Worker Calls Unlimited PTO A 'Scam' After Boss Says Taking Time Off ‘Would Send The Wrong Message’
PeopleImages | Shutterstock A worker turned to Reddit to complain that unlimited PTO is a scam after his boss denied his time-off request, saying it would "send the wrong message" to other employees. Funny thing? He asked for a measly two days off, nearly 3 weeks in advance.
Unlimited PTO truly does sound like a dream on paper. You're able to take off as much time as you want, whenever you want, without having to worry about running out. That dream vacation to Europe almost sounds possible when unlimited PTO is on the table, right? Not exactly. Often, unlimited PTO is a selling point for companies when recruiting candidates, but once you start working, the practice of actually taking any days at all is suddenly looked down on.
Worker calls unlimited PTO a 'scam' after boss says taking time off would 'send the wrong message.'
"I tried to request a Thursday/Friday off three weeks in advance. [I] got pulled into a meeting and [was] told that while we technically have unlimited time off, taking days right now would 'send the wrong message' because we are in a busy season," the worker began in his Reddit post.
He explained that the company has been in a "busy season" for the last 14 months. It seemed clear from his post that his manager was using it as an excuse to create an environment that made taking PTO feel impossible. That was a much bigger problem that spoke to the toxicity of his workplace. He admitted that he missed his previous job that would give him 15 days of accrued leave, for the mere fact that he never had to beg to use it.
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He was adamant that the whole system of unlimited PTO is a scam to avoid paying out accrued leave when someone quits. Sadly, unlimited PTO is still something many people would absolutely love and maybe even leave a job for because it really does sound incredible.
Most workers want flexibility at their jobs.
According to the Pew Research Center, an estimated 45% of American workers left their jobs because they didn’t have enough flexibility, with nearly 40% citing too many hours as a reason. The majority of workers who quit said low pay (63%), no opportunities for advancement (63%), and feeling disrespected at work (57%) were reasons for their departure.
Other reasons included workers feeling they were at work too much and not having enough PTO to use. While there are many advantages to unlimited PTO, including its appeal to job seekers and the likelihood that it keeps people wanting to work for a company, there are also many disadvantages. Unless unlimited PTO has clear guidelines and managers or bosses actually encourage employees to use it, people may feel they can't be upfront about using it.
Then there's the risk that employees will abuse it altogether. Though that might not be as much of a concern, considering even with accrued PTO, employees often aren't taking the time off that they should.
A quarter of workers don't use their PTO.
According to a FlexJobs report, although most employees have access to PTO, 23% didn’t take a single vacation day in the past year. Some of those reasons included a fear of falling behind on their workload if they were gone.
Not only that, 29% of workers said they feel guilty or "pressured to appear committed" at work, leading them to avoid taking PTO. Twenty-five percent of workers said that their manager would likely respond in a "discouraging" manner if they asked to take a full week off.
Taking time off is within any employee's rights. Unfortunately, many people feel as if they're breaking an unspoken company rule by asking for one to two days off, even when they have unlimited time at their disposal.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
