Take your PTO

Hey pals. I once heard that out of all the days of the week, bosses are most likely to say yes on Wednesdays. So take this as your sign to ask for both that raise and more PTO (more on this l8r) today!

P.S. If you’re an educator with a classroom wish list, link it here and we’ll be sure to share them with all of our readers in hopes of granting some wishes for this new school year!

—Rod

How Can I Request for PTO if I Don’t Have the Days Yet?

 question 
I need to take PTO for a week for family vacation around the holidays. I just started my job a month ago, and I don’t have all of the days accrued right now. But I will by the time my trip comes around—how do I ask for the time off now so I can grab it before my coworkers book their EOY vacays? What if my boss says no and I have to miss our annual New Year’s Eve family casino night? 😫 —F.

 answer 
I’m thrilled to present to you the patent-pending WorkDaze Three-Step Process for Always Getting Your PTO Approved Even During the Holidays™.

Step 1: Chillax. Coming from someone who absolutely assumes the worst, stop assuming the worst! Go into this with a positive mindset because we are getting you to that blackjack table with Grandma.

Step 2: Act now. The earlier you ask the better (may we suggest today, seeing as it’s a Wednesday and all?), especially when we’re talkin’ holiday PTO that’s Regina George popular. As my mom always said while dramatically throwing open my bedroom curtains at 8am on Saturdays…early bird gets the worm. Just be to-the-point about the whole accrual thing and it shouldn’t be a major issue.

Step 3: Have a backup plan. If for some reason your PTO gets denied, talk to your boss about WFH (or WFYFV, working from your family vacay) during that week. If they’re a reasonable human, they should want to work with you to figure out a solution. And a last resort? Take the time off as unpaid.

Got a Q for me to A? Submit yours here.

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PTO = Please Take Off

In my mind, PTO stands for “please take off.” I’ve never actually had a boss say those words to me (me? not using my vacation days? never), but still.

The unfortunate or fortunate truth depending on how you look at it: Not everyone is like me. According to the Pew Research Center, 46% of Americans don’t take all of their PTO. How come?

• 49% of Americans feel they’ll fall behind if they take off work. So this is my cue to remind you…it’s just a job and also no one knows what they’re doing anyway. So catch flights not feelings, etc etc.

• 52% of people feel they don’t need all of their time off. To this I say: Everyone can use a day to lay in bed with a bag of Cheetos Puffs and scroll Instagram until the app literally tells you to take a break.

Things To Send Your Work Besties

...after you put in that PTO request.

“Sustainable style bundles” have become popular for those who want to shop second-hand but don’t have the time or stamina to rifle through the racks at Goodwill. Enter: a personal stylist to do it for you. Fun fact: Once upon a time I was a personal stylist.

Good news for those that spent hours of their lives on Ticketmaster for nothing. Last week, Taylor Swift announced The Eras Tour Concert Film will hit theaters October 13. In the meantime, reply to this email and let us know what Era you are if you haven’t already!

I can guarantee you that Zendaya’s “Ask Me Anything” is a lot more interesting than next week’s company-wide AMA for the third quarter.

Thanks for reading! Do me a favor and be kind to yourself the rest of the week, will ya? See you back here next Wednesday.

IDK WHAT DO I KNOW?! LMAO!

—Rod