this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2024
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Had an interview today that I feel okay to good-ish about. Was hoping to talk to the person I'd be working under but they were tied up on time sensitive stuff so I just talked to the HR person.

He was telling me that in addition to a very modest amount of conventional PTO, they give a paid weekday off every three weeks. It was spun like a good thing because the amount of total time off was more than the national average, but that's pretty dishonest right? PTO is conventionally understood to be time you can take off whenever for whatever reason, not fixed days off like holidays.

I generally like the vibe of the place but it's got weird things like that, plus not being open to hybrid because it doesn't align with their "values" and some Russel Brand quotes hung up on the walls

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[–] Dirt_Owl@hexbear.net 25 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Russell Brand quote tells me you should run

[–] RION@hexbear.net 16 points 5 months ago

I'm extending a little grace because it's an addiction recovery center and apparently he's very outspoken about addiction and all that, so I can see how it got there. But if hired that would be like my #2 thing to bring up to my boss like "hey you know that guy is a SA'er right??"

[–] abc@hexbear.net 17 points 5 months ago (1 children)

52 weeks in a year means you'd get just over 17 'PTO' days/year, assuming you get one exactly every 3 weeks (although I imagine the work-week bullshit would apply where you have to factor in holidays that fall on Mondays and whatnot). the national 'average' is what, like 10-14 days?

It's definitely a scam to make you take less but think you're getting more exactly how you're imagining it. For reference, my full-time job upon hiring paid out 4.3 HOURS of PTO every pay-period - so every 2 weeks I'd get 4.3 hours, meaning I'd earn a 'day' of PTO once a month. Seems pretty equivalent, if not slightly worse, right? Since 26*4.3 = 118.8/8 = 13.975 days of PTO earned in a year. Except that there's no issue with me taking a half-day or taking an entire week off, provided I have the PTO accrued to cover 4 or 40 hours.

I'd literally see red hearing "sorry no you can't take off that day, your next day off is Wednesday, July 3rd based on the schedule" or some bullshit. That isn't PTO exactly - that's just a day I'm not on the schedule.

[–] RION@hexbear.net 7 points 5 months ago (2 children)

That isn't PTO exactly - that's just a day I'm not on the schedule.

but I do get paid for it, and the position is hourly. it's weird because it quite literally is paid time off, but not Paid Time Off, ya know

[–] Rx_Hawk@hexbear.net 7 points 5 months ago

Hey a day paid weekday off to do things that are normally closed on weekends doesn't sound terrible to me, I wouldn't read too far into it

[–] abc@hexbear.net 4 points 5 months ago

Yeah but PTO to me is more of anything ranging from 'hey I don't feel like working today I'm not coming in' (although tbh if you have sick days you should use them for that kind of stuff imo) to 'hey I'm going on a week long trip in August, I will be out between X-Y dates'.

It sounds like your PTO is more 'you get X weekday off every 3 weeks' with zero flexibility.

Without that flexibility, at least to me, it is less PTO and more of a 'scheduled paid day off'. shrug-outta-hecks I'm acting like I haven't recently had a PTO request denied at work that wound up pissing me off (my supervisor constantly says I am like the sole person on the team who rarely takes sick days/PTO) because my supervisor, when I asked why it was denied, told me 'sorry we have too many people out that week' - which to me isn't how PTO should work. I should be able to take it whenever I want, I already earned the time off and I requested it off like a month in advance so it shouldn't be on me to ensure there's an adequate amount of people working - that's a 'earns $10.00/hour more than me but does like 60% less work' supervisor's job!!!

But who knows, it may actually be one of those ideal situations! I just wouldn't vibe with it personally and would probably not accept the position based on that unless they ensured me that I could at the very least, schedule when I'd be off.

[–] LaGG_3@hexbear.net 16 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It honestly sounds like a way to keep you from accruing PTO (that they will eventually have to pay you for when you leave)

Like others have said, if the vibe is off maybe say "yeah, nah" (unless your current work situation is worse)

[–] RION@hexbear.net 10 points 5 months ago (2 children)

My current work situation is nothing soooo

[–] LaGG_3@hexbear.net 25 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Maybe go for it, but remember:

[–] WhatDoYouMeanPodcast@hexbear.net 8 points 5 months ago

Cannot emphasize how right LaGG is for this one. I wouldn't want to surprise my coworkers with it because I like them, but otherwise yeah. Make some money, realize it's not your tempo, and leave. You don't even need to feel guilty knowing that it's self serving; my therapist said so.

[–] GaveUp@hexbear.net 14 points 5 months ago

Take it then. If it's unbearable you can always quit

[–] Barx@hexbear.net 12 points 5 months ago

This is not massively different from PTO that expires regularly. It's not great but it's not a red flag any more than any other tyrant-run business.

Of course, you deserve better, but I'd say unless there are other issues, if you'd otherwise take the job, then take the job and then start looking for a better one, you know?

[–] LaughingLion@hexbear.net 11 points 5 months ago (1 children)

good interview question

"do i get paid time off? can i take it now?"

[–] Breath_Of_The_Snake@hexbear.net 4 points 5 months ago

Asking for PTO before even being employed is such powerful move

[–] sailorprevent@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 5 months ago

@tiny fishing Your decision should balance the immediate positives, like the vibe and potential for regular time off, against the potential negatives, such as inflexible work arrangements and any cultural mismatches. Trust your instincts—if something feels off now, it may become a bigger issue later on.

If you decide to proceed with this opportunity, keep an open mind but also be ready to advocate for yourself regarding flexibility and any other concerns. If you choose to look elsewhere, this experience has given you a clearer idea of what to look for in a workplace.

[–] hexaflexagonbear@hexbear.net 4 points 5 months ago

If the total days off is reasonable, I wouldn't hold the atypical PTO arrangement against them. Tbh, having regularly scheduled days off that you don't need approval for feels nice.

but it's got weird things like that, plus not being open to hybrid because it doesn't align with their "values" and some Russel Brand quotes hung up on the walls

Not a fan of that stuff. The values thing is 100% bullshit, it's either management wants to keep an eye on you or they get a tax credit.

[–] WashedAnus@hexbear.net 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

My job does something kind of similar, but it's every quarter you get 8 hours of PTO to use on top of normal PTO, and the normal PTO is pretty standard from my understanding. They also use it as a way to not acknowledge controversial federal holidays (like Columbus Day), but still give everyone the time off they would have gotten.

[–] hexaflexagonbear@hexbear.net 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Is the "extra" PTO conditional on some administrative task? Last place I worked at had conditional "bonus" PTO that was just a legal way to make sure a portion of your PTO can't accrue and get paid out.

Not that the accounting trick part is a huge deal, time off is time off.

[–] WashedAnus@hexbear.net 2 points 5 months ago

The "extra" just has to be requested with a separate button. It's probably used to curb PTO payouts, so I make sure to use it first.

[–] Red_Sunshine_Over_Florida@hexbear.net 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I kind of heard something like this from a lady who did janitorial work for a local government. But, she was describing that as a part of benefit packages that were way more generous when she started working 30 years ago.

Where I work, they don't give you PTO until you've worked for them for a full year.