5. CREATE METRICS FOR MANAGERS You’ll certainly want to train your managers on your PTO philosophy and policies. But you can go a step further in the spirit of loud vacationing by developing performance metrics for managers based on time-off objectives for their teams. Consider doing the following: • Analyze team PTO use to ensure sufficient time is being taken by all employees. • Address patterns of underuse. Is the manager discouraging vacation use, or are employees hesitant to take time off for some reason? Get to the root of the issue. • Assess whether PTO is being approved and used equitably across the team. If not, find out why and address any disparities. • Ask employees for feedback. You can periodically survey employees to find out what is and isn’t working for them. Just remember that if you ask employees for their input, it’s important to follow up and address their concerns. 6. DON’T FORGET THE LEGAL STUFF • Ensure your PTO policies align with all applicable federal, state and local leave laws — including paid family leave, paid sick leave and accrual requirements. Note that some states have banned “use-it-or-lose-it” PTO policies or require employers to pay out accrued but unused PTO at the end of employment. • Employers with multiple locations may need to make jurisdiction-specific adjustments. • Be sure to create a clear and objective process for approving or denying vacation requests, whether based on performance issues, busy seasons or seniority during popular vacation times. • Document your legitimate business reasons for denying requests. Make sure decisions are made consistently and fairly to reduce the risk of discrimination claims. Consult with legal counsel, if needed, to ensure the denial doesn’t interfere with protected leave. • Train managers on PTO policies and basic leave-law compliance and let them know who to contact on your HR or legal team when issues arise. 7. LEAD BY EXAMPLE We’ll end with one of the most important aspects of a thriving workplace culture: Remember that your senior leadership team sets the tone for the entire organization. To embrace loud vacationing, your leaders must prioritize and value their own time away from work — and they should let your employees know about it. To set the tone, think about taking these actions: • Encourage senior leaders and all managers to mention in their internal out-of-office message that they are on vacation and disconnecting while away. Be sure they designate a point person for critical issues in their absence. • Talk about PTO in team meetings. Give space for employees to share their vacation plans or post-vacation stories — but also be sure to respect their privacy. • Create a space on your internal portal or team site where employees can voluntarily share their vacation photos. (You can designate someone in HR to upload submissions and ensure professionalism.) CONCLUSION Fisher Phillips will continue to monitor developments in this area and provide updates as warranted, so scan the QR code to subscribe to Fisher Phillips’ Insight System and get the most up-to-date information. For further information, contact your Fisher Phillips attorney. https://www.fisherphillips.com/en/Subscribe.html Sources 1. https://www.empower.com/the-currency/work/pursuit-of-pto-research 2. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/10/ more-than-4-in-10-u-s-workers-dont-take-all-their-paid-time-off/ 3. https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/why-employees-dread-returning-to-work-after-pto/ NCDA.COM 21
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