MJ2.0
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Post by MJ2.0 on Aug 8, 2017 8:26:21 GMT -5
when you leave/die/retire, I guarantee no one will give 2 shits how often you came in.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Aug 8, 2017 8:29:11 GMT -5
when you leave/die/retire, I guarantee no one will give 2 shits how often you came in. I got a medal in HS for having 100% perfect attendence all four years. I'm going to have them bury me with it so everyone knows how awesome I am.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Aug 8, 2017 8:29:25 GMT -5
We seem to be confusing simply playing hooky with a true mental health day here. You know, because perhaps mental health problems are real, so we don't need to dismiss them so readily. I know people like to use the term with a wink and a nod, but Phoenix defined it for us as something more than just a break to have fun. In that case, how could it possibly be unethical to use time for it? I dunno. I don't necessarily lump decompressing/de-stressing/relaxing to be the same thing as attending to mental health issues. That's not to say that mental health issues aren't legit. Or that needing a break isn't legit. I just see them as two separate things. I haven't seen a huge amount of mental health issues...so I can't say with certainty that taking a day off of work once a year is an effective way to treat issues. But, for the mental health issues I've seen personally...relaxing/decompressing/destressing once year is not enough to be an effective treatment. I used to constantly be coming down with colds. I wouldn't get better, yet didn't feel that horrible that I couldn't work. I'd eventually take a sick day so that I could actually get better. And it worked. I think it's even more important with stress. A single day may not make that much difference, but if the stress is due to too many things going on at once, maybe it could. Anyway, personally I haven't had to take one, as our sick leave was also called personal time, and it was fairly generous. I didn't have to worry about what to call it, especially when I had leaves in my yard to rake, rain every weekend, and it was too dark to see outside after work hours. I do think taking the time to destress can be incredibly important to people in some positions, considering all the physical problems it can bring on. (I.e.--massive heart attack--young female YMAMer)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2017 8:44:24 GMT -5
when you leave/die/retire, I guarantee no one will give 2 shits how often you came in. I got a medal in HS for having 100% perfect attendence all four years. I'm going to have them bury me with it so everyone knows how awesome I am. I don't know if this was national news or local, but recently I saw a story of a kid who refused the end of the year "perfect attendance" award. Stating he didn't think he should be awarded for good luck. Our school hasn't done that for at least 10 years now. It ended coincidentally a little after the whooping cough outbreak here. My theory is they don't want to push kids to go to school no matter what. If you're sick STAY HOME.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2017 8:51:15 GMT -5
My counterpart at work took a mental health day today. Email to bossman and I says "headache", but that's pretty much code between us as "it's a nice day and I hate that place". She also ended the email with a "if I feel better I'll come in later", but I have yet to ever see that ever happen! She is one that burns her time pretty much as she gets it. As her back-up I prefer it this way. I will never have to worry about covering for her for a couple weeks at a time like I on her every year.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Aug 8, 2017 9:26:52 GMT -5
Not that anyone cares I'm sure, but here's my leave breakdown so far this year.
Travel Comp - used 71 hours
Annual Leave - Used 18 hours
Sick Leave - Used 0 hours.
Yes, I travel a lot outside of normal work hours. Going to Guam alone netted me close to 30 hours.
I'll be spending a lot of annual leave when I go to Europe in a couple of weeks and the end of the year is relatively slow. Therefore, November/December often end up being a leave for whatever you have left to burn during the year.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Aug 8, 2017 9:59:43 GMT -5
I don't tend to take out of the blue 'sick days or mental health days' - but I don't fret about scheduling time off a couple of days before the "day off" when I have a need to be home (or an unexpected reason to go out). I actually try to schedule 2 days off a month since I seem to accrue combined leave faster than I can use it - and there's a cut off on how much time you can 'bank'. If you don't use it you loose it. I know the need to use time or lose it is a nice "problem" to have.
The thing with my work/job is - if I take a week (or more off) I come back to all the 'work' that didn't get done while I was away AND the current work that needs to be done (so basically I come back to work - a week or two BEHIND). This is dreadfully stressful and a horrible way to return to work after a vacation. I'm not 'recharged' and ready to tackle work.. I return overwhelmed and stressed. I've found it's better to just schedule in days here and there - when I can control WHAT I'm coming back to. Much less stress.
That said, I generally am all for "mental health days" - most of my coworkers seem to take them often and it doesn't disrupt the work flow.
That said, I can name three previous co-workers (from previous jobs) who seemed to routinely take "mental health days" in order to avoid the inevitable failuer OR maybe to "punish" their boss (or another co-worker)? So, if their work was behind or they couldn't figure something out and the deadline was looming - they'd take a 'mental health' day or two. Sometimes this would screw over other co-workers who had to pick up the slack. Sometimes their avoidance issues added a lot of stress to everyone else on the project. OR, maybe they had an argument with the boss... so they'd take a "mental health day" later in the week on Friday and then maybe Monday too. Again this might screw over other people who had to cover or meet the deadline. Or maybe they had an argument with one the people they needed to deliver some work to on a deadline - time for a 'mental health' day so someone else would have to get the work done by the deadline.
I guess it depends on how you use "mental health" days...
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Aug 8, 2017 10:10:31 GMT -5
So far I have used 12.6 PTO days (88.75 hours). I have 31 PTO days left (219.25 hours, we have a 7 hour work day), I have plans to use 16 more days. I will carryover five days, and the remaining 10 will be there for any sick time I might need, additional random days off if i choose, or just simply plopped into my extended leave bank, which currently has six weeks worth of hours in it.
This is our first year with a straight PTO bank, we used to have vacation (10 to 22 days, depending on service)/sick (10 days)/personal (2 days) banks. Since we changed systems we were able to carryover 10 days instead of the normal five, so those who have been here long enough to accrue the most vacation time got 44 PTO days this year. So this is the year for long vacations and random days off! Next year I'll "only" have 39 days.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2017 11:03:23 GMT -5
I've used 64 hours of vacation and 13 hours of sick time. But 56 of those vacation hours were our big "once in a lifetime" family cruise.
Speaking of which. Norwegian keeps sending me info on this 49 day cruise from Alaska to Hawaii to French Polynesia and then Australia.
I can't wait until I retire and can do stuff like that...I might be by myself, but that sounds kind of cool. I could just do whatever I wanted the entire time. I could totally see myself just sitting on the balcony with a book and a drink day after day.
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Post by empress of self-improvement on Aug 8, 2017 12:16:01 GMT -5
I work overnights so I go to the doctor's whenever. Well, if I ever made an appointment, that is. I don't do drs if I can help it. I generally don't call out unless DH falls. Then I need to be home. Knock on wood, 1 day in January and 1 in February and nothing since. Well, he did fall last week but he was able to move on his own after that so I was ok going to work.
I should find out what I have for PTO. We start accruing at some point but I don't usually pay attention since I can get paid to be bored just as easily as I can do it for free. I will need 2 nights off in December for a wedding but that's it that I know of.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Aug 8, 2017 12:26:35 GMT -5
The people who never use sick time--when do you go for checkups? I'm rarely sick (knock on wood) but I have a dental checkup twice a year, take DD to her dental checkups twice a year and her well visit once a year, go to the gyn for my annual screening, etc. I try to schedule appointments at the beginning or end of the day, or schedule a few for the same day so I can knock them all out at once, but I still probably burn 10-15 hours a year without actually being sick. I can't imagine going years without using any sick time. I also work with a few martyrs who come in when they are contagious and disrupt the whole office. If you can't go more than 15 seconds without sounding like you're hacking up a lung, go the F home. Your work will still be here tomorrow. I worked in a medical center, so only had to walk across the street.....or to another floor. I never took sick time for these, as I normally worked way more than the 8 hours. Unfortunately, I was one of those martyrs. However, for me if I did not come in it meant that I was wasting about $5000 in supplies and irreplaceable samples, or killing cells. So if I felt like I was getting sick at work in the afternoon, I'd try to set things up before I left so I didn't have to come in. That didn't always work, so I made it a point to come in before everyone else and do what was absolutely necessary to buy me another day or 2, and get the hell out of dodge before people started arriving.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Aug 8, 2017 12:37:28 GMT -5
The people who never use sick time--when do you go for checkups? I'm rarely sick (knock on wood) but I have a dental checkup twice a year, take DD to her dental checkups twice a year and her well visit once a year, go to the gyn for my annual screening, etc. I try to schedule appointments at the beginning or end of the day, or schedule a few for the same day so I can knock them all out at once, but I still probably burn 10-15 hours a year without actually being sick. I can't imagine going years without using any sick time. I also work with a few martyrs who come in when they are contagious and disrupt the whole office. If you can't go more than 15 seconds without sounding like you're hacking up a lung, go the F home. Your work will still be here tomorrow. I worked in a medical center, so only had to walk across the street.....or to another floor. I never took sick time for these, as I normally worked way more than the 8 hours. Unfortunately, I was one of those martyrs. However, for me if I did not come in it meant that I was wasting about $5000 in supplies and irreplaceable samples, or killing cells. So if I felt like I was getting sick at work in the afternoon, I'd try to set things up before I left so I didn't have to come in. That didn't always work, so I made it a point to come in before everyone else and do what was absolutely necessary to buy me another day or 2, and get the hell out of dodge before people started arriving. I wouldn't call that being a martyr. There are certainly time- (and money-)sensitive environments where being there in person is important or something just has to get done. But I work in an office where almost all the work has (reasonably) flexible deadlines and can be performed from anywhere with an internet connection. We have a pretty generous PTO package and our sick time (unlike vacation/personal) has no monetary value, so I have never understood why people hoard it and come in when they sound like they're near death.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Aug 8, 2017 12:48:30 GMT -5
I currently work in an office with pretty high morale so there aren't many people taking "mental health" days. Also, we have PTO time so it eliminates a lot of the calling in sick stuff. Most people schedule their PTO time in advance, but if someone wants to take last minute PTO to sit around and watch Netflix for "mental health" purposes that is their business. As long as they don't have a pressing deadline I don't really care how they use it or when. One employee has 2 kids so they eat up a lot of her PTO time. I have a feeling she also uses some of her PTO time for mental health purposes, and I don't blame her. I typically schedule all my PTO in advance. There have been rare occasions (like when I got food poisoning a few years ago ), that I had no choice but to take unscheduled PTO time. I travel quite a bit for work so I do take some comp time here and there. I would say that is typically mental health time for me. I use it to rest and recharge a bit, etc. Back in 2004 - 2010 I worked in a very toxic environment. There were lots of people taking "mental health" days. I have never been one to call in so I didn't take many (maybe 2-3 a year). When you work for a horrible person and/or with toxic co-workers it can be very emotionally draining. I think that is one thing businesses really need to look at...sometimes you might just have a lazy employee who likes to call in sick but sometimes the problem could be management.
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quince
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Post by quince on Aug 8, 2017 12:53:06 GMT -5
For destressing, I just scheduled ahead. We had PTO, so there was no incentive to call treat something as an emergent illness to take a sick day when you weren't sick. Plus, this let me plan ahead to make sure everything was covered, and there wouldn't be a mess to come back to.
I didn't get sick more than a minor, minor cold for the first 9 years working, and even getting 40 hours a year PTO to start with, I still filled my time bank and got a small payout every year after 2 years.
Then I turned 30. Good thing by then I had over 160 hours per year PTO! All of a sudden, I NEEDED to take a day off to get enough rest to get over a minor cold, unless I got sick right before the weekend. Good times.
My husband just lets people know whether or not he will be in the office. He usually is, but takes time with so little notice that it horrifies me. He still usually works from home when he takes time off, and works from home in the evenings. He's got a comfortable relationship with work.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Aug 8, 2017 12:57:03 GMT -5
I've used 64 hours of vacation and 13 hours of sick time. But 56 of those vacation hours were our big "once in a lifetime" family cruise. Speaking of which. Norwegian keeps sending me info on this 49 day cruise from Alaska to Hawaii to French Polynesia and then Australia. I can't wait until I retire and can do stuff like that...I might be by myself, but that sounds kind of cool. I could just do whatever I wanted the entire time. I could totally see myself just sitting on the balcony with a book and a drink day after day. Just FYI. When you solo cruise you usually end up paying for two tickets because the cruise lines assume you travel in pairs.
You can still do it, but be aware you'll have to pay double whatever your cabin is worth, unless you can get someone to go with you.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Aug 8, 2017 13:01:01 GMT -5
The people who never use sick time--when do you go for checkups? I'm rarely sick (knock on wood) but I have a dental checkup twice a year, take DD to her dental checkups twice a year and her well visit once a year, go to the gyn for my annual screening, etc. I try to schedule appointments at the beginning or end of the day, or schedule a few for the same day so I can knock them all out at once, but I still probably burn 10-15 hours a year without actually being sick. I can't imagine going years without using any sick time. I also work with a few martyrs who come in when they are contagious and disrupt the whole office. If you can't go more than 15 seconds without sounding like you're hacking up a lung, go the F home. Your work will still be here tomorrow. I work a condensed schedule. I work 9 hour shifts and get every other Monday off.
If I need to do something during a weekday, a doctor's appointment, taking my car in for an oil change ect, I usually do it on that day.
If for whatever reason I can't, I usually take travel comp.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Aug 8, 2017 13:08:25 GMT -5
Not that anyone cares I'm sure, but here's my leave breakdown so far this year.
Travel Comp - used 71 hours
Annual Leave - Used 18 hours
Sick Leave - Used 0 hours.
Yes, I travel a lot outside of normal work hours. Going to Guam alone netted me close to 30 hours.
I'll be spending a lot of annual leave when I go to Europe in a couple of weeks and the end of the year is relatively slow. Therefore, November/December often end up being a leave for whatever you have left to burn during the year. I have to call attention to the fact that it is a huge perk that your company gives you comp time. I traveled extensively for past roles and would leave on a Sunday and get home on a Saturday or late Friday night. When I flew overseas, I would have to leave on a Saturday and get home on a Sunday. Never once got comp time. So maybe you don't need the mental days because you are cashing in all your comp time. Does your company force you to use them or can you work through that time?
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Aug 8, 2017 13:09:06 GMT -5
For destressing, I just scheduled ahead. We had PTO, so there was no incentive to call treat something as an emergent illness to take a sick day when you weren't sick. Plus, this let me plan ahead to make sure everything was covered, and there wouldn't be a mess to come back to. I didn't get sick more than a minor, minor cold for the first 9 years working, and even getting 40 hours a year PTO to start with, I still filled my time bank and got a small payout every year after 2 years. Then I turned 30. Good thing by then I had over 160 hours per year PTO! All of a sudden, I NEEDED to take a day off to get enough rest to get over a minor cold, unless I got sick right before the weekend. Good times. My husband just lets people know whether or not he will be in the office. He usually is, but takes time with so little notice that it horrifies me. He still usually works from home when he takes time off, and works from home in the evenings. He's got a comfortable relationship with work. in my 20's I almost never got sick. I think I got a cold maybe twice?
Recently I've been getting sick more, but still not that often. Last year I got sick twice.
Generally I'll come in to work if it's just a cold. Unless I have strep throat, a fever or something else I usually just power on.
Last year I got a cold and just worked through it. I got the flu while I was visiting my parents and just extended my annual leave with a couple of sick days.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Aug 8, 2017 13:17:57 GMT -5
Not that anyone cares I'm sure, but here's my leave breakdown so far this year.
Travel Comp - used 71 hours
Annual Leave - Used 18 hours
Sick Leave - Used 0 hours.
Yes, I travel a lot outside of normal work hours. Going to Guam alone netted me close to 30 hours.
I'll be spending a lot of annual leave when I go to Europe in a couple of weeks and the end of the year is relatively slow. Therefore, November/December often end up being a leave for whatever you have left to burn during the year. I have to call attention to the fact that it is a huge perk that your company gives you comp time. I traveled extensively for past roles and would leave on a Sunday and get home on a Saturday or late Friday night. When I flew overseas, I would have to leave on a Saturday and get home on a Sunday. Never once got comp time. So maybe you don't need the mental days because you are cashing in all your comp time. Does your company force you to use them or can you work through that time? I'm not complaining, I know not everyone gets it, but I think it's fair.
If I'm expected to give up a Sunday to travel so I can start an inspection Monday I should be compensated in some way, or at least flex my schedule.
I don't abuse it though. It's largely based on the honor system since your boss doesn't know when you leave or when you arrive. So I am always honest about how much time I traveled. Travel doesn't usually match up well with specific hours, and I usually round down when reporting time, so I don't necessarily get all the travel comp I otherwise could.
You lose travel comp after one year from the date you traveled if you don't take it. It's not really tracked so you either have to track it yourself or otherwise try to guesstimate when it expires. I usually do the later.
In general, I try to take travel comp in the first 2/3 of the year so I use it up and take any remaining annual leave balance toward the end of the year if I need to, since we can only bank 240 hours and I try to have the max transferred over every year. It's easier to "plan" to run your annual leave down to 240 hours at the end of the year than it is try to track all your travel comp.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Aug 8, 2017 13:22:34 GMT -5
The people who never use sick time--when do you go for checkups? I'm rarely sick (knock on wood) but I have a dental checkup twice a year, take DD to her dental checkups twice a year and her well visit once a year, go to the gyn for my annual screening, etc. I try to schedule appointments at the beginning or end of the day, or schedule a few for the same day so I can knock them all out at once, but I still probably burn 10-15 hours a year without actually being sick. I can't imagine going years without using any sick time. I also work with a few martyrs who come in when they are contagious and disrupt the whole office. If you can't go more than 15 seconds without sounding like you're hacking up a lung, go the F home. Your work will still be here tomorrow. My typical work day is 9-10 hours (exempt salaried job). I just make up the 90 mins of work I missed or actually work a regular 8 hour day. No sick day needed.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Aug 8, 2017 13:28:15 GMT -5
I have to call attention to the fact that it is a huge perk that your company gives you comp time. I traveled extensively for past roles and would leave on a Sunday and get home on a Saturday or late Friday night. When I flew overseas, I would have to leave on a Saturday and get home on a Sunday. Never once got comp time. So maybe you don't need the mental days because you are cashing in all your comp time. Does your company force you to use them or can you work through that time? I'm not complaining, I know not everyone gets it, but I think it's fair.
If I'm expected to give up a Sunday to travel so I can start an inspection Monday I should be compensated in some way, or at least flex my schedule.
I don't abuse it though. It's largely based on the honor system since your boss doesn't know when you leave or when you arrive. So I am always honest about how much time I traveled. Travel doesn't usually match up well with specific hours, and I usually round down when reporting time, so I don't necessarily get all the travel comp I otherwise could.
You lose travel comp after one year from the date you traveled if you don't take it. It's not really tracked so you either have to track it yourself or otherwise try to guesstimate when it expires. I usually do the later.
In general, I try to take travel comp in the first 2/3 of the year so I use it up and take any remaining annual leave balance toward the end of the year if I need to, since we can only bank 240 hours and I try to have the max transferred over every year. It's easier to "plan" to run your annual leave down to 240 hours at the end of the year than it is try to track all your travel comp.
And that's great. It just seems a little like you're judging people for their mental health days when you are averaging 1 extra day off per month to decompress. Comp time is not a given for travel jobs. It wasnt for me. I was just glad I could rack up some airline miles and hotel points. I could mentally decompress on the plane and in my quiet hotel room .
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Aug 8, 2017 13:31:24 GMT -5
The people who never use sick time--when do you go for checkups? I'm rarely sick (knock on wood) but I have a dental checkup twice a year, take DD to her dental checkups twice a year and her well visit once a year, go to the gyn for my annual screening, etc. I try to schedule appointments at the beginning or end of the day, or schedule a few for the same day so I can knock them all out at once, but I still probably burn 10-15 hours a year without actually being sick. I can't imagine going years without using any sick time. I also work with a few martyrs who come in when they are contagious and disrupt the whole office. If you can't go more than 15 seconds without sounding like you're hacking up a lung, go the F home. Your work will still be here tomorrow. I'm pretty bad about physicals. My last one was 3ish years ago, maybe. We use BC that you don't need scripts for. For the dentist and as many OB appointments that I can do...I schedule early in the day or late in the day. I also bring my work laptop so I get work done while I'm waiting. My first OB appointment, they were running behind two hours. I wasn't going to waste that time watching HGTV. Shoot, on the days I take public transportation, I plan my workday so that I don't even waste that extra 40 minutes of work time if I need it. If I'm short an hour, I'll make it up later. Or get up early and get work in before my appointments. At my job, you can only take vacation/sick leave in increments of 4 or 8 hours. If you take 1-2 hours off...you don't have to declare anything. More than four but less than 8, then you've got a full day of sick leave. I also have a spouse that works part time that takes the kids to the dentist and drs on his days off. DD1 is hitting puberty, so I handled the last Drs appointment for her. But, mostly the onus is on him... I can also work at home if I'm in a position where I'm mentally functional but I probably shouldn't be in the office. It's pretty rare that I get so sick that the only thing I'm good for is sleep. All the offices are either close to home or close to work. I can walk to my OB's office in about 15 minutes in good weather. The kids' ortho, ped, and dentist are all a 5 minute drive from our house. Clearly, I also have a flexible job that is 80% project based with immovable deadlines.. It's easier to make everything work when butt-in-seat time is not valued.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Aug 8, 2017 13:35:41 GMT -5
The people who never use sick time--when do you go for checkups? I'm rarely sick (knock on wood) but I have a dental checkup twice a year, take DD to her dental checkups twice a year and her well visit once a year, go to the gyn for my annual screening, etc. I try to schedule appointments at the beginning or end of the day, or schedule a few for the same day so I can knock them all out at once, but I still probably burn 10-15 hours a year without actually being sick. I can't imagine going years without using any sick time. I also work with a few martyrs who come in when they are contagious and disrupt the whole office. If you can't go more than 15 seconds without sounding like you're hacking up a lung, go the F home. Your work will still be here tomorrow. I work a condensed schedule. I work 9 hour shifts and get every other Monday off.
If I need to do something during a weekday, a doctor's appointment, taking my car in for an oil change ect, I usually do it on that day.
If for whatever reason I can't, I usually take travel comp.
Another huge perk. 9 hour days are the expectation where I work in a salaried position, more if it's crunch time. Nobody gets days off every other week. Is this a government job? Whatever it is that's a great job!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2017 13:35:51 GMT -5
I'm not complaining, I know not everyone gets it, but I think it's fair.
If I'm expected to give up a Sunday to travel so I can start an inspection Monday I should be compensated in some way, or at least flex my schedule.
I don't abuse it though. It's largely based on the honor system since your boss doesn't know when you leave or when you arrive. So I am always honest about how much time I traveled. Travel doesn't usually match up well with specific hours, and I usually round down when reporting time, so I don't necessarily get all the travel comp I otherwise could.
You lose travel comp after one year from the date you traveled if you don't take it. It's not really tracked so you either have to track it yourself or otherwise try to guesstimate when it expires. I usually do the later.
In general, I try to take travel comp in the first 2/3 of the year so I use it up and take any remaining annual leave balance toward the end of the year if I need to, since we can only bank 240 hours and I try to have the max transferred over every year. It's easier to "plan" to run your annual leave down to 240 hours at the end of the year than it is try to track all your travel comp.
And that's great. It just seems a little like you're judging people for their mental health days when you are averaging 1 extra day off per month to decompress. Comp time is not a given for travel jobs. It wasnt for me. I was just glad I could rack up some airline miles and hotel points. I could mentally decompress on the plane and in my quiet hotel room . Yeah, I was thinking a trip to Guam with no kids? Sweet. Who cares if it's work related.
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gooddecisions
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 22, 2010 13:42:28 GMT -5
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Post by gooddecisions on Aug 8, 2017 13:44:53 GMT -5
.[/quote]Yeah, I was thinking a trip to Guam with no kids? Sweet. Who cares if it's work related. [/quote] Isn't that the truth. I have been fantasizing about booking a hotel in town for the weekend so I can get a break from the 24x7x365 mom/manager/employee that is my life. I go into Mondays exhausted and into weekends exhausted.
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Deleted
Joined: Apr 26, 2024 4:38:41 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2017 13:56:25 GMT -5
The people who never use sick time--when do you go for checkups? I'm rarely sick (knock on wood) but I have a dental checkup twice a year, take DD to her dental checkups twice a year and her well visit once a year, go to the gyn for my annual screening, etc. I try to schedule appointments at the beginning or end of the day, or schedule a few for the same day so I can knock them all out at once, but I still probably burn 10-15 hours a year without actually being sick. I can't imagine going years without using any sick time. I also work with a few martyrs who come in when they are contagious and disrupt the whole office. If you can't go more than 15 seconds without sounding like you're hacking up a lung, go the F home. Your work will still be here tomorrow. I work a condensed schedule. I work 9 hour shifts and get every other Monday off.
If I need to do something during a weekday, a doctor's appointment, taking my car in for an oil change ect, I usually do it on that day.
If for whatever reason I can't, I usually take travel comp.
Jeez. No wonder you don't need to take a mental health day. If I had every other Monday off, "vacations" (work related) that earned me Comp time and the ability to bank tons of vacation/sick time I would never use it either. You can probably work from home when you're sick too!
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gooddecisions
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 22, 2010 13:42:28 GMT -5
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Post by gooddecisions on Aug 8, 2017 14:08:37 GMT -5
Another huge perk. 9 hour days are the expectation where I work in a salaried position, more if it's crunch time. Nobody gets days off every other week. Is this a government job? Whatever it is that's a great job! Right, 9-10 at my job and no expectation of taking a lunch. Today I did actually come home at noon because I was feeling cruddy, I felt like I was 'getting away with something' because I undocked and powered down my computer in the middle of the day. The guilt! I had to tell myself that normal people step away from their desks at noon. And now I'm going through my afternoon round of conference calls while slouching on my couch at home. Haha, you must work with me. Same dynamic. Everyone works through lunch. It is, what it is.
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milee
Senior Associate
Joined: Jan 17, 2012 13:20:00 GMT -5
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Post by milee on Aug 8, 2017 14:23:28 GMT -5
And that's great. It just seems a little like you're judging people for their mental health days when you are averaging 1 extra day off per month to decompress. Comp time is not a given for travel jobs. It wasnt for me. I was just glad I could rack up some airline miles and hotel points. I could mentally decompress on the plane and in my quiet hotel room . Yeah, I was thinking a trip to Guam with no kids? Sweet. Who cares if it's work related. A few years ago, I flew 24 hours total to get to Africa. The final 9 hour flight from Amsterdam to Tanzania, the airline changed planes at the last minute and my aisle seat was changed to a middle seat. So after having already been traveling 15 hours, I spent the last 9 hours flying in a middle seat between two strangers. One of the strangers turned out to be a 70 something year old woman with a loud New York accent who, upon discovering I was hiking Kilimanjaro and going on safari, spent the entire flight alternating between telling me about her grandchildren and telling detailed, gruesome stories about all the tourists who had been killed hiking, by wild animals on safari, by locals, etc. The stranger on the other side was a very sweet aid worker who hadn't showered in well, maybe forever. Sounds horrible, right? Nope. It was one of the first times I'd been able to fly without two small children and it was AWESOME!!! I was so happy that nobody was complaining, sick, dependent on me for anything or saying "Mom!" every two seconds that it was quite a pleasant flight. Everything is relative, huh?
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Deleted
Joined: Apr 26, 2024 4:38:41 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2017 14:32:00 GMT -5
Yeah, I was thinking a trip to Guam with no kids? Sweet. Who cares if it's work related. A few years ago, I flew 24 hours total to get to Africa. The final 9 hour flight from Amsterdam to Tanzania, the airline changed planes at the last minute and my aisle seat was changed to a middle seat. So after having already been traveling 15 hours, I was spent the last 9 hours flying in a middle seat between two strangers. One of the strangers turned out to be a 70 something year old woman with a loud New York accent who, upon discovering I was hiking Kilimanjaro and going on safari, spent the entire flight alternating between telling me about her grandchildren and telling detailed, gruesome stories about all the tourists who had been killed hiking, by wild animals on safari, by locals, etc. The stranger on the other side was a very sweet aid worker who hadn't showered in well, maybe forever. Sounds horrible, right? Nope. It was one of the first times I'd been able to fly without two small children and it was AWESOME!!! I was so happy that nobody was complaining, sick, dependent on me for anything or saying "Mom!" every two seconds that it was quite a pleasant flight. Everything is relative, huh? I have only flown by myself once in my life and it was to somewhere totally out of my element (NYC) to stay with someone I had never met (YM friend). What should have been totally stressful and scary was the most relaxing few days of my life.
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Phoenix84
Senior Associate
Joined: Feb 17, 2011 21:42:35 GMT -5
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Post by Phoenix84 on Aug 8, 2017 14:40:24 GMT -5
I work a condensed schedule. I work 9 hour shifts and get every other Monday off.
If I need to do something during a weekday, a doctor's appointment, taking my car in for an oil change ect, I usually do it on that day.
If for whatever reason I can't, I usually take travel comp.
Another huge perk. 9 hour days are the expectation where I work in a salaried position, more if it's crunch time. Nobody gets days off every other week. Is this a government job? Whatever it is that's a great job! Yes, it's a government job.
There are some nice perks, but like any job there's downsides. We do have to travel a lot and not everywhere is nearly as desirable as Guam. I've had to go to Tucson in the middle of the summer, or the artic tundra of rural Indiana in the dead of winter.
And the travel I have to do is often at inconvenient times because that's what cheapest for the government. So yeah, I've gotten up at 3:30 a.m. to catch a 5:30 a.m. flight on a Sunday many a time.
So all in all, it's not all rainbows and unicorns, but I can't complain too much.
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