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Unless you’re a teacher, there’s no such thing as “spring break” once you’re stuck in the real world. Instead, you have to carefully tip-toe around everyone else’s schedule just praying you can take a few extra days here and there to get off the grid, establish a cool buzz, and do you until you go back to work and look forward to doing it again in six or twelve months.
Unfortunately, with vacation comes all the hoops around it (especially when you’re low on the totem pole at your company). And a study done by Alamo Rent A Car only confirms this, as reported by Forbes.
59% reported feeling shamed by colleagues and bosses over vacation days. In fact, 33% of Millennial survey respondents claimed that the guilt they felt at going on holiday would actually prevent them from doing so.
I’ve been there, guys. It’s really difficult to tell your boss, “Hey, I’m going to take five days off in May to go to the Kentucky Derby where I’ll come back tired, sick, and unable to functionally work for the rest of the following week.”
But why else do we feel this anxiety? Forbes explained further.
Firstly, there’s job security, especially for those in entry-level roles. Millennials want it, but many don’t have it. If you feel like you’re easily replaceable and that your precarious and low status on the org chart makes you vulnerable, it’s easy to see how you’d fret about being out of sight and out of mind.
The best way to assert yourself at a new position is putting out the vibe that you don’t just “like” vacations, but you need vacations. On casual Friday, you need to wear your favorite Tommy Bahama and tell everyone about the time your grandpa bought it for you while visiting him in Boca. If there’s a company happy hour, drop lines like, “Oh, yeah, every year my parents take me to [insert vacation destination] with them,” in an effort to solidify it around the office as a family tradition. And finally, enter your first day of work with a nice tan that says, “I only took this job because I got bored at the pool.”
But they go on.
Younger workers are also less likely to have established solid work-life boundaries and cultivated the ability to assert them. It takes longer to burn out at 25 than it does at 45, to no one’s surprise. As more workplaces strive to provide the sociality that they believe Millennial hires are seeking, it’s also easy for young workers to voluntarily blur the lines between work and play.
I’m fortunate enough that I can justify vacations with, “Hey! It’s content!” but I understand that I’m in a unique position. That’s why you need to get a vacation on the books, express that you’ll have “limited availability” the entire time, and then not sign on once while away. Because let’s be honest — no one at your office is expecting dick from you if they know you’re weighing your options of either sitting on your laptop in bed or heading down to the pool for some morning margaritas. That, my friends, is how you set some work-life boundaries.
And, finally, there’s a little matter of money. Just because you get paid time off doesn’t necessarily mean you can afford to do anything with it, which is a harsh reality that young workers may not be prepared for in the early days of their career. If you’re earning $34,500 and have $30,000 in student loan debt, the possibilities for luxe getaways are limited.
Ah, yes, money. The great equalizer when it comes to attempting to plan a baller vacation away from real life’s problems. Sure, I’d like to do Yacht Week, but flying to Greece ain’t exactly the best thing for my “budget” right now. And by “budget,” I mean squinting my eyes at my phone every time I open my Chase app which is why I’m spreading my vacation wings courtesy of TFM Spring Break next week.
So just stay tuned for that. .
[via Forbes]
Image via Unsplash
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Will
Will (Twitter / Instagram) is the host of The Sunday Scaries Podcast.
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Have never left a vacation day on the counter and never will. In fact, I once worked a week of vacation into my two weeks notice.
PGPM
Every new and young employee at my job is greeted with a drug test after every vacation…
That’s just criminal right there.
How do they decide what a “young employee” is? Sounds like an age discrimination lawsuit waiting to happen.
But really, you should check out the employee handbook. I wouldn’t be surprised if this actually wasn’t allowed.
Vacation days roll over where I’m at. I’m trying to save them up for an earlier retirement, or at least until I know I don’t want to work there anymore.
Would totally get anxiety that they would have a “policy change” 5 years into it
A “staffing crunch” forced me to leave 1.5 weeks of vacation on the table for 2015. They don’t roll over…
Just got back from a week in Punta Cana. I’ll admit though, the Sunday Scaries have never been stronger.
I recently had to cancel mine because of work
I rolled over 100 vacation hours from my first year into my second with my company. Everything thinks I’m too dedicated to take vacations. but now I keep taking off Fridays for longer weekends. My coworkers keep complaining, but there’s nothing the boss man can do about it. I’m not sorry you didn’t use your vacation time more wisely.
Where do you work that your vacation rolls over?
Going to Arizona for Spring Training this Friday through Tuesday. Terrified.