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Tell HN: Take vacation

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Re: Tell HN: Take vacation

#91

Post by JoshTriplett »

DanielStraight wrote: post #7

Let's see if I can cover this entire comment thread in one comment. Taking a break is good for most people. It can help prevent burnout. People vary greatly in their ability to take vacation due to income, work and family requirements. People vary even more in what they consider to be a good vacation. Some people like a lot of activity. Some people like lying around. Some people honestly don't like taking time off wo…

One key item not noted here: there's a certain minimum amount of vacation you need to take in a row before you stop thinking about work and start actually taking a break. A week normally isn't enough; you need several in a row.

Personally, I like my company's policy of giving periodic sabbaticals, in addition to vacation.

Re: Tell HN: Take vacation

#92

Post by winslow »

zrail wrote: post #84

In the last two years I've * gotten cancer * gone through surgery and chemotherapy * beaten cancer * watched my stepfather die of cancer * wrote and self-published a book * gotten married earlier than planned * moved across the country * watched my mother-in-law die of cancer (why we got married early) * bought a house * gotten married again on our original date In that time I have been away from work for quite a bit…

Damn man keep fighting! I hope you get that much needed vacation. You deserve it.

Re: Tell HN: Take vacation

#94

Post by andsmi2 »

nicolethenerd wrote: post #68
michaelochurch wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm from Brazil and got curious about the "unlimited vacation", how it works? The U.S. is the only advanced economy without a vacation floor. (To join the EU, 20 days is the lower limit.) Three weeks is typical for an average job (but some companies are sleazy and pool sick time and vacation under "PTO") and two for a crap job. It's surprising how reliably you can predict the quality of a company and job based on vac…

Honestly curious, what is the alternative to PTO? I don't see why this is such a bad thing - you get X days off, you can use them for whatever reason you want - sick or vacation - as long as X is a reasonable number, what's the issue here?

If you have days "Specific" for being sick--that you can't take to "hang out" then you are likely to take them when you get a mild cold-- benefit to the company is you recover faster and you don't spread your germ. However if it's just "PTO" you are likely to not "Waste" your PTO on a mild cold... thus infecting everyone and making you sick and less productive for longer...

Re: Tell HN: Take vacation

#95

Post by ritchiea »

hipsterrific wrote: post #50
DanielStraight wrote: post #7

Let's see if I can cover this entire comment thread in one comment. Taking a break is good for most people. It can help prevent burnout. People vary greatly in their ability to take vacation due to income, work and family requirements. People vary even more in what they consider to be a good vacation. Some people like a lot of activity. Some people like lying around. Some people honestly don't like taking time off wo…

My previous job had unlimited PTO and that team sucked mega-donkey balls. It worked despite the culture, here's how: - large vacation time was scheduled around projects. The SPM gave large priority to devs over the business. Thus priorities were reduced to meet resources for that sprint (SCRUM). - We had a flexible work schedule so if you needed to be home because the guy fixing your water heater is coming at 3, we m…

I don't think most companies in the US give 4 weeks PTO. Currently I am contracting but at my last full time gig standard was 1 week, I pushed at hire time and got 2. What are other people's experience with this?

Re: Tell HN: Take vacation

#96

Post by msutherl »

zrail wrote: post #84

In the last two years I've * gotten cancer * gone through surgery and chemotherapy * beaten cancer * watched my stepfather die of cancer * wrote and self-published a book * gotten married earlier than planned * moved across the country * watched my mother-in-law die of cancer (why we got married early) * bought a house * gotten married again on our original date In that time I have been away from work for quite a bit…

Sell the house!

Re: Tell HN: Take vacation

#97

Post by zrail »

msutherl wrote: post #96
zrail wrote: post #84

In the last two years I've * gotten cancer * gone through surgery and chemotherapy * beaten cancer * watched my stepfather die of cancer * wrote and self-published a book * gotten married earlier than planned * moved across the country * watched my mother-in-law die of cancer (why we got married early) * bought a house * gotten married again on our original date In that time I have been away from work for quite a bit…

Sell the house!

I don't think my wife would agree to that, but it's a thought.

Re: Tell HN: Take vacation

#100

Post by delecti »

erikw wrote: post #74
my_username_is_ wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious if any companies have required (minimum) amounts of vacation. Taking a break seems to be a general positive for productivity, but people with unlimited vacation seem to not take it. What if you were obligated to?

Required vacation time is a security best practice, especially for anyone handling money. This makes it more difficult to perpetrate fraud. It also prevents institutional knowledge from being trapped with individuals, as at least one other person must know how to perform the role of the vacationee.

Can you explain how it makes it more difficult to perpetuate fraud? I've never worked handling money, so I can't picture how that would be the case.
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