Can My Work Force Me to Use Pto if They Close the Office for a Week
My Company Is Forcing Us to Apply PTO for a Week It's Going to Be Closed
Few people are as genu-deep in our piece of work-related anxieties and viscous office politics as Alison Greenish, who has been fielding workplace questions for a decade now on her website Ask a Manager. In this week's Direct Report , she answers readers' questions well-nigh holidays at work.
Dear Direct Report,
My function announced information technology'southward closing for the calendar week between Christmas and New Year's, since and so many people take time off then anyway. Corking! But then they appear that we'll need to use our PTO for that week, fifty-fifty if nosotros were otherwise planning to work. That makes no sense to me! If we were prepare and willing to work, why should we lose vacation time only because the office decided to close? Our unused holiday time rolls over to the next yr, and then this means we'll have a week less to apply next yr than we had counted on having. Is this fifty-fifty legal?
—Fuming
Dearest Fuming,
It's legal, but it's a bad policy. Unfortunately, information technology'southward non an uncommon policy; a lot of offices that close that week handle holiday closures the aforementioned manner. Simply when you lot're talking nearly a full week, that'southward a pregnant bite out of most people's holiday get out.
You and your co-workers can try pushing back! Indicate out that some employees have that vacation fourth dimension allotted for other uses, and this volition wreak havoc on anyone who needed that week for, say, their child'due south wedding or a long-planned family unit trip next year. Your employer may or may not budge, but the more of you who speak upwards, the meliorate your chances of getting it reconsidered.
Dear Direct Report,
Last year, my visitor hosted a holiday Zoom "cocktail hour." I didn't attend since it was at 7 p.m., and at that time, I am getting my kids set for bed. I didn't hear annihilation about it until mid-October this yr. My boss emailed me direct and told me that the visitor is planning another cocktail hour for the holiday political party this twelvemonth, and information technology "looked bad" that I wasn't there last year.
I'm not in a senior-level high position. I work as a finance analyst in accounting. My twenty-four hour period is typically from 7:30–5ish. I told my boss that the fourth dimension of the cocktail hour does non work with my family schedule. If I were to participate, I would take to be logged into my computer in my business firm in the evening, which is hard because we have a small house and my role is in the living room. Information technology would be too distracting and, frankly, not enjoyable.
Is this worth fighting? I feel like this is a weird "requirement" they are request of me.
—Already Working twoscore Hours a Week
Love Already Working,
So, the deal with company holiday parties is … sometimes they're mandatory, fifty-fifty if they're not called that. Non mandatory in the sense of "if y'all're not there, you'll lose your task," but in the sense of "if y'all're not there, you'll be seen every bit insufficiently invested/ you'll use upwardly political upper-case letter/ you might be on the height of layoff lists down the road because nosotros don't recall you care nigh existence part of the team."
For the record, this is BS, and that line of thinking is the sign of a bad boss. If you do your job well, it shouldn't affair if you lot show up for a cocktail hour (virtual or not). And since people have lives and commitments exterior of their jobs, if employers really want total participation, they should schedule these events during the workday.
But that's how things should be, non always how things are. Tons of managers yet see holiday party attendance as obligatory, and yours is obviously one of them. In fact, yours seems to be extraordinarily entrenched in this mindset, given that she went as far as to tell you lot that your absenteeism last year looked bad, rather than just silently judging y'all similar virtually managers who suck in this way would do.
Given that, if there's a way for you to make an appearance at this virtual event, you should do it. You shouldn't accept to—"I take child care obligations then," or "I have a disharmonize that night" should be more than enough to take intendance of it—but clearly in this instance, working for this manager, you do kind of have to. Only yous don't have to stay for the whole thing: log on, stay for a trivial while, then beg off with bedtime responsibilities. (And hey, if your kids end up being a distraction that disrupts the event, all the better! Maybe next time your dominate will reconsider.)
Love Direct Report,
I am the full general managing director of a staff of 17 employees split into four unlike departments. All 17 of them are keen, merely there are iii whom I work with directly every single day, whereas the others I run into much less often (it'southward a large campus). I've thought well-nigh getting gifts for the three staff members whom I piece of work with daily considering they make my piece of work life easier. Only since at that place are 14 other employees under me, do I need to get everyone something?
I cannot afford to purchase gifts for all 17 employees, unless it's like $5 gift cards—which is just rude, in my opinion. I did just convince my college ups to increment everyone's holiday bonus this year and ensured they all got raises for 2022.
—Non That Rich
Dearest Not That Rich,
Nope, yous can't just buy gifts for the three employees. Regardless of how often you lot see them, you're however the manager for the whole team. Buying gifts for only some employees will look like favoritism, and it's highly likely to make at least some of the others experience overlooked. Whatsoever skillful the gifts practice for the morale of the three who get them volition exist outweighed past the harm to the morale of the other 14.
But that doesn't mean you're stuck giving $5 gift cards. A proficient solution when you can't purchase individual gifts for a large squad is to do one group gift. Food spreads are often like shooting fish in a barrel—baked goods, chocolate, homemade cider, whatever you lot cull that takes into consideration any dietary restrictions on your team. (Since you don't see all of them each 24-hour interval, message them early in the day so they know it's there.) Combine it with individual cards with handwritten letters of appreciation, and you'll be set up.
Love Direct Report,
I work in an manufacture and at a company that traditionally has very rowdy holiday parties. Smoking, drinking, all of it. I am newly significant, but I'thousand not set up to tell my boss or team when I travel across the country to this yr'southward party. I haven't seen any of my team members, as I've been working remote, only my first trimester has been rough and I don't desire anyone to know. Do you accept any advice for someone who wouldn't unremarkably avoid partying with their co-workers and doesn't want to make a big deal of it? I've been with the company four years, and so it would be pretty obvious if I declined to participate.
—Sober for Now
Dear Sober for At present,
Do y'all want to go and just non drink, or not get at all? If you'd like to get out of it entirely, one option is to cite vague medical reasons: "I've got a medical matter right now where my dr. is recommending against flying. It'due south nothing to worry about, but I can't brand information technology out for the political party." A lot of people aren't flight right now because of COVID, then you probably won't be the simply one.
Just if you want to go and just fend off questions about why you're not drinking, feel gratuitous to lie! "I'm taking a medication where I can't drink" is perfectly acceptable when you lot're trying to ward off nosy co-workers pushing alcohol. (I'll get out aside the obvious problems with a company culture that relies so heavily on pushing booze to create comradery in the first place.) Alternately, holding a drinkable that looks like alcohol will continue well-nigh people satisfied, and seltzer with lime looks merely like a Gin and Tonic.
Love Directly Report,
Can you lot chinkle in on managers who are suddenly in the Christmas spirit and wanting to get their remote employees together for a holiday dinner (in a restaurant, during a pandemic) less than a week from Christmas?
We're skipping family unit Thanksgiving due to COVID numbers increasing in our area and not everyone existence eligible for boosters. Our plan for Christmas was for everyone visiting that mean solar day to exist fully vaccinated with booster shots and limit where they were going out and well-nigh in the two weeks leading upwards to the holiday. And so this is quite at odds with that! I hate that my role is putting me in a position where I take to spend personal capital on something that to me seems like it should've been a nonissue to brainstorm with, just I'm hoping yous'll tell me if I'thousand the one who is looking at this wrong.
—Cautious and Irked
Beloved Cautious and Irked,
I tend to think that scheduling whatsoever work social event for less than a week from Christmas is a bad move, since so many people's calendars are booked with family and social obligations at that time of year. And equally you point out, nosotros're still in a pandemic and people'south take a chance assessments vary enough that expecting everyone to be comfortable eating in a restaurant is pretty out of touch (specially when some employees may take kids who won't be fully vaccinated yet). Still, though, a number of employers seem to exist doing it this year.
It's perfectly reasonable, however, to explain that you have high-risk family members and won't exist able to attend.
Love Direct Report,
I have supervised a three-person team of contractors at a big global corporation for several years. They are part-time and have worked for us for between 20 and 15 years, depending on the contractor. They're seasoned professionals and highly respected both in and out of the company.
When the holidays rolled around during my first year of supervising this team, I asked my boss if the contractors were invited to our department'south annual vacation party. I was told no, because they are not employees and the company did not desire to give the impression they were. I wasn't pleased with this response, but I took the team out for a holiday lunch. The contractors appreciated it, simply they definitely noticed the lack of invitation for the section party and fabricated joking comments about existence the ugly stepchildren.
Nonetheless, at that first department vacation political party and every section vacation party since, I accept noticed that other contractors within the department (often full-time contractors) attend the party and have won prizes for employees, etc. (These prizes are usually gift cards ranging from $50–$250, so not chump change.) In the terminal ii years, even during COVID when celebrations were virtual, I have asked if my contractors could attend, and the answer has been "no, the party and prizes are for employees." And at each political party, other contractors are there, winning prizes.
It actually bothers me that other contractors attend while mine are prohibited. Information technology'south small, but it affects the morale of my team who perform an essential service for our department. My plan this year is to just invite my contractors and if I become called out, go whole sus scrofa and phone call out the other contractors that attend. Is begging for forgiveness rather than asking permission the correct approach?
—Second Course Citizens
Beloved 2nd Class,
It seems unkind, but there are sometimes good reasons for companies to exclude contractors from certain piece of work events; it's ane of the factors that gets looked at if at that place's a legal claiming to their condition equally contractors versus employees. But in this example, that doesn't seem to be the explanation—other contractors are attending, so it seems plain false that contractors simply aren't invited. It's but your contractors who aren't invited.
I wouldn't but get alee and invite them after your boss explicitly told you not to. Non but is that probable to be seen as rebel and harm your boss'south trust in yous in the future, but it risks putting the contractors themselves in an awkward position. Instead, talk to your boss at present, ahead of the party, and ask nearly information technology direct! There's no reason yous can't say, "I had understood my team wasn't invited because they're contractors, just I've noticed other contractors from our section practise attend. Is at that place a reason they aren't permitted merely other contractors are?" It's possible you lot'll observe out that the company distinguishes betwixt part-time and full-time contractors (in fact, that'south my guess) or that your dominate but handles this differently than other managers in your department, simply information technology's reasonable to ask about it. Yous can also inquire, "Is information technology possible to get that reconsidered this yr? I know it's had an impact on their morale in the past, and I'd like to proceed them happy, particularly in this chore market."
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