Paid Time Off???

Once upon a time the abbreviation "pto" stood for "please turn over," that was in the days of paper. Of course with the paperless office it became a redundant epithet, and like all redundant things had to be recycled. So now it's back, and it's back with a vengeance.

PTO, now standing for Paid Time Off, means that all the former days we had for Vacation, Sickness, Disability, Bereavement, even sometimes Maternity Leave, have been lumped together into one figure. Of course this accumulation of days SHOULD work out to be the same number as you were previously offered in your terms and conditions of employment. The person it most effects is the new employee.

US companies have fought long and hard to minimize vacation time, with Unions clout from the 1930's onward companies were put in retreat on this issue. However, with huge sections of the US economy now devoid of any employee organizations, companies are on the prowl once more. Employees are finding this aspect of job searching to be most frustrating: more companies are being obscure with the actual vacation they are allowing.

In recent interviews I have been told that I would get 18 days PTO. That number included vacation days, sick days, floating holidays (you know the ones - the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve if it falls on a weekday near a weekend), and other sundry time off. Well, as I was getting 15 days vacation and I had never tried to work out how many days sick I was allowed, this 18 day figure was a bit of a stumbling block. But the company would not move on the figure. I walked. But many others didn't notice this till far too late.

It is probably a truism that the older you get the more you value your time off. In an age where people are let go when they are fairly senior, or even near retirement, and younger people are changing jobs hourly, employers have found they can play fast and loose with vacation, even though it goes down like a lead balloon.

When changing jobs, take a long hard look at PTO, you might find yourself quite surprised by what you are not getting!