Everybody needs a break. All the time. Everyday. 365/24/7 or so it seems. The duo discusses how PTO and the holidays collide, the new norms in time off, unplug culture, and how to try your best to chill the F' out (cough cough). Take a break and give it a listen.
Alexa
What's up, Tyson?
Tyson
Oh, my gosh. I actually have some some interesting an interesting update, I guess.
Alexa
Amazing. I can't wait.
Tyson
So it's not it's interesting, but it's also like mostly just like a lot of nerves for me. So I am going on my very first business trip since. Oh, from that we've gone. Yeah, I'm going to be gone for two nights and three days, which is super exciting. I can't wait to be in real life with people again.
Tyson
But this means that I'm also the new way for my baby for two nights. So I'm like dealing with a lot of those emotions and fears and, like, she has. No, it's just I just look at her and I'm like, Oh, she has no idea what's up, but, like, what's going to happen in the next day or so, and then I'm going to be gone.
Tyson
And it just it breaks my heart, but I got to return it off eventually.
Alexa
Do you? Do you? This is this is a natural progression. And she will she will survive. I'm sure your husband is well equipped to to watch for her for two days. But and I'm excited for you to to have a your first business trip.
Tyson
No.
Alexa
Which is so far.
Tyson
Yeah. No, it's it's going to be extremely interesting.
Alexa
Nice. Well, speaking of business, trips, I guess I have a phone announcement for everyone that's listening to this, which is first and foremost that we are finally launching our official hotline, which is basically a way to call in. Leave us a voicemail with your questions, responses, comments, funny stories. Again, all entirely anonymous. I think we've we've sort of tipped this off a bit before but if you want to be anonymous, please remain anonymous.
Alexa
If you do not, obviously feel free to tell us who you are and we'd love, love to hear it so you can call in at any point going forward from when you hear this. So give us your tips comments, questions, stories. Two, three, ten, five, six, four, 64 62. Again, that is the official people problems hotline. No wrong answers.
Alexa
Just don't be an asshole. Three ten five, six, four, six, four, 62. And we will start to play those and work some of those into future episodes, which is super fun. Feels like a big deal. And I'm really excited to see what people call in with and tell us because I'm sure there's some crazy shit that we just like can't quite articulate from a DM on Instagram.
Alexa
So it's better to hear someone tell the story so excited about that. Yeah, and I'm, I'm, uh, I'm also headed back to the States for a little while, so that's kind of exciting as well. It is the holiday season, Tyson, which we are going to talk about on this episode. And last but not least, our shameless plug. Have you joined the people of society yet, or perhaps as we call it, which is our community of people, arts and air professionals and listeners of the show, you can join our community to use the forum for peer feedback, download Awesome Resources written by peers, connect with thought leaders in H.R. and the benefits space and get access to
Alexa
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Alexa
So make sure you sign up for our newsletter where we share our weekly episodes as well as tips, tricks, and sort of in the news segments from Tyson and I every week All right, Tyson, I said all of that and now I'm tired, which indicates that maybe I need a break and it's time to talk about PTF. So it's it's the holidays it's it's one of my strong suits is a good thing.
Alexa
Yeah. So the holiday season is among us, kind of regardless of the country that you're in, at least the Christmas holidays is coming down the pike in the States. We have the Thanksgiving holiday, which is quite a big holiday here as well as Christmas. So the end of the year in the United States, more work perspective is always a bit of like a Swiss cheese clusterfuck because there's like these two big holidays.
Alexa
And we'll talk about the week between Christmas and New Year's, I'm sure. But people are starting to figure out, like, you know, what are they what's what's the end of the year look like? We're six weeks from New Year as the recording of this, not to to date our episodes, but yeah, a lot lot happens in the next couple of weeks.
Alexa
What are your opening thoughts on PTO and holiday time off?
Tyson
So one thing that really just came to a huge surprise to me was that not everyone gets that week between Christmas and New Year's off. I just thought that, like, moving forward with the world, like that's kind of where we were going. Like, I don't understand why people work during that time unless there is like obviously some sort of customer response or, you know, some reason why you'd have to be like live like the people who work 20 47 kind of thing.
Tyson
Right?
Alexa
But I seasonal like in retail or something, right?
Tyson
No, exactly. I just, I'm talking like I say corporate, right? Like most corporate, not retail. Yeah, exactly.
Alexa
Right.
Tyson
The corporate people of retail probably get the time off potentially.
Alexa
What I've seen that's interesting is so I've always been curious about this because I'm like, look, I used to always feel really bad for the people that would like email me on Black Friday. And I'm like, Why did they make you go back to the office for this? Like one fucking day after you've like, had a whole day to spend with your family and relax and then the weekend starts, like, why do they make you go back in?
Alexa
And then I started to realize more and more people do the same thing for the week between Christmas and New Year's. And I think it just goes back to what I have seen increasingly so is that people are starting to gift this that gifted.
Tyson
Yes. Yes.
Alexa
Because they're saying like, we're closing the office because, one, I think nobody wants to work to know it's going back to the office. Three, it's like everyone's sort of collectively understands that you're not going to be very productive that like I think there are people like myself sometimes like I do sometimes work during that week. But for me, it's like good, unadulterated like me productive catch up time.
Alexa
That's very different than like, I need you to be in meetings and I need you to, like, show up at the office. I think that's increasingly some companies are trying to gift it as like, oh, look, we take care of our team. Yeah, but it's not it's not a majority for show.
Tyson
No, I guess you're right. And what's funny is so what I'm definitely seeing a lot more, like you said, the gifting, but I actually did work for a company not where I currently work, but I did work for a company previously where they did not gift it, but mandated you take it off. So in Ontario you can actually do that.
Tyson
Like legally you're allowed to tell people when to take their vacation. So we were forced to take two or three depending on like what the stats look like that your days off. And there was actually a lot of feedback like, hey, I don't actually celebrate Christmas. Why am I being forced to take this time off? So some of that feedback happened, but just generally we kind of said, well, you know, our clients aren't in that particular space.
Tyson
Our clients take this time off. So there's no point for us to be to be active. And it's, you know, a good time to recharge and whatever. And usually like I know this year is a little bit wonky because the two, maybe even three steps. So Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year's Day might all fall on weekends this year.
Tyson
So I think what a lot of.
Alexa
Christmas and New Year's Eve of Sunday is this year, which kind of sucks.
Tyson
Yeah. So they're popping that time into the week, right? So you get your start like in lieu of it's like in that week in between, you're like that.
Alexa
New Year's Day on the second. So everyone gets Monday the second off, even though New Year's Day falls on the first.
Tyson
But I think what some companies are doing is they're giving that day off on the Friday before, oh, first to make it inclusive. So we come back to work on the second. Oh, and then the day off isn't on the Friday.
Alexa
Yeah. In the US all of this is marked at least federal holidays are like bank holidays are marked. I mean, just let me actually look.
Tyson
At the.
Alexa
Calendar. No, it's, it's Monday. It's all I think it's almost always the next business day after.