If These 3 Things Happen When You Take A Day Off Work, You’re Probably Not Making Enough Money
The workplace should not fall apart just because you want some time for yourself.
voronaman | Shutterstock Everybody needs a day off work every once in a while, whether it's for a long weekend or just a mental health day. For many workers, however, the hassle of taking a day off isn't worth the actual pleasure of a break, which is why so many Americans neglect to use their well-deserved PTO.
It shouldn't be difficult to go on vacation, and a woman named Katie Reilly argued that if your workplace falls apart when you aren't there and you feel overwhelmed playing catch up when you get back, it's likely your level of responsibility doesn't match your salary. In a recent TikTok video, Reilly basically said if these three things happen when you are just trying to take a day off of work, you are not earning what you deserve.
You’re probably not making enough money if these three things happen when you take a day off of work:
1. Everyone immediately starts asking questions
Wanting to take some time off should not send everyone into a panic. People should not automatically start running to you in fear they won't be able to perform their job if you're not available — that's not normal.
A properly functioning staff should be able to handle the absence of one team member without being sent into a flurry of panic. And if you're the person that everyone is running to, it means you're probably doing a lot more than you're paid to do. There is no reason every person in your place of work should be relying on you so heavily, and if they are, well, then you should be compensated properly for it.
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2. You have to meet with somebody beforehand to ensure they will be able to cover your work
There's no good reason you should have to meet someone and make sure that they are able to do your job without anything going wrong. Sure, maybe it makes sense if you're going to be out for a couple of days, and you need to make sure certain things get done while you're gone, but for one day? Completely unnecessary.
Somebody should be able to cover for you without freaking out entirely. If the work you're doing is so mindboggling to everyone else, then you certainly deserve an increase in salary.
According to Pew Research, 46% of American employees who receive PTO take less than they are offered each year. Unsurprisingly, the higher up the chain of responsibility, the less time people take off. When asked why, 49% said "they’d worry about falling behind at work if they took more time off," and 43% said, "they’d feel badly about their co-workers taking on additional work."
3. Your manager needs you to give them more than two weeks' notice for a day off
You should be able to take the occasional day off without having to inform your manager more than two weeks ahead of time. It doesn't have to be an entire event where everybody needs to approve the fact that you do not wish to attend work one day.
Reilly joked that if one day off work requires weeks of preparation time, you deserve to be making $1 million. Obviously, this is an exaggeration, but her point is valid. If an entire company's functionality seems to fall on your shoulders, you should be earning close to what C-suite employees earn.
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Harvard Business Review noted that it's customary to request time off sooner rather than later, using the 2 weeks notice as standard, but they also stressed that this is all dependent on each individual company's culture. Some offices are more flexible, and others are not. Reilly's point stands, however, regardless of the office vibes. If taking a day off involves weeks of preparation, you hold more responsibility than you are being compensated for.
If you're not going to get a raise, you better be taking those PTO days without guilt. You've earned them, and you deserve them.
Sahlah Syeda is a writer who covers relationships, culture, and human interest topics.