Majority of Professionals to Take Paid Time Off This Holiday Season
News headlines remind us that many Americans do not take their vacation days, and employees at companies with “unlimited” or flexible paid time off have fewer or shorter vacations.
However, a majority of professionals expect to take paid time off this holiday season, even if many of their colleagues are also out of the office, according to the professional social network Blind.
A verified JPMorgan Chase professional recently asked, “Do you feel pressure to save some PTO for taking time off December 15 – January 3 because everyone else is [out of office]?” on Blind, and three out of five of the 1,085 professionals polled said no.
“We have unlimited PTO. I normally take [the] whole month of December off,” said an Indeed professional.
However, for some professionals, the decision to take paid time off during the holidays can be tactical or opportunistic.
“… There is a general expectation all around that people will be away at the end of the year. All work planning revolves around it,” explained a verified Twitter professional. “Christmas is also pretty much the only time you can take more than a week off in a lot of places.”
A verified Metromile employee confirmed the opportunity to take time away from the office successfully could be seasonal. “I always take time off during the holidays. It’s the easiest time to get your PTO approved,” said the insurance-technology professional.
Some professionals advised others not to take paid time off during the holidays because work schedules are often slower beginning December.
“When everyone else is [out of office], it feels like PTO anyway,” a verified Rocket Software employee said. “Why would you want to save for that?”
A verified professional at Discover Financial Services agreed: “I would rather utilize more of my [paid time off] outside the holiday season to make the most out of them!”
‘Mandatory’ paid time off for the holidays
Some companies “shut down” their offices in the winter, giving employees a reprieve for the holidays. The typical return date for workers is a few days after New Year’s Day.
Cisco closes its U.S. offices every year for about 10 days and has “mandatory PTO” between Christmas and New Year’s Day, meaning employees must use some of their personal accrued paid time off.
“Cisco forces us to take off for company shutdown and then use our personal PTO for it,” a verified Cisco professional said. “… That’s a bit silly.”
Another verified Cisco professional confirmed the company-enforced time-off. “Yes, it’s mandatory, however, everyone is off, so no need to check work email/chat for 10 days,” the network-hardware professional said. The Cisco employee added, this year, the offices are closed from December 24 to January 3.
Company closures in the winter can be as long as two weeks beginning in late December, Blind found.
Employees at the online game platform Roblox have a “company holiday” from December 20 to January 3. “At Roblox that time is off,” the Roblox professional said.
The bottom line
Professionals are unafraid to take paid time off during the holidays, especially between Christmas and New Year’s Day. For some workers, it is the easiest time of the year to make use of their paid vacation perk. With many employees taking time off in the winter, some enterprising companies have decided to close the office entirely.
Methodology
In a user-created poll on Blind, 1,085 verified professionals responded to the question “Do you feel pressure to save and use PTO during holiday period?” between Nov. 8 and 9, 2021. Poll participants answered “yes” or “no.”