# Stop giving me time off, dammit! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 24, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577 "2008-12-24T18:10:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/1 "2008-12-24T18:10:41Z")
I’m so mad! :mad: I ended up the year with a couple of days worth of leave to burn by Jan 3d. No problem, just schedule off the day after Christmas, day after New Years, and take a few more hours here and there. Well, they go and give us the 26th off work. So now I have to burn 8 more hours. Was planning on taking 4.5 today, and my boss just came by and told me I could head home early whenever I wanted without taking any leave! I’ve really got my work cut off for me to burn all this leave between Monday and Wednesday of next week! And workload is crazy, so it isn’t as tho I don’t have any reason to schlep into the office. (Not exactly a tough situation to be in, but sure looks like I should have played more golf last summer!) I’m outta here! ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/2 "2008-12-24T18:17:32Z")
Poor **Dinsdale**. Next think you know, they’re going to be forcing massage chairs and pony rides on you. Those bastards. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/3 "2008-12-24T18:49:18Z")
Yah, I wondered why you started all these threads today. I thought, man, **Dins** is really bored! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/4 "2008-12-24T19:33:51Z")
I remember when I was due a boatload of overtime pay. Instead the boss tells me to take time off instead. I didn’t do all the overtime to get time - I wanted the cash. What am I going to do on days off? Spend money - a double whammy on the wallet. I hate unexpected time off. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/5 "2008-12-24T19:52:00Z")
I’m off from [checks watch] about three minutes from now until January 2nd, in a desperate attempt to burn at least some of the time off I’m due before it vanishes … My manager was complaining at me that I shouldn’t save it all for the end of the year, but I really don’t see how I could possibly use all the time they give me without major medical problems to justify it. There are just too many urgent projects, and at my seniority level (and with the maximum allowed carryover from the previous year, which I always have), I get a combined total of 37 vacation and personal days next year. (Anyone who thinks I’ll actually be allowed to skate through until January 2nd without at least logging onto work remotely, please make yourself known, so I can laugh at you until spittle starts to soak my shirt.) ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/6 "2008-12-24T20:16:40Z")
Had I stayed in my old job I’d be coming up on the point where I’d have five weeks of vacation a year. My wife and I had been struggling to use up the four weeks I had before. Taking a day off on each kid’s birthday, mine, my wife’s, a full week for a family vacation in the spring, and a full week between Christmas and New Years wasn’t enough. I also took off minor holidays like Halloween and the day before/after holidays like the 4th or July, Memorial Day, and MLK Jr. day if it would make a four day weekend. Five weeks a year? I’m not sure what I would have done, and that doesn’t get into the fact that I often worked 60-80 hour weeks and earned “comp time” as well. I had to get exceptions to use more than a week at a time. It’s expensive and difficult to take time off in the US. Most people don’t know what to do with themselves and vacations tend to be costly in terms of scheduling(two careers, kids schedules), and dollars. “Staycations” where you stay at home and do the touristy things for your home area are getting more popular. I know many European and other developed nations give more time off than the US does and take more time to travel, but it’s difficult to do so in the US. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/7 "2008-12-24T20:22:25Z")
> [@Mtgman](#): > > Had I stayed in my old job I’d be coming up on the point where I’d have five weeks of vacation a year. This is a problem?? If it was me, I’d make every other weekend three days long. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![freekalette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@freekalette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freekalette)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/8 "2008-12-24T20:22:45Z")
Can my husband have your extra time off? He’s getting today and tomorrow off, as well as New Year’s Eve and Day, but in return they are making him work on his normal days off! It’s not even like they are busy right now and need him there. or the past three week, they have let people go home early, because business is slow. Just wanted to offer an opposing viewpoint. Sorry to hear they are mistreating you so. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/9 "2008-12-24T20:29:42Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > This is a problem?? If it was me, I’d make every other weekend three days long. 😃 I know, poor little rich kid, right? I felt the same way and my wife and I were always half bemused and half frustrated when planning how to use the vacation time. The reality is that if you took too much time off you wouldn’t be at work when the projects were being planned and executed. If you couldn’t be there when the work was being done, you couldn’t be a key player. If you couldn’t be a key player, you didn’t get the visibility and recognition you needed to justify raises and promotions. I was on the fast track at my previous company and was rising through the ranks fairly quickly. Ambition and time off are natural enemies in the American corporate culture. It’s sad but, in my experience at least, true. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/10 "2008-12-24T20:49:27Z")
I got an idea. Just don’t take the time off, lose 'em. The end of the year is coming up and you need to take 2 days before you lose them. They give you 2 free days off. If you don’t take the vacation days and just let them go bye-bye, you’ve lost nothing. Yeah, I know. It just goes completely against the grain, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/11 "2008-12-24T21:55:13Z")
Funny but all the places I worked for send you home early on Christmas Eve but make you punch out. I’m like “great I can’t afford presents, and now with 4 hours less on my paycheck, I can’t afford a Christmas Dinner.” ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/12 "2008-12-24T23:18:14Z")
Are you able to donate any excess leave to others? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/13 "2008-12-24T23:58:52Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Are you able to donate any excess leave to others? Sorry, but that’s against my religion. I don’t care how hard I have to work, but I’m not gonna lose a minute, dammit! It is good to have a goal! ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/14 "2008-12-25T13:19:22Z")
4 weeks paid leave a year mandated by law, with 3 months leave for 10 years’ service. When I moved here from the US I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. It’s great. No, seriously, it’s fab. And I’ve never worked in a place here where they didn’t encourage you to use your holidays. They seem to have worked out that overstressed, overtired workers kinda suck. Honest to pete, I can work out what to do if I have time off, even if it’s just have breakfast and coffee in my garden. And I get time in lieu if I work overtime! And 10 days sick leave! ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/15 "2008-12-25T18:28:01Z")
I’m currently working for the British Civil Service and will be for some time. I’m going to do some serious working out at the gym so that I can get some sort of chance at being tired enough to sleep after I’ve put in the six hour working day,actual working time maybe two hours. But the money is rubbish. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/16 "2008-12-27T06:48:21Z")
> [@Gleena](#): > > When I moved here from the US I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. It’s great. No, seriously, it’s fab. Your location isn’t showing up in your post - where did you move to? ---
**Author:** ![terrymiff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@terrymiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terrymiff)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/17 "2008-12-27T07:13:21Z")
Sounds like Australia to me. Plus, if you’re regularly rostered to work weekends or public holidays the annual leave goes up to 5 weeks per year. ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/18 "2008-12-27T07:39:55Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > Your location isn’t showing up in your post - where did you move to? terrymiff is correct - I keep forgetting my location isn’t there anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/19 "2008-12-27T20:37:46Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > This is a problem?? If it was me, I’d make every other weekend three days long. 😃 I have that now, with the meager sacrifice of only working an extra hour each day I show up. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577/20 "2008-12-27T20:49:08Z")
Any good call center jobs in Australia? I have TONS of experience! 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-giving-me-time-off-dammit/478577.md?page=2)