How much annual leave do you like to have in the bank?

[Anonymous]

We max out yearly at 240 hours and that's where I like to keep it, in case of layoff or extended illness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do people keep the carryover max? When do you plan to use it? I'm FINALLY hitting 240 the first pay period of 2022, after many years of taking just a week in the summer, the day after Thanksgiving, and a week at Christmas off all year. Should I try to keep it near the cap? Why? If I ever leave the feds, that's a lot of time I'll never get back.

I keep it because I get so much other leave that I'm able to use throughout the year that I don't ever really go that far into my annual leave pot. I usually get a couple of time off awards good for a couple of weeks. I also earn credit hours when I work more than 40 hours a week, which happens regularly enough that I build up three extra days of leave a few times a year. I can't really take long vacations - we have a disabled toddler so we're not really doing family trips during covid. I mostly travel with girlfriends, but I can't leave my husband at home with our toddler for more than a week before it's too much for him. Combine three days of credit hours with a holiday weekend, and that's about all of the contiuous leave I get. If our kiddo didn't have multiple disabilities that got in the way of traveling (and also covid), I wouldn't hesitate to take a three or four week vacation once a year. My office would totally support that.

[Anonymous]

Where do you get all this leave?? I’m at DOJ and always hovering on the low end. No time off awards, no credit for routine overtime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where do you get all this leave?? I’m at DOJ and always hovering on the low end. No time off awards, no credit for routine overtime.

How old of a fed are you? Are you a manager? I’m at 14 years and have carried over 240 for a couple of years now. Pandemic really gave me tons of leave because there was no where to go

[Anonymous]

I am in the private sector and rarely take leave. Even when I take time off, some emergency comes up and I end up working.

We are allowed to carry over 1,000 hours a year and I have more than that, so I get paid out at the end of the year for the excess. I get 10 days PTO, paid at 50% for whatever you don’t use at the end of the year.

I’ve been at the same company for 20+ years though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do you get all this leave?? I’m at DOJ and always hovering on the low end. No time off awards, no credit for routine overtime.

How old of a fed are you? Are you a manager? I’m at 14 years and have carried over 240 for a couple of years now. Pandemic really gave me tons of leave because there was no where to go

13 years. I take time off on kids breaks (spring break etc). Took 2 days last week for Thanksgiving. It’s really all the school breaks and travel to see relatives.

[Anonymous]

Local county employee 1250 hours. Trying to save enough to retire 2 years early. I get 240 hours a year pto it all carries over

[Anonymous]

I am always stunned when I hear how much paid leave folks in Washington get. We get 10 days PTO (vacation and sick leave) per year. We're not allowed to carry over from year to year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am always stunned when I hear how much paid leave folks in Washington get. We get 10 days PTO (vacation and sick leave) per year. We're not allowed to carry over from year to year.

WTF. That sucks. I'm sorry.

[Anonymous]

15 year fed here. I've been carrying over 240 hours since 2013. despite this, I still take 30-32 days a year because I usually get a 40 hour time off award and I travel internationally for work (pre covid). Travel comp time from my international trips is real nice.

2019 was my favorite year vacation wise. I used 336 hours of leave. Thanks to the 35 day shutdown from late December 2018 to January 2019, I got 62 hours of use or lose restored. I had use two 24 hour time off awards. AND I had 70 hours of travel comp time that would have expired in 2019 if I didn't use it. So I got to have 42 days off. I felt like I was on vacation every other week. Plus I got to go on 4 international work trips--each were 2 weeks long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do you get all this leave?? I’m at DOJ and always hovering on the low end. No time off awards, no credit for routine overtime.

How old of a fed are you? Are you a manager? I’m at 14 years and have carried over 240 for a couple of years now. Pandemic really gave me tons of leave because there was no where to go

13 years. I take time off on kids breaks (spring break etc). Took 2 days last week for Thanksgiving. It’s really all the school breaks and travel to see relatives.

My Dh and I switch out staying home for random times. And I use camps during spring break. I prefer to use my annual leave for actual travel

[Anonymous]

irst, I'll answer for my local gov position. We can carry 2.5x our annual allotment, and unlimited sick.

Early in my career (corporate) I hardly ever had any to carry over, and even requested Leave Without Pay when I was at a company with 2 weeks leave. Two weeks vacation is just not enough.

My current job has 18 days/year. I knew I was going to have a kid and we didn't have real maternity leave, so I hoarded as much leave as I could for maternity leave and came back with almost no leave.

Then, I took almost no vacation during COVID, both "nowhere to go" and also job requirements were really demanding. So now, I'm at about my max, 9 weeks in the bank, and I'm planning regular use of it again (for local-ish trips).

For random daycare holidays (summer break), my husband and I alternate and/or WFH while parenting. I'm taking the whole Christmas break off with my kid, though.

Second, unlimited vacation is mostly a scam so companies don't have to pay out 9 weeks of vacation when someone leaves, and it is no longer an actual entitlement.

Third, it is ridiculous how uneven vacation allotment is, even within companies. Senior people with 6+ weeks with underlings getting 1-2 weeks. America needs a new vacation policy.

[Anonymous]

I agree--America does need a new vacation policy! Everybody should get a minimum of 25 days of vacation a year, as well as some form of paid maternity and paternity leave. We don't realize how much stress affects our bodies. What good is a six figure job if you cannot enjoy the money you work so hard for? What good is having a $3 million retirement savings if you die within 5 years of retiring?

Some of my friends poke fun / question why my spouse and I take so 5-7 vacations each year and 3-4 smaller long weekend trips. 10 years ago, I used to say "I'll travel to Asia region, Australia, and Africa when I retire because they are so far away." But then some of my older colleagues died within 3-5 years of retirement. and it made me rethink. each of them they had so many plans for the next 20-30 years of their life. One guy had a mini notebook filled with vacation and hobby ideas. I was so happy that he would live his dreams in retirement. But he never got to do any of it. After him and some other colleagues died within a couple years of retiring I decided I would start taking my vacations and enjoying my money that I make now. Even during Covid I took some vacation time just to stay in the house. These jobs literally try to kill people.

I also am responsible enough to have retirement savings. I'm 37 and already have $820k in 401k and I still have one of those jobs that gives you a pension--which for me will be about $60-65k annually. I realize I could do a little better saving for retirement, but I'm cool with this. Because at 37, I've been to 53 countries and get to go to several sporting events, theatre shows, take weekend hiking trips, take cooking classes, and join wine clubs etc.

Everyone deserves a good quality life. Vacation time is a key component of the equation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Everyone deserves a good quality life. Vacation time is a key component of the equation.

Agree. But also, think a focus on visiting many countries/place and/or doing big trips as the ideal vacation is totally not necessary. People just need time for themselves to unplug, to do whatever it is they enjoy, to spend extended time with friends/family.

10 days of PTO a year is just not reasonable to allow that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Everyone deserves a good quality life. Vacation time is a key component of the equation.

Agree. But also, think a focus on visiting many countries/place and/or doing big trips as the ideal vacation is totally not necessary. People just need time for themselves to unplug, to do whatever it is they enjoy, to spend extended time with friends/family.

10 days of PTO a year is just not reasonable to allow that.

I agree! I was sharing my version of quality of life. it can be different for everyone. Regardless, the pitiful PTO that most companies give is just not reasonable--whether that's traveling the world or spending time with family and friends.