I should be docked a day's pay

[susandennis]

Because I haven't done shit all day. Well, that's not true. I've been here all day and that counts for something. And I have done about 20 minutes worth of real work. But I have pissed away the rest of the day and I might do the same tomorrow. I have vacation-itis. Which is rare for me.

I am a vacation violator. IBM had a rule that every employee must take at least 10 days of vacation every year (in addition to, I think about 14 holidays). Different IBM locations had different ways of abiding by that rule. Most just ignored it. But the Rochester, Minnesota plant thought it was carved in stone.

Now I am a vacation violator from way back. I have gotten much better as I get older. I don't take vacation days because of mainly two reasons. The first is that I'm afraid I fucked something up and if I'm not there to defend myself and or cover it up fast when it's discovered than my ass is grass. And, the second is that I hate to miss anything. I mean anything. So I tend to accummulate vacation days in a big way.

When I worked at the Rochester plant, it got serious. It was October. I had taken 0 vacation days that year. I had been working pretty much 24/7 on a product announcement since about January. I loved my job and I absolutely did not want to miss one second. I was the communications assistant to the Lab Director, Tom. I was in on the action. Hell, I helped script the action. I was in the know. I was not about to be anywhere else.

This was in the mid-80's and we called Human Resources, Personnel. Tom, as my manager, started getting notices from the head of Personnel about me - the vacation violator. We laughed - a lot. He was a vacation violator, too but his boss was in New York (odd reporting structure). The notices came every week and began to escalate. The Personnel guy we soon took to calling Paul the Prick was not a fun guy (shocking, I know) and Tom was a way fun guy. A battle was a' brewin'.

Thanksgiving. Both my secretary and Tom's secretary (yep, those were the days of secretaries, too) got called by the Paul the Prick's secretary. It was now getting really funny but also beginning to eat up valuable time. I suggested to Tom that I fill out a vacation card and he sign it and we just pretend that I was gone for those days. He would have no part of it. He was getting angry now about the whole thing.

Finally a show down. Tom met with the Paul the Prick in December. He carried with him a letter signed by me that I would be taking a month off in February (after our big January meeting) and going to California. The Prick back down and went away.

In February, Tom moved to California to his new job and I went with him to mine, working for him. They didn't give a shit how many vacation days you took in California.

Comments

vacation violator

[jloopy.livejournal.com]

i am a vacation violator too -- just got my first warning for this year last week -- will probably end up with lots and lots of 4 days weekends between now and the end of ther year

Re: vacation violator

[susandennis]

Maybe we should start a group... but, then, on the other hand, 4 day weekends sound kind of fun!

Vacation

[spiritgirl.livejournal.com]

I am a former vacation violater. I take my job seriously, try to give 110%, and am always reliable. Seems like those things aren't valued here. We've got people who have worked here for years who habitually take Mondays or Fridays off because they are "sick". We have someone who takes a week of vacation, then gets back and promptly gets sick for a week. We have another lady who comes in late everyday due to "taffic", takes an hour plus for lunch, and leaves early too. This work atmospere is how low can you go. Last summer I got switched from my communications job that required making deadlines, tough schedules, etc. to a support job that is really half time. No deduct in pay or benefits though. So I have decided to join them all. I get a decent salary, and it is a family friendly environment. I still seem to work mostly our assigned hours which is more than most others...but hey, I took a 2 hour lunch last week to see a movie and nobody noticed.

Also, I am taking sick days when I feel like it too. I won't abuse it...but I can count on my one hand the sick days I have taken in the past 4+ years here.

I do my work, stretch out what they give me, smile a lot, and live my own life. We have a staff Thanksgiving lunch coming up in a few weeks. I can't think of anything less I want to do then associate with these morons....but I might go just to keep playing the game.

Never thought I would be like this, but hey, when life gives you lemons...make lemonade!

Re: Vacation

[susandennis]

You know, the older I get, the more pragmatic I become. And what constitutes a good working deal for me might well be a whole different set of things than what does for you.

The ONLY thing that counts is that the pro side of the equation is equal to or greater than the con.

Lemonade is where it's at for sure!

Re: Vacation

[spiritgirl.livejournal.com]

Yeah...I'm mostly over my bitterness about it. I do think that my dedication/commitment to my work was seen as a hindrance among others who have a different mentality. I always thought hard work and dedication, along with competency should be rewarded. Doesn't work here...so if you can't beat em...join em. I'm less stressed, have found other fun outlets (like LJ), and still have people satisfied with my work. Works for me.