Monday, December 1, 2008

Forced Vacation Is No Fun

We got an email at work today that said the company will be closed for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve in addition to the usual holidays. More days off would usually be appreciated but this time we have to use our own vacation days. If I was planning to use vacation days for that time I wouldn't mind but I wasn't. Actually, I have been carefully saving my vacation days and even managed to keep 2 days extra from this year. Guess I have to use them now. It would be nice if my time off was spread out a little more. Last year I took 3 days during Christmas, then 4 days in May and 3 days for Thanksgiving. I had to wait 6 months between vacations! Now I just came back from vacation and already I need to plan 2 five day weekends at the end of the month (the other days are company holidays). It is too soon to go back to Washington and airfare is over $500 anyway. Maybe I'll try to go to Texas or California one weekend. And maybe if I am motivated I can actually get something done around here like painting a shed!

I'm not really annoyed. There are much worse things than forced vacation. I am very glad that I still have a job to complain about. One of my mortgage spreadsheets calculates how long it will take before I wouldn't HAVE TO get a new job if I am laid off. In this scenario I would need to work for 9 more months and sell most of my stuff including my RV. My house wouldn't be paid off but it would only take one more year of regular payments, paid by my renters, before the mortgage would be gone. I figure I could hang out with family and get a part time job for a year or volunteer somewhere. After a year I would have some income from my rental house. I wouldn't have a lot of money but it is comforting to know that in only 9 months I won't have to worry if I lose my job. It isn't the ideal plan but I know if I can make it 9 more months, then I can make it a few more months after that and a few more after that as I save my money and my plan gets a little more secure with every step.


Over the Cubicle Wall said...

One thing better than a four day weekend is a five day weekend.

Hope your job is stable, but it sounds like you have a backup plan well thought out just in case.

Daizy said...

Stable so far but dependent on the whims of customers. Since I read today that we have been in a recession since dec 2007 and no recession in the past has lasted longer than 16 months, I think there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I just might make it.

Over the Cubicle Wall said...

I hope so, and best of luck. More and more people I know are losing jobs. The company I worked at before this one has just about tanked. They were booming when I left, but I would be out of a job now had I not gone. They were very dependent on a strong housing market for business.

Sharon S said...

Hi there-shame about the forced vacation, but I suppose it has to be expected the way things are. Well done on being so close to having the mortgage paid up to-i'm sure 9 months will really fly by!!

Anonymous said...

My husband just found out today that he has to take 5 unpaid days. Between vacation and sick leave he has about a year saved up but in order to save jobs everyone is required to take 5 days.

Good thing you have a plan. We are fine with him taking off 5 days but others at his office were really upset.

Daizy said...

Hello Sharon Rose, 9 months won't get the mortgage totally gone but it would be close enough to put my plan in to action if I got laid off. I'd rather not get laid off though. I'd rather quit when I have a big fat emergency fund.

Daizy said...

debtfree9000, wow, unpaid days would be a bummer. But a year of vacation and sick time is great! I can't even imagine having that much. How long did it take to save that much time?

Anonymous said...

We found out on 12/5/08 that our company is forcing US employees to use 7 days of vacation in December.

If one of the 3 systems I support wasn't mission critical, I'd be left with 4 hours of vacation time when I've been saving it up all year.

If an employee doesn't have enough vacation time accrued, they have to either take the time off without pay or go into a negative balance.

Can you imagine? That means one would owe the company vacation time!

Meanwhile, our ex ceo is on the books this year for $24 million and our current ceo gets $8.7 million.

These guys really are clueless. They absolutely do not get what this does to employee morale.

Either that or they're encouraging us to quit because they think they can do everything with people off shore.

Of course then no one here will be able to buy anything. Which is why consumer spending has collapsed.


Daizy said...

Yes, anonymous, I agree that definitely wouldn't help the morale of the employees. Maybe they think people won't leave because the job market is bad. I had to borrow vacation time once when I had a family emergency shortly after starting a job. It took forever to accrue vacation time again.