Too much to do too little time!

scottorr · December 2003

Year end is drawing near and we are swamped. We are moving our office on Friday, finishing our FSA open enrollment on Friday and I was just told that we are going to convert 45 contract staff to full time employees by year end. My boss then informed me that I need to use up the rest of my vacation befor January 1. Who has time for vacation? We have a policy of use or lose it. I am always afraid to take vacation becasue I end up working 80 hours the week before and after. I just needed to vent, thank for listening!

SDDCHR · December 2003

Take the vacation!!! The work is always going to be there so you may as well take some time off and relax!

ray a · December 2003

Sounds like Friday is the perfect vacation day, Scott.

ritaanz · December 2003

Hey Scott, throw the ball back at your boss. Ask him to "help" prioritize the work. Make a list of the things that must be done. Include those vacation days sprinkled in among them.
1. Thursday pack office.
2. Friday take vacation day.
3. Monday unpack boxes.
4. You got the picture?

If nothing else, it will start a dialogue and hopefully, eventually you will be able to get yourself un-swamped.

HS · December 2003

Ain't that the truth! I know exactly how you feel Scott. Do they purposely save everything for one time? Rita has some great advice, talk to your boss. Can a temp be hired? Can they make an exception for you and extend your vacay a few weeks? When my company had a use it or lose it policy, we extended vacation for a few weeks if business needs required the person to be there. Hang in there, it's almost the new year!

cebudragonlady · December 2003

Just wondering - "use it or lose it", is that legal in NY?

Chari

ray a · December 2003

Yep. No law says we have to provide vacation in NY, but if we do, we must abide by our policy. Can't make up the rules as we go along. My employer will reimburse up to 5 days of unused vacation, anything over that is forfeited.

Rockie · December 2003

I'm in the same boat Ray. I have to take off the last two weeks of the year or lose them. We can only carry over 45 days/year. Anything over we lose. I have not been good about taking my vacation time this year...so I will have to do better in 2004.

The end of year is ALWAYS a busy time...no matter what with open enrollment for insurance, etc. We recently put in a new HRIS and Payroll system and that takes effect the first of the year. We are also implementing an incentive based performance program the first quarter of the year...WHEW, makes me tired just to think about it.

Good advice above...the work is still there and your inbox will never be empty!

Have a good time off!

solesen · December 2003

I tried the ploy of asking my "leader" to set priorities for me recently when there was a crunch and I still had 3 days of vacation to use/lose. He was so clueless about why certain things had to be done and when they had to be done. "We'll hire a temp." was the first suggestion. We all know that by the time you hire a qualified person and train them, you could have done it yourself. Then you still have to review and correct their work. This is not a good suggestion. "Ask for an extension." was the second suggestion. Has anyone gotten an extension from a government agency or from an employee or from an insurance company lately? I ended up not taking my time off in order to meet the demands. When I told my "leader", he said that I should be a better manager of my time. Dilbert is alive and well.

Too much to do too little time!

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