If you work in HR, this is the time of year when you may be itching to discuss holiday PTO with line managers.
But there is likely a topic that you are hesitant to broach because it could put the line manager on the defensive: Whether employees who are owed PTO (paid time off) are actually going to be working from home when the books say they are officially “off.”
This is what I like to call the “Holiday PTO Trap.”
Getting your line managers to fess up to this is easier said than done. If you approach them with a hunch that they are guilty of the Holiday PTO Trap, they will likely deny it. But if you approach them with data that supports your hunch, you have a much better chance of having a productive conversation.
There are steps you can start to take now to see if this is happening within your organization — and make sure that it doesn’t happen next year.
In this previous post, I outlined a “scientific” method for storytelling with data. You can use the same method to have a fact-based discussion about a thorny topic like PTO fairness with your line manager. Use this approach:
If you see that there is a high volume of PTO during the holiday season for a department that is busy this time of year, it could be a red flag that people will be working from home while on PTO.
But instead of going out and pointing fingers, STOP and use this method to get the facts first —
When it’s time to discuss the issue, if you have done the correct analysis, you will be in a much better position to help your line manager take action for next year so that they can ensure employees use their PTO throughout the year.
You can use a headline and key supporting points:
Together, you can come up with a plan for ensuring employees take adequate PTO during the upcoming year. This way, those employees who absolutely need to work over the holidays won’t be resentful that they haven’t had any vacation all year. Take the opportunity to check in by the third quarter of 2015 to see how the line manager is working against this plan.
If your employees aren’t taking off enough time throughout the year, they aren’t getting the rest they need to stay productive.
This National Geographic article cites studies that have found “vacations boost energy reserves so that you need less effort to get work done when you return.”
According to the article, “Counter to the prevailing bravado myth, productivity is not a function of how long or torturously you work. In the knowledge economy, the source of true productivity is a refreshed and energized mind.” In fact, self-reported job performance is “significantly higher after a vacation,” notes respite expert Dov Eden of the University of Tel Aviv.
If you follow the method outlined above, you can help your line managers to make changes so that employees are well-rested and productive, helping deliver a real impact for the business.
