beerad12man said:

---

chris1515 said:

---

I have unlimited PTO but track in a spreadsheet with a target of 5 weeks.

Plus, thanks to the concept of "unlimited" pto, my company has scaled back on company holidays.

Specific to the OP, I'd say 2-3 weeks for a new hire, and work up to 4-5 for a veteran. Say, after 3 years.

At some point, even if you're "off" you still better be checking the cell phone.

---

That's the mentality that has Americans lower on the happiness scale than many countries despite more money. An unfulfilling life where you are always on call, and can't leave work. All for most to buy materialistic things, live paycheck to paycheck, just keep up with the joneses.

Actual freedom, legitimate time off disconnected from work, etc, is worth its weight in gold and something we should fight for more of. I'm a capitalist, but also realize the evil behind it when many think this way and expect you to, as well. Rather than merely live below your means and take on less responsibility with more actual freedom leading to more actual happiness.

---

Well said.

On PTO and weekends I completely disconnect. My work profile notifications get shut off. I have to make an effort to re enable the profile otherwise I cannot be notified.

I spent a lot time being constantly available and I agree, it's draining.

beerad12man said:

---

chris1515 said:

---

I have unlimited PTO but track in a spreadsheet with a target of 5 weeks.

Plus, thanks to the concept of "unlimited" pto, my company has scaled back on company holidays.

Specific to the OP, I'd say 2-3 weeks for a new hire, and work up to 4-5 for a veteran. Say, after 3 years.

At some point, even if you're "off" you still better be checking the cell phone.

---

That's the mentality that has Americans lower on the happiness scale than many countries despite more money. An unfulfilling life where you are always on call, and can't leave work. All for most to buy materialistic things, live paycheck to paycheck, just keep up with the joneses.

Actual freedom, legitimate time off disconnected from work, etc, is worth its weight in gold and something we should fight for more of. I'm a capitalist, but also realize the evil behind it when many think this way and expect you to, as well. Rather than merely live below your means and take on less responsibility with more actual freedom leading to more actual happiness.

---

It does depend on your role and where in the life cycle your company is. Big corporation? Sure, you should be able to walk away and someone on your team can take up the slack if you've built and trained your team correctly.

For folks like me who are ground level company owners of a startup, I can take time off but I'm still available for work because we are still very small and there is no one else. For my role, it's me or something doesn't get done. If my boss (the company owner and founder) calls me while I'm technically on PTO, I'm not going to ignore his call. He does try to respect the PTO, but sometimes he can't if **** hits the fan.

insulator_king said:

---

Ranger1743 said:

---

For federal employees it's

2.6 weeks from 0-3 years
3.9 weeks from 3-15 years
5.2 weeks 15 years+

Decimals since it's based on hours, not days.

Everyone gets 2.6 weeks sick per year on top of that.

---

Regular GS federal employees can carry over 240 hours every Calendar year, which is 6 weeks.

---

Carry over yes, I was just stating what is earned yearly. You can carry what you don't use up to 6 weeks. Also sick leave accrues indefinitely, which is very nice to have.

YouBet said:

---

It does depend on your role and where in the life cycle your company is. Big corporation? Sure, you should be able to walk away and someone on your team can take up the slack if you've built and trained your team correctly.

For folks like me who are ground level company owners of a startup, I can take time off but I'm still available for work because we are still very small and there is no one else. For my role, it's me or something doesn't get done. If my boss (the company owner and founder) calls me while I'm technically on PTO, I'm not going to ignore his call. He does try to respect the PTO, but sometimes he can't if **** hits the fan.

---

I agree with this overall.

If you are not able to take a week off at a corporation without staying totally connected, it doesn't matter what level you are at, you are doing something wrong. A corporation should not be that dependent on one person.

Start ups or owning a small business is a different world. You should know there is a difference going in. And i'd say the expectation of higher compensation is also there in those situations.

I do feel bad for lower level employees at start ups or small businesses who will never see the higher rewards, get paid like their peers in large corporations, and are expected to stay connected on vacations. That sucks.

AggieMainland said:

---

YouBet said:

---

It does depend on your role and where in the life cycle your company is. Big corporation? Sure, you should be able to walk away and someone on your team can take up the slack if you've built and trained your team correctly.

For folks like me who are ground level company owners of a startup, I can take time off but I'm still available for work because we are still very small and there is no one else. For my role, it's me or something doesn't get done. If my boss (the company owner and founder) calls me while I'm technically on PTO, I'm not going to ignore his call. He does try to respect the PTO, but sometimes he can't if **** hits the fan.

---

I agree with this overall.

If you are not able to take a week off at a corporation without staying totally connected, it doesn't matter what level you are at, you are doing something wrong. A corporation should not be that dependent on one person.

Start ups or owning a small business is a different world. You should know there is a difference going in. And i'd say the expectation of higher compensation is also there in those situations.

I do feel bad for lower level employees at start ups or small businesses who will never see the higher rewards, get paid like their peers in large corporations, and are expected to stay connected on vacations. That sucks.

---

I know there are some bad corporations and managers out there. But I'd wager some of it can be blamed on the person going on vacation….

For example, when I go on a week plus vacation I put in the effort to close things out and properly prep and hand everything else off. Because of that, I didn't really get bothered on my last few vacations. I have coworkers who don't do that. Some of it is laziness. Some of it is they like to think the stuff they're doing is somehow harder than everyone else and their peers can't handle it if they hand it off. So they get bothered on vacation. Then they *****.

My first job out of college in 2020 was working for a corporate feedyard, I got two weeks of PTO as a new hire. After 5 years they'd bump it up to 3 weeks and after 15 years you got 4 weeks.

My second Job working for one of the worlds largest grain companies, I got a full month off as a new hire. then once I turned 35 I would've got 5 weeks and I think at 50, I would've got 6 weeks.

Now I work for a start up grain company and I have unlimited PTO. The only downside is, I can't really use it during harvest time. I earn that PTO during harvest though because I put in 14hr days for a month straight with no days off. Come JFMAM, I can take a few weeks off at a time if I want to.