Does your workplace allow you to take time off around both holidays or do you need to choose (or perhaps not get either one off, due to demand)?
This question brought to you by DH's either/or time off. He is choosing time off around Christmas because DD is off from school for a week and he'd rather spend that time with her. Which means that traveling to his parents for Thanksgiving (I know, I know, I'm still stressed out by this) is most likely off the table, unless I go by myself with the kids. His parents don't celebrate Christmas and DH would really like a "staycation" that time of year anyway since Christmas itself is pretty hectic with my family for 2 days (xmas eve & xmas day).
So, anyway, I'm wondering and also just stressing out once again about when in the heck we will see the ILs...
Regarding family-we put it out there when DS was born that we were no longer traveling for the holidays. Too stressful, too expensive, and honestly, it's much more enjoyable at other times of the year. Some people took the news easier than others, but eventually everyone got over it.
Well I'm a teacher so I'm automatically off Wed-Fri of Thanksgiving week and 2 weeks for Christmas break.
DH isn't in education at all. He's a software engineer at a fortune 100 company. Because of the type of business they do they are open everyday around the holidays except for Thanksgiving and Christmas. He takes PTO for the day after Thanksgiving*, Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas. The company lets him take both holidays no problem.
*He actually gets Veteran's Day off but chooses to work that day and flexes his time to the day following Thanksgiving.
I can take time off at both. My office becomes a ghost town around the end of the year anyways because everyone has do much use or lose leave to take. But I plan my own schedule so it's easy for me to make it work.
H can also take time off at both. He does have to make sure there are a certain number of people working at any given day so he does often take less time at Thanksgiving. He also has a good mix of different faiths at work too though so it makes holiday time off a bit easier. For example he has a few Jewish people on his team that always seem to choose to work Christmas eve and the day after Christmas.
Post by Ashley&Scott on Oct 5, 2015 8:38:25 GMT -5
My office is open on Black Friday & Christmas Eve. We can take time off, but someone still has to cover the office on those days. Since there are only two of us here we rotate, not a formal rotation but it ends up being every other year off for each holiday.
I already know I have to work Christmas Eve this year
I will probably have Black Friday off, but we haven't discussed it yet.
Post by antoniamarchette on Oct 5, 2015 8:39:59 GMT -5
It's usually one or the other here. We do get the day after Thanksgiving off but they request a few volunteers to come in who will get comp time to use the following year. We only get Christmas day off unless it falls on a weekend and they will give Christmas eve instead.
Regarding family-we put it out there when DS was born that we were no longer traveling for the holidays. Too stressful, too expensive, and honestly, it's much more enjoyable at other times of the year. Some people took the news easier than others, but eventually everyone got over it.
Same here. DH can take time off whenever. And we also told our families we were not traveling for the holidays anymore. We have little kids, they are adults. MUCH easier for THEM to travel than for us. So we host one or both holidays, and family is welcome to join us.
I have Thanksgiving and the Friday off. My work shuts down between Christmas and new years. DH gets just Thanksgiving and Christmas day off. But he takes some PTO.
Our Thanksgiving holiday has been super stressful with travel to the ILs, but after this year we get to stay home. DH and I are thrilled
At my job we had at calendar made in excel where everyone put down what they would like to take off.
Then my boss would look at it and ensure we had coverage while granting time off based on seniority.
This was all done by now though.
DH just started a new job and wasn't allowed to make any requests until he had completed his first six months there, so now, basically. Â
In that case, a new person would get last choice. My boss only cared that one person was around, and she chose to work all of the days, to catch up and clean & organize, etc. So she was OK being the one person.
The same couple of people always took the whole week, but most didn't do more than a couple of days.
Post by Velar Fricative on Oct 5, 2015 8:46:35 GMT -5
This is the first year in my career where I have flexibility on this since I now work in an office environment as opposed to a service environment. Prior to this, it was one holiday or the other, not both, and time off depended on seniority. Even as a manager, I felt bad about taking both holidays off so I stuck to one holiday too despite having first dibs.
This time, we're closed the Friday after Thanksgiving and taking time off between Christmas and New Year's Day is NBD so I took the week off.
There are three cardiologists at H's location, so he will have to work every third Christmas and every third Thanksgiving. I guess on the third year he will have both holidays off.
I work retail, so you definitely have to choose, and ask early. Only so many people can ask for vacation for each. I always ask EARLY, like in July. I usually take time around Thanksgiving, because it is H's favorite and his birthday is around that time. This year, I am taking two weeks (!!!) around Christmas so we can finally do Christmas with H's family.
I am lucky to work at a retail company that is closed Thanksgiving and Christmas, though, so I never have to worry about that.
Post by redheadbaker on Oct 5, 2015 8:54:12 GMT -5
I'm in a new contract position, so I don't actually know how they work time off for the holidays. I know the office is closed Thanksgiving and Black Friday, Christmas Day and New Years Day. That being said, I don't get paid time off, and since all of our family is local, I don't really need to take extra time off.
FI doesn't get any time off that isn't already built into their school calendar, unless he's sick and unable to work.
We can use our vacation time basically whenever we want to. We have a new daycare that closes way too much and we will be taking a lot of time just to watch the kids. Typically we only take off Thanksgiving and Friday and then the week between Christmas and New Years. For Thanksgiving, we usually go to MILs house. It's only a 2 hour drive and she is awesome, so I don't mind at all. She also lives closer to lots of stores and I like Black Friday shopping. This year we are headed to NJ because my brother adopted two boys and I am dying to meet them! When we had DS, his first Christmas we spent with in-laws. I figure at six months, he didn't care. Now, the rule is that anyone who wants to come on Christmas is welcome, but we're not traveling on Christmas. In-laws come for Christmas, we visit my family at some other time, usually the week after. If your in-laws want to see you so bad, they can travel. I like my in-laws very much, but there is no way I would take the kids without DH, especially if it means leaving DH alone for Thanksgiving, which I consider an important family holiday.
We are required to have coverage. I manage a group of 5 people, split into 2 teams. I need to have someone from each team present. Because of that I end up coming in through the holidays. Because I feel bad having them be here and me not being here. Currently we discuss what days people want off and then come to an agreement. On each team there are employees with only 2 weeks vacation who use it up so they usually do most of the time only taking off a day or so. The older employes come in for that day. It so far works ok.
I SAH so answering for DH. He can take his days off whenever. Usually basically no one he works with his around the week between Christmas and Thanksgiving except the guys who didn't manage their vacation time well.
My old job, they asked that you just do one or the other and it was basically who requested it off first.
My firm closes from Wed to Friday of Thanksgiving week and Christmas Eve and Christmas. No need to use vacation days. But I'm always slammed around that time of year so I work from home. I worked almost all day on thanksgiving day last year.
Time off in my department is on a first come first serve basis. No more than 2 (out of 8) people can be off for more than 2 days in a row. People generally try to be really considerate of each other.
I have already signed up for two weeks off for Christmas 2016.
Post by undecidedowl on Oct 5, 2015 9:05:17 GMT -5
We can pretty much take our PTO whenever we want. Since it's a use it or lose it system, the office will be pretty empty at the end of the year anyway.
Our company gives a half day the day before Thanksgiving and closes Thu/Fri.
The company also closes the week between Christmas/New Years. But I work in finance, so we have year end deadlines. So I still end up having to come in some days, but it's very casual (jeans) and I get to take those days as additional vacation days in the following year.
It's not terrible, but I am jealous of other departments that can just peace out before Christmas and enjoy the uninterrupted, time off. Instead it's our departments most hectic time of the year.
Our family is local, so we do not need to travel. But if I needed to, I wouldn't be allowed due to my work schedule. Nobody gets this time off other than maternity leave. Which is where I will be this year. Even though it pisses my Director off
Time off is heavily encouraged, though 2 weeks is unofficially the max time people will take at once unless it's a more specialized type of leave. Since I work with a bunch of Type As this isn't always heeded. I am not Type A so I take it when I feel like it.
My brother works in retail so he has black out dates around major holidays. Unless he gets married (unlikely) this means we are the ones who have to travel if we want to see family.
ETA: While my work is client focused, my client is basically gone for a week in November and two weeks in December so it's not an issue.