IDK about y'all but PTO is one of the most important work policies to me. When I was applying for this position, that was one of the first things I was up and down Glassdoor trying to find out. I need to know how many days I get per year and if they are accrued or lump sum format. The PTO policy will literally make or break a job for me. So luckily with my current job, I get 3 weeks of PTO upfront plus 2 floating holidays every year. In combination with the company holiday schedule, I can squeeze quite a few trips into a year (assuming the money is right). Here's how I have planned my time off for 2022 so far.
*Pink is a company holiday. Blue is a travel weekend. Yellow is PTO/floating holidays.
January
My birthday was January 10 but I worked my vacation around MLK day this year. I traveled to Panama from Friday, January 14 to Monday, January 17. This was a 4-day trip but I only used 1 day of PTO.
April
I will be traveling to Guatemala from Thursday, April 7 to Monday, April 11. This is a 5-day trip and I will be using 3 days of PTO.
June
I will be traveling to the Bahamas for my friend's birthday in June. I don't know the exact dates yet but I anticipate traveling from Thursday, June 9 to Sunday, June 12. This is a 4-day trip and I will be using 2 days of PTO.
July
I will be traveling to Morocco in July for my aunt's birthday. We will be traveling from Sunday, July 3 to Sunday, July 10. Fourth of July is a company holiday that falls in this timespan. I took off Monday, July 11 as a recoup day because I am bound to have jetlag after traveling such a long distance. This is an 8-day trip but I will only be using 4 days of PTO (plus 1 extra day for jetlag).
September
A few friends and I will be going to Costa Rica in September. These dates have been shifting a bit but the overall goal is to center it around the company holiday, Labor Day. The most recent plan is to travel from Friday, September 2 to Wednesday, September 7. This is a 6-day trip but I will only be using 3 days of PTO.
Unplanned Options
Because of some slight trip changes that have happened, I now have 3 more days of PTO available to use. I also have 1 extra company holiday, Memorial Day, with nothing booked. I could combine these for another 6-day trip in May or keep them separate and take a quick 3-day trip in May and/or another 5-day trip at some other point during the year. I could also use these days to extend any of the trips I currently have scheduled. Knowing me, I'm most likely to add a 5 day trip between October and early November, where I currently have my largest travel gap. That would be a total of 6 trips and 33 days of travel for 2022.
Other Tips
This is my current plan based on my PTO but also factoring in my finances. If you are in a position where you can afford to take even more trips, there's definitely more wiggle room on the calendar. Here are a few other recommendations:
Don't be afraid to take short trips (3-4 days). You can use 1 day of PTO alongside your weekend for a quick getaway. I'm pretty sure if someone literally only did quick trips, they could travel up to 17 different times (23 times with holiday weekends). While I wouldn't do this exclusively, you can see just how flexible PTO timing can be.
Take advantage of company holidays. They can allow for 3-day trips without using any PTO or give you one freebie day on a longer trip.
Combine your PTO, company holidays, and weekends as often as possible to get up to 9 days of vacation with fewer PTO days. I don't typically plan travel during Thanksgiving or Christmas but if you don't mind, this timing is the best! For Thanksgiving, you can get 9 travel days with only 3 days of PTO used.
The best ways to not waste precious travel time, esp. on short trips, is to travel overnight, visit a nearby destination, fly nonstop, and stay in a centrally located hotel. This will ensure you have the most time available to spend actually enjoying your destination.
And the biggest tip of them all, TAKE 100% OF YOUR PTO DAYS!!! Do not be one of those people that leaves PTO on the table, I do not approve. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.
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