oil on canvas by Paul Kelpe
Paid Days Off is a term that can replace the terminology ‘sick days’ and ‘vacation days’ – apparently employees like it. I was introduced to this concept by two different respondents to a question I posed on Linked IN regarding ‘reframing work / life balance’. This small change in wording can yield big rewards and a huge shift for both workers at every level and their bosses. Both paid ‘vacation days’ and ‘sick days’ place expectation on the time that you are given off from work. These days of paid rest must be justified- you must use them when you are sick or to take a vacation. Labeling and categorizing this time puts employers in a position of policing employees and employees in the position of justifying using time that is technically theirs to use as they wish. By simply calling this time what it is, ‘paid days off’, companies can better the work environment at zero cost to the company.
Paid Days Off – vs – Sick Days:
If you are in management you know the feeling of getting the call: an employee calls out sick at the last minute – it must be at the last minute to be credible – leaving you short staffed. Perhaps you had a plan today, perhaps there was a meeting or a project that needs all hands, eyes, and brains to be focused and present. Maybe this worker is a teacher or nurse and now you need to call in someone to cover his or her class or shift. You are left scrambling, resentful and wondering if this person is even really sick.
As an employee, your paid sick days are part of the benefits of your job – you are due those paid days off of work – period. In order to take them you must be or pretend to be sick. You really only have one option: lie. Are you too sick to work – maybe. Do you just need a day to catch-up – probably. But now in order to take the day that is due you, you must call your boss, feeling guilty, child-like, and disempowered and play-up your ‘symptoms’ to take your day off. You will face the judgment of your boss and co-workers tomorrow. You will have to lie to each of them about how sick you were yesterday. You have just participated in the paternalistic, degrading and dishonest system that is prevalent in most US companies.
The Paid Days Off system changes this dynamic. There will always be an occasional last minute, sick day call: food poisoning, flu, sick children will inevitably consume some of your paid days off. However, most of the time we know when we need a break several days in advance, just a day or two to catch up on sleep, life-stuff (bills, errands, spending time with family, organizing our lives) and general self-maintenance. By having a set number of days off- no categories, no excuses, just paid time off from work, both bosses and employees can plan ahead. The lines of communication can open. An employee can say, ‘I am taking two days off starting next Tuesday’. His / her manager could reply, ‘we have a staff meeting next Tuesday. Would it be possible for you to take Wednesday and Thursday off instead?’
There is no reason for your boss to know what you intend to do with your time outside of work. And no need for you to lie to get time off. And managers can plan; ask for what they need and stop second-guessing, monitoring and being over-involved with employees’ lives. Both rolls of employee and manager become easier and less emotionally complicated. There is no reason for a boss to parent her / his employees or for employees to feel judged for anything other than the job they perform at work.
Paid Days Off – vs – Vacation Days
In American culture the word ‘vacation’ carries the subtext of something that is unneeded – something we should feel grateful for and privileged to have. Vacations are luxurious. We often feel guilty for taking a vacation. Calling this paid time off ‘vacation time’ fuels feelings of indebtedness to the company you work for – your boss and co-workers may feed into this with negative comments about your taking a vacation or not taking a vacation. You may also feel badly if you take time off but use it for something else.
We have a cultural idea of what a vacation looks like. Palm trees, beaches, camping, skiing, Disney World, or exotic travel float through the mind when we call something a vacation. But in today’s world, how many people use their vacation days to back pack through Europe or fly to Florida? Often vacation from work is spent organizing closets, moving, care-taking a loved one, and working hard on your life away from work. We return to work having accomplished much but without a suntan or stories to tell co-workers. We also may fell guilty for not giving ourselves a ‘vacation’ or shameful for not being able to afford a ‘real vacation’. Again, by calling the paid time off that is owed you by you employer as part of your pay, by it’s real title, we eliminated the stress, pressure and expectation of using this time for anything other than whatever you want / need to use it for. The label ‘paid days off’ take the emotion out of this process. Your time off is your time off- period. Take your days and use them to clean out the garage, work in your garden, arrange a funeral, hike the Grand Canyon or sleep until noon: no judgments, no expectations.
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