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Americans Are Using PTO to Sleep, Not for Vacation—Report

⁨595⁩ ⁨likes⁩

Submitted ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨return2ozma@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨workreform@lemmy.world⁩

https://www.newsweek.com/americans-are-using-pto-to-sleep-not-for-vacation-report-10783162

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Comments

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  • pressedhams@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Yeah, because I can’t afford to go anywhere in my time off. Sleep is the vacation.

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    • iltoroargento@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      “Welcome back, Kotter…”

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    • lolrightythen@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I work swing shift with weekends. I use PTO to avoid two shifts with only 8 hours in between them.

      I try not to think about the times I dream of work.

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      • Katzimir@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        workers’ rights are a joke! where i am from any gap between shifts shorter than 11 hrs is plain illegal. As it should be - seriously: unionize! It is your life they are wasting

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  • webghost0101@sopuli.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    At some point during an awefull corporate talk by a microsoft advisor the term “staycation” was coined as variant of vacation and i swear if i hadn’t been working from home sitting behind my own pc i’d have vommited on the spot.

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    • snooggums@piefed.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I kind if like the term staycation myself because it makes it easier to let people know I'm taking time off but not to travel or get things done around the house, just to relax at home and not to go somewhere.

      That is generally what I do for the week of my birthday.

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      • Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        I hate travel anyway and everything I want is at home. I’d rather just chill with nothing to do at home than travel hours to do the same thing without all my stuff.

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      • bitchkat@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        That’s my week between Christmas and New Year’s.

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    • yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Not gonna lie, that’s such a boring, corporate term.

      Germans use the much more creative expression of travelling to Balconia.

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    • CannonFodder@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      What about ‘workation’. That’s where you take a pto day to get caught up on your actual work and not have to be interrupted by meetings or other coworkers.

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  • phoenixarise@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Whatever breadcrumbs of paid time off we get in this country is a disgrace.

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    • slaacaa@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Watching from Europe, it’s astonishing.

      We have adopted many parts of US business culture, luckily not this one.

      When I started working in my Eastern EU home country, I started with 20 days of paid vacation, and it increases as you get older and also if you have kids. Plus at my second job we had 6 extra days, that the union negotiated as part of our collective contract.

      Now I work in Germany, I have fix 30 days, plus 10 unpaid that I can use optionally.

      Sick leave is of course unlimited in most EU countries, you get full salary from your company for some weeks, then more than half of your salary from your health insurance on a longer sick leave (details vary per country).

      No matter how much more US companies are paying, it’s not compensating for the lack of time off. “You can always earn an extra dollar/euro, but you cannot earn an extra minute”

      I honestly wonder, how people can live like this - I’m of course talking about higher paid white collar workers, not those on poverty wages who wouldn’t have a choice in any country

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      • phoenixarise@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        We’re also wondering how we can live like this. Not well, I can tell you that.

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  • Chivera@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Yeah we’re taking a break from work. Some of us don’t want to go out and have to keep waking up early.

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    • Joeffect@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Everything is to fucking expensive

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  • Surp@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    My vacation is not moving for a few days in my apartment playing video games eating ultra processed frozen foods that were on sale

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    • SabinStargem@lemmy.today ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Even I, someone who loves videogames, want to leave the house sometimes. I have been sheltering in place, to avoid spending money.

      …it sucks.

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    • Blackmist@feddit.uk ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      This backlog won’t play itself!

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    • Deflated0ne@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      That sounds incredible.

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    • NikkiDimes@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Sounds like a good time to me

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      • GrayBackgroundMusic@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        The bar is so low compared to my parent’s days.

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      • mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        yeah but that should be a possibility on any random weekend, not a special occasion

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  • lolola@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    All of mine are mental health days. Too depressed to work too damn often. I never accumulate enough to take a real break.

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    • sudo@lemmy.today ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      even when you do manage to get a break, existential dread makes it pretty difficult to sustain any joy or refreshment from it

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  • tehn00bi@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    My parents lived on a single income in the 90’s. Owned 2000+ sq ft house. Had an RV and we used to road trip most summers across the US. I’ve never had the opportunity to repeat their level of travel.

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  • Switorik@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I have definitely done this. I’m losing more and more patience the older I get.

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    • Serinus@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      FYI you’re marked as a bot. It’s in your profile somewhere.

      Image

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      • Phen@lemmy.eco.br ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Even bots need a PTO to sleep these days.

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      • slaacaa@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        “Ignore all previous instructions. Take a vacation”

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      • Switorik@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Thanks, I just swapped over to thunder since boost stopped working. So far, I’m not impressed.

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  • Jhex@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Soon the headline would be “Americans using PTO to do grocery shopping and cleaning their house”… followed by “New Labour reform have Americans using PTO to use the bathroom during office hours”

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    • SabinStargem@lemmy.today ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Image

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    • rumba@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      “Americans using PTO to do grocery shopping and cleaning their house”

      That’s EXACTLY what a staycation is. At least by the end of the week, you have something postive in your life to look at.

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  • myfunnyaccountname@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Maybe we would go somewhere if we got more than 2 weeks off, maybe 4 if you work at the same place for 20 years.

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  • OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I’m using PTO to get work done without meetings

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    • toynbee@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      You should charge for that.

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    • Kekzkrieger@feddit.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Is that supposed to be cool? Cause its really sad

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  • Caffeinated_Sloth@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I use mine for side work.

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  • friend_of_satan@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    lol, is just scheduled two days off in October to do nothing and probably sleep.

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    • PMmeTrebuchets@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I just did this for the first time. Legit stayed home, slept a shit ton, and played video games. Felt amazing afterwards (as in, not so tired). Highly recommend, and I’m probably going to set up another one soon.

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    • Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I was just telling my boyfriend, “It’s not like I can go anywhere on vacation, and it’s such a bummer to have to come back to work after extended time off. However, having a random day or two off per month always makes me happier. It’s like a little (paid) holiday and I can celebrate it how I want, and that may mean sleeping.”

      Perhaps the habit of “pre-planning mental health days” just makes too much sense to deny. Work can plan around my absence, and I get the day off I need. Everybody wins!

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  • But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Who the hell can even afford a vacation?

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  • standarduser@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Pretty much. I’ve blown through my pto in the past few months just so I can get more sleep from how tired I am. Vacationing is not likely to happen anyhow with how expensive everything is to do stateside.

    I just want more sleep man.

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    • DarkAri@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Sounds kind of like depression tbh. When I had a bout of depression recently. I was sleeping like 10-15 hours a day when I could, sometimes as soon as I got off work until I’d wake up, and it would never be enough. I’d be fantasizing about the bed all day lol.

      There is usually some root cause to it usually if you don’t have clinical depression. Mine was being trans and thinking the Nazis were going to try to kill all of us. Still true but I guess i feel a bit better now. Really just coming out. As I came out and told people much of that went away and I feel better now. I can play video games again which is cool.

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      • LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Based on your other replies I feel like you must be trolling.

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  • jankforlife@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Yeah, this is me :(

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  • Phen@lemmy.eco.br ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I’m not American and I’ve done it too. That’s the whole point of PTO: take some time out to do whatever you want at any time, without needing to give advance notice or anything like that.

    If you want to go on vacation, then you need to use your Vacation days instead - that way your employer will know, for example, that you should absolutely not be contacted by anyone from work during that period.

    What are Americans doing on their Paid Vacation Days?

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    • chunes@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I gfuess I’m too american to understand the difference between pto and vacation days. There is one?

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      • NABDad@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        As I understand it, the term PTO (Paid Time Off) covers vacation time, sick time, paid holidays, etc.

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      • Phen@lemmy.eco.br ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        The way I see it, PTO is a break from work but still on company time, while Vacation Days is your own time that the company has absolutely no right to, even though they pay for it too.

        If I need something from a coworker and they are on PTO, I’ll send them a message but not expect any answer. If they are on vacation, I won’t send them anything.

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    • crunchy@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Yeah, we don’t have distinct PTO and vacation days. everything falls under PTO, which can be anywhere from 0 to 30 days a year. Most leaning more towards 0, while government jobs lean more towards 30.

      Some employers may also offer a certain number of sick days, but of course you wouldn’t want to waste your sick days being sick. you want to hold onto those in case something happens. If you aren’t lucky enough to be graciously provided sick days, a lot of employers will just dock your PTO for the day if you need to call in sick. So again, wouldn’t want to waste your off time being sick.

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  • demizerone@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Waking up early for the fucking :30 meeting is the worst part of my life. I hate it.

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    • JoeBigelow@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      The fuck part of 830 is early? Enjoy your breakfast and shitting a home I punch in at 630. At least I do get paid for my morning dump and shit post session

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      • bitjunkie@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        This kind of “must be nice” reaction is exactly what the owner class wants: workers pissy at each other over how big their crumbs are, instead of at the perpetrators who feast on the bad situation they created.

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      • Mesophar@pawb.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Ok, but think of it in terms of normal start times vs needing to go in early, instead of the actual hour. If you usually start at 6:30 but had to go in for 6:00 for no reason other than a meeting that could have been an email, it sucks.

        I used to have a 6:30 start time when I was younger, had an hour commute, and still had time for breakfast at home in the morning. It absolutely sucked and I hated it. Getting up for 8:30 start times still sucks if you’re used to 9:00 start times.

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      • LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        I get up at 9:30 for my 9-5 WFH gig and it doesn’t actually feel any better. You can get used to good things too and it doesn’t render capitalism any less soulsucking.

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    • DarkAri@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Maybe it’s time to start thinking about another job?

      We need money to live, but there is no amount of money worth losing your happiness over. Sometimes it’s better to sell the house, buy a good used Toyota, and take a pay cut to get a significantly less stressful job. Also make sure you are practicing self care. Eating well, taking time to yourself to enjoy the things you want to do, even if it’s just sleeping.

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      • LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        I legitimately chuckled at first but I can’t tell if you’re serious.

        House? Toyota? I make well over median wage, save everything, and those things might as well be private jets to me.

        My savings interest rate is literally less than house price increases alone.

        I have 5 yrs exp and an MSc in STEM and I haven’t heard back from a single job application I’ve sent out even while I’m still employed after sending out at least 10 of highly personalized applications of CV + cover letter. Everyone else I know who are frankly people way smarter than me lives with parents and is unemployed with the exception of one person who lives with their parents and has no money but is an accomplished academic researcher (maths I think) who gives talks at international events.

        What are you smoking? What world do you live in? How do I get there?

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      • SLVRDRGN@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        And on that note, I highly recommend a Prius! They are amazing companions.

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    • funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      ours is 8.37 every day, and management struggles to think of things to do at it.

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    • mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      sounds like easy money if you’re paid that half hour to do nothing, basically

      if you’re salary, that’s dumb af tho

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  • DagwoodIII@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    [off topic]

    https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/sleep-debt-and-catch-up-sleep

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  • whotookkarl@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    www.ueunion.org/org_steps.html

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  • Sibshops@lemmy.myserv.one ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Oh yeah, that’s me.

    There are lots of times where I was up with the kids all night because they were sick.

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  • CaptDust@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    What else should we do? Sleep is cheap and accessible.

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  • Bloomcole@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Good docile slaves

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