Paid Time Off - are we civilians working longer for less?

2015-05-22T14:33:16-04:00

When I started out 20 years ago, you used to get x days of sick time and n days of vacation time. The last few places I've worked its all been combined into paid time off (PTO). Problem is the combination of the 2, for me, has decreased the overall number of days I used to get when they were separate. If you suffer a long term illness and use up your PTO, the rest comes out of your paycheck.

Vacation Days. Martin Luther King Day and Presidents Day have not been paid holidays for me in 3 years in the companies I've worked for. The first real holiday weekend for the year has been Memorial Day.

Vacation Accrual. Used to be you got a week (5 work days) for each 5 years of employment. Lately it's been 3 days.

Is this the going trend across the country? Are we working longer and harder with less expectation of time off?

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made May 22 at 2015 2:33 PM

2015-05-22T14:33:05-04:00

I would have to say more MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca, but probably not for the same reasons you point out. I am in the federal government so leave accrual is set by law. What is left to the discretion of managers, however, is approving people's time off. With the "doing more with less mentality" in the workplace now, actually getting to use your leave is becoming a challenge.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made May 22 at 2015 2:41 PM

2015-05-22T14:41:06-04:00

My wife has definitely seen a drop in (all) benefits in the last 10 years. This year, she is losing the ability to buy an extra week of vacation time. A few years back they merged sick & personal time. A few years before that, they modified education benefits (while she was in a degree program).

Response by SGT Jeremiah B. made May 22 at 2015 2:47 PM

2015-05-22T14:47:55-04:00

Pay and benefits have been on the decline for about 30 years. So yes, it's a real trend.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made May 22 at 2015 2:46 PM

2015-05-22T14:46:51-04:00

What happened to the good old days when E-1 through O-10 got the same amount of time off?

Response by CSM Charles Hayden made Aug 2 at 2015 9:59 PM

2015-08-02T21:59:47-04:00

MAJ Robert Petrarca, My HS friend's dad advised both of us to find a job w/ the government. My kid brother was KIA in Jan 1967. I started w/ the City of Los Angeles 16 months later.