a disaster and none of the staff likes the new director so a lot of folks quit! They can barely keep any staff now. Reward the loyal ones who execute! It’s not always about the money - but the promotion that one is deserved - so stop with the favoritism already! Not to mention - the person they promoted into my old position, ran the entire program down to the gutter! This was after I had to come in (after a prior RD failed numerous audits) to bring the contract quality and audits from 24 out of 24 (last in the funder’s network) to top 5 in under 7 months! People have a choice these days, promote your most valuable assets, or they will leave! Then you are back down to promoting through favoritism to those who cannot run any program properly because they had no right to be in a leadership position because of lack of experience/education.

It is important to schedule downtime. Take a break. It is also important to not over schedule activities during your time off. Take a break. In my previous role, we had a defined number of PTO days, plus sick time, volunteer time, floating holidays and even your birthday (which you could take whenever). It was hard to track, and at 20 years, I had maxed out my days off but struggled to use them all. My current employer offers flexible time off without a defined number of days. It can be just as much of a challenge to use FTO as it is to use a defined number of PTO. I took the week off. At first, I was thinking about all I should do during the week but decided to just see what happens (especially with a full day of steady rain). I needed a break. I am taking a break.

Spring is in full force and flowers are starting to bloom around the house and summer will be here before we know it. The last couple of years it has been hard to make reservation at some of Colorado's favorite vacation places. It is not to late to make plans! Have you reminded your team about vacation and PTO balances? Below is an idea to send out to your team. Hey team! 🌟 Just a friendly reminder to make sure you're keeping track of your PTO (paid time off) balances. It's important to take breaks and recharge, so don't forget to utilize your time off. If you're unsure of how much PTO you have left, feel free to reach out to HR for clarification. Your well-being is important to us, so don't hesitate to take the time you need to rest and rejuvenate. #PTO #TimeOff #EmployeeWellness 🌿💼

Anxiety about taking time off is leading to "Quiet Vacationing", or going on vacation without using PTO. There are many reasons for this: guilt around leaving their team to shoulder their burden, worry about being laid off, or lack of enough PTO. If you want to prevent employees from quiet vacationing, you have to build trust with your people. Let them know that they should take time, and make sure your processes are built to handle it. If you're having trouble, reach to us at Kandor. We can help! #hr #team #trust

Dialing into every call during PTO, won't get you promoted. It rarely impresses anyone. Taking on everyone's work they don't do, won't get you a raise. Working every night and weekend guarantees you only one thing That you'll get burnt out. And then when you're burnt out, uninspired, and hating your job you'll be less productive THEN people will notice. Not in the way you intended. So, take on the project because you WANT to. Log in on PTO RARELY if it's needed Work on nights and weekends to get AHEAD because you want to have some flexibility, not because it'll impress Protect your time and energy so you're revitalized and a contributor. You'll be happier and so will your employer. Be a good human 😀