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Time away from work is important to everyone, and businesses should encourage their employees to take a restful vacation!
I recently had a reader ask, “What is the national average number of employer-paid vacation days offered by small- to medium-sized companies?”
Depending on the size, most organizations tier their benefits and paid vacation days based on years of service as defined by an internal benefit or vacation day policy.
According to a SHRM email study, employees with less than one year of service received an average of 7.21 vacation days, and employees with over ten years of service received an average of 18.98 days per year.
Organizations I’ve worked with, at a minimum, offer two weeks of vacation for new employees and go as high as five to six weeks for employees who have been with the organization for decades.
Employers typically require an employee to fill out a vacation day request form and get approval prior to taking the days off.
Furthermore, it is common to see a vacation allotment increase for executive-level employees as part of their total compensation package.
Many organizations now offer some paid time off (PTO)benefit that lumps all sick, vacation, and personal time into one bank, allowing the employee more flexibility in using the time away from work.
This allows for easier management of paid time away from work and benefits the organization by eliminating those last-minute call-ins by employees.
Employees receiving cash instead of vacation days are also becoming more common.
Some employers are now allowing employees to cash out at least a portion of unused vacation or PTO days.
This can supplement employee pay and benefit the organization by having fewer days when employees are absent.
There should be strict guidelines for allowing vacation day payouts to ensure employees are getting adequate rest and avoiding being overworked.
Organizations that use a structured compensation strategy take into consideration all employee benefits and offer benefits that support work-life balance and help to avoid employees feeling overworked.
How does your organization manage vacation time?