I Just Can’t Bring Myself To Take Leave

August 14, 2012 in Entertainment, Film & TV, Health, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Money, People, Self, Society, Travel, Work

No leave, no life

I just can’t bring myself to take leave. Unless I actually have to take leave, I just don’t. The thing is, I only get 4 weeks a year so I’m paranoid if I take leave I’ll be wasting it. Some people take a day here and a day there, the only leave I’ve taken in the last 2 years was when my boss told me I had too much leave, and when Stepdaughter comes to visit.

It began back when I worked in marketing and taking leave, or a sick day for that matter, was akin to writing “Be disappointed in me” on your forehead and doing the chicken dance down the corridor. The only exception was over Christmas when the company closed for 2 weeks, although those 2 weeks were deducted from your annual leave.

It seems I’m not the only one who’s felt under this kind of pressure, the government (in conjunction with Tourism Australia) launched the “No Leave, No Life” campaign back in 2009 and I’ve recently been seeing ads for it again on TV. I wasn’t the only one at that company and while the executive were all too aware of it (and kept reminding us all it costs the company money for no one to take their leave) it still wasn’t resolved by the time I quit. And, speaking with those I left behind, it sounds like it isn’t resolved to this day.

This is what people who don’t take leave look like

When I started at my current job and they told me they close for 2 weeks which they don’ttake out of your annual leave I felt like someone had just given me a prize. Then when they told me you actually get to take time in lieu when you work overtime, I almost fell off my chair! Plus no one minds if you take leave, in fact people do it quite often and for extended periods of time.

It’s really important to take time off. It’s important for the company you work at, financially and also because a happy employee is a productive employee. It’s also important for your mental health to take some time away, to rest and recuperate.

Despite this, I still can’t bring myself to do it. I’m currently sitting on 4 weeks of annual leave and the next holiday I have planned is for September next year! But, even though I feel like I’m wasting the day off, I’m taking some time in lieu from my recent overtime. So this Wednesday I’m taking a day off. I am going to get my hair done, stop by Adriano Zumbo for some macarons, get my eyebrows waxed and have a bit of a rest.

You have no idea how much I’m looking forward to it.

Do you take leave? Have you stockpiled leave? Do you go overseas much?

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Author Info

Tamsin Howse has written 180 posts.
Tamsin is a wife, stepmother and blogger with a passion for people and relationships, fashion and beauty, and an inability to successfully complete household tasks. Co-founder and Editor-in-chief of KiKi & Tea.
Follow on twitter: @TamsinHowse
Website: http://kikiandtea.com

7 Comments »

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http://music.johnanthonyjames.com/ John James

I always take my annual leave…always have, always will…it’s my right, and I’ve earned it too!

I’m smart about it though – I always take 3 weeks over Christmas / New Year – that way, I only use up 12 days leave for 15 days worth of holiday, leaving me with 8 days to use elsewhere in the year…I usually use the other 8 days in combination with other public holidays…that way, I end up taking 4 weeks of annual leave, but actually have 5 weeks of holiday…
Mazi Gray

I don’t get to choose my vacation time, dates are set.
But this is a problem in Japan as well… They have a word for suicide from overwork.
Imogen

I’m terrified to ask for leave. Mortified to even ask for one day off. Actually, I’m scared to ask if I can leave 20 minutes early.

Oh… and I want leave.
Ozgirl

Interesting!

I started at my current job in Nov last year. They force us to take 3 weeks of at Xmas (but only 10 annual leave days deducted) and I already had a holiday booked in Feb so I had been there 3 1/2 months and had taken my total leave for the year off. I was stressing about this back in March but one of the other assistants told me she has permanently been in negative since she started with the company.

I actually really love that my current employer recognises that annual leave is a liability to the company and lets us take leave when we want.

I am currently 8 days in the negative and they are lettign me have this friday off. I have a couple of odd days
- Ozgirl
  
  Oh and I have the next 2 years of leave currently planned in my head!
MrsGinger

Worked full-time for 16 years before stopping to have my daughter. Only had one boss who made me feel like taking leave was a huge inconvenience. When I left my first employer I’d racked up 10 years of long service leave which was awesome! Now that I work only part-time it takes a very, very long time to accrue even 1 day of leave so when my hubby needs a holiday we just have to accept that any leave I take is likely to be without pay, and that sucks. But for me going to to work is like a holiday and going on holidays with a toddler is a business trip!
Melissa Savage

I *always* use up all my leave and then some. I still feel a bit cheated that regular scheduled breaks four times a year finish once you leave uni! This year I am taking seven weeks of annual leave plus the bonus shutdown week over Christmas and new year. Last year I took 4 or 5 weeks. My employers offer purchased leave, where you can deduct a little from your pay over the course of the year and get an extra four weeks leave. I used a bit of that, and some unpaid days, to stretch out my honeymoon.

I’m never sat on any leave, I’m always the person trying to wring the most out of the days I have and strategically using public holidays. This year I used a week for study/my birthday, 2 weeks and 2 days to go to the US and four and a half weeks for wedding and honeymoon.

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