How many people can't travel because of work?

[rebeccalouise]

I feel like I must be the luckiest person in the world! I feel like my bosses are saints because I have never been denied a summer vacation with my kids. I have never had someone at work tell me that I have to cancel my plans because of work....

 

Has anyone here been told that they absolutely can't take a summer vacation with their kids because of work?

[crusinmama06]

My husband and I have opposite work situations. I own my own business and can take off whenever I feel like it. My husband works at a car dealership where the more you work, the more you're respected. :rolleyes:

 

He gets ONE week a year vacation. He works 9am - 9pm EVERY day except Sunday the rest of the year. I HATE that he works so much.

 

I take the kids and go without him. I could seriously take a vacation every month and not think twice about it. He scoffs at the idea of one a year. :rolleyes:

[Workmom2]

I am lucky- I get 6 weeks vacation a year- I have worked for the same co for over 10 years and I am in management-

I have run into MANY people that do not get the type of vacation that I do. My DH only gets 2 weeks and his boss is not favorable to him taking more-

I hve found the higher up you are in a company it goes eith way- the compnay culture has a lot to do with it.

[bmgaritty]

There are many that can't. Low seniority union workers for instance. Everyone puts "in" for vacation, highest seniority gets first choice. Individuals with lowest senoirity get last choice. If the weeks are used up by higher seniority employees, you are forced to utilize your vacation at other less desirable periods - ie when the kids are in school even though you may have quite a bit of vacation.

 

Personally, I've had extreme flexibility in most postions I've held. In the corporate world, culture and end of month or end of quarter do reign, but their is flexibility.

 

My husband and brothers positions are very project oriented, if a new product is being released there have been edicts that no one on the release team can take a vacation (that's Microsoft). Too bad of its a September software release - goodbye Summer vacation!

[Onessa]

For years, I worked for a company that created software used by tax preparation software companies. From late August through early May things were hectic and from October 31 through Febraruy 15 NO ONE took a day off other than 1/2 day TGiving, 1 day Christmas. We literally had a "sick room" an office for people who were not feeling well so that they could work and not spred their germs! Come late May and through June and July you could practically shoot a cannon through the place it was so dead. Women planned their pregnencies with May and June due dates. It was (at that time) a terrific place the work and we all would have done anything asked of us. Ownership changed and things went south. Eventually people no longer would put up with 80 hour weeks during the tax season, the business was sold again and again and no longer really exists. But for 11 years I was content to do my Christmas shopping in July and August, dial in to meetings from our cabin in the woods on Thanksgiving day, and even spend an average of two days a week in the office during my maternity leave (September baby - poor planning on my part!)

 

My husband is the manager of a dept of three (including him) that has to provide a certain level of coverage. He spends a bit too much of his time refereeing vacation time disputes and very often will offer up times he'd rather be off to keep the peace.

[mommykim]

I have a friend who is a postal employee and I have been trying to cruise with her for years. As she only has 14 years seniority she kind of gets what's left over in the vacation department. For 2007 she got the second week of February and has the second week of October coming up. I have wanted to cruise with her for years but she has NEVER once had a vacation that was either during the summer or a school holiday. She says that the people that get the holidays or summer off have at least 25+ years of seniority.

[larronry]

When I worked for the state I would have had no problems taking vacation during summer breaks winter break may have been a bit harder. I'm self employed so taking time off isn't a problem. My husband been with his company for 12 years and has six weeks. Right now we don't need to stick to school vacations but it won't be a problem.

[mitsguy2001]

I have a friend who is a postal employee and I have been trying to cruise with her for years. As she only has 14 years seniority she kind of gets what's left over in the vacation department. For 2007 she got the second week of February and has the second week of October coming up. I have wanted to cruise with her for years but she has NEVER once had a vacation that was either during the summer or a school holiday. She says that the people that get the holidays or summer off have at least 25+ years of seniority.

 

That brings up an interesting point. Even though people in the public sector get far more holidays and vacation time than people in the private sector, it seems th at people in the public sector might have more restrictions as to when they can use their vacation time. I'm thinking that is because in the public sector, they are forced to follow the official rules, even if they make no logical sense. But in the private sector, they can bend rules if needed.

[bruce-r]

I can take vacation any time I want throughout the year as long as I give enough notice before hand. My time off isn't paid, so I don't like to take that much time off.

 

DW is a teacher, so she only gets vacation when allowed by their contract. That means 2 weeks in December, 1 week in March, and from mid June to near the end of August. Since the summer in Oregon is the best time of the year here, we seldom go far from home if we take a family vacation during that time of year.

[mitsguy2001]

I have never had a problem with not being able to travel because of work. But, unfortunately, I suspect that at some point during my career, I probably will have a problem.

 

I have a question. If you were forced to cancel a planned vacation, and there were nonrefundable costs associated with it, were you able to get your employer to reimburse you for the lost money, or were you just out of luck? Remember, insurance doesn't reimburse you for work-related cancellations.

 

And another thing I wonder: has anyone ever threatened to quit (even if an idle threat) if they weren't allowed to take a vacation, essentially leaving your employer to choose between losing you for a week, or losing you permanently? Obviously they feel you are valuable, or else they would have fired you, so losing you for a week is preferable to losing you permanently. Just a thought.

[mommykim]

Years ago the law firm I worked for announced that they were going to close for the week between Xmas and NYE. Because of that I booked a vacation that was no refundable. A few days before Xmas they announced that the office would be open and that all employees had to be there for that week. I explained that the hotel was non refundable and was told too bad that all employees were required to be there during the week and if I was not there they would consider that my notice that I was terminating my employment. After a lot of talk hubby and I decided to go on the vacation anyway assuming my job would still be there so I told them I was going and they again told me if I was not there they would consider that I had quit. Well, I get home to my final paycheck and notice that my parking pass was revoked. It is the only time I have ever filed for unemployment and I was turned down because I had quit my job. I was only a legal secretary and not all that hard to replace I guess.

[mitsguy2001]

Years ago the law firm I worked for announced that they were going to close for the week between Xmas and NYE. Because of that I booked a vacation that was no refundable. A few days before Xmas they announced that the office would be open and that all employees had to be there for that week. I explained that the hotel was non refundable and was told too bad that all employees were required to be there during the week and if I was not there they would consider that my notice that I was terminating my employment. After a lot of talk hubby and I decided to go on the vacation anyway assuming my job would still be there so I told them I was going and they again told me if I was not there they would consider that I had quit. Well, I get home to my final paycheck and notice that my parking pass was revoked. It is the only time I have ever filed for unemployment and I was turned down because I had quit my job. I was only a legal secretary and not all that hard to replace I guess.

 

Wow! Sorry to hear about that. Although it was probably difficult at first, in the long run, I'm sure you ended up at a much better job. I would never want to work at a firm that would lie to me and cause me to lose a lot of money like that.

[mjmalino]

My DH and I were not able to take vacations for a while. My DH is an attorney and when he worked in a law firm it was all about the money--how much could he bill. The firms would work him to death and then cut his time (like is the process in so many firms) so he could never afford to take a vacation because they either had unrealistic requirements, or they would have realistic requirements but cut 25 percent of what you billed. Anyway, he now works for a start up company here and has for the past 3 years, and he has no problem taking the time off if he wants it. woo hoo!

[cruzinnluvinit]

I feel like I must be the luckiest person in the world! I feel like my bosses are saints because I have never been denied a summer vacation with my kids. I have never had someone at work tell me that I have to cancel my plans because of work....

 

Has anyone here been told that they absolutely can't take a summer vacation with their kids because of work?

I was told I wouldn't have a job when I got back. I said ok. Went on the vacation and came back and went to work. LOL

 

Now my husband is co owner of a company and he is taking a month off to get his parents in a safe living situation and settled. He is being paid.

 

Linda

[Luxuriate]

I get 5 weeks of leave a year...no one tells me when and if I can take it...and I still get 2 1/2 weeks a year for sick leave/family sick leave.

[lexxity]

This is not a very nice thread is it? A veiled attack on another poster on another thread who said they couldn't take vacation when they wanted. So what have we proved? Some people can take leave as and when and some can't. Surprise, life is different for all of us!

[kiwicruiser83]

Lexxity, thank goodness life is different for all of us! Otherwise the ships would ALWAYS be sold out! I say travel when you can, you know what is good for your family and what isn't. A person who knows very little about you is never qualified in that decision making process no matter what judgements they pass.

[cruzinnluvinit]

This is not a very nice thread is it? A veiled attack on another poster on another thread who said they couldn't take vacation when they wanted. So what have we proved? Some people can take leave as and when and some can't. Surprise, life is different for all of us!

I didn't read the other thread. I didn't try to cause a situation. I thought it was a legitimate question. Sorry if there was offense taken. I am on another thread that is an opposite question and we are having fun with it. Not to say someone else's point isn't valid. We are singing the praises of a cruise line instead of blasting it. Oh well, I think there is always 2 points of view, AT LEAST.

 

Linda

[rebeccalouise]

This is not a very nice thread is it? A veiled attack on another poster on another thread who said they couldn't take vacation when they wanted. So what have we proved? Some people can take leave as and when and some can't. Surprise, life is different for all of us!

 

 

I started this thread because I didn't want to hyjack the other thread with this topic. I, for one, just wondered how many people have trouble getting off work.

[mommykim]

I started this thread because I didn't want to hyjack the other thread with this topic. I, for one, just wondered how many people have trouble getting off work.

I would think most people that work in the private sector have no problem but if you work in a job that requires seniority or for the government you have to wait in line for the nice slots. If you take someone like my friend the postal worker she is a college graduate living in Tennessee. She started at the post office until she got a better job after finishing her masters degree. That better job did not come around as the benefits are so good at the PO. Unfortunately those benefits do not include great vacation times.

[Onessa]

YEARS ago, I worked for a company that made software for scheduling nursing personnel in hospitals. After managing their support department for two years, NOTHING would surprise me as far as employement rules at a hospital.

 

Some of the unionized ones had complex bidding processes for vacation (thank goodness I was in management, because I never did understand those processes well enough to actually have supported that feature!). Non-unionized were all over the board - they'd treat the ICU/NICU RNs like precious jewels but LPNs on the general wards were simply a commodity. You could tell that some of the places were great places to work, while others were heck holes. Just goes to show you that there are a million stories out there and everyone's is different.

[katerkat]

Me? SAHM to a toddler, we can travel whenever. DH? Hahaha. He gets 30 days of vacation a year. He's barely home six months out of the year. When he is home, he is "invaluable" to the military and doesn't get time off. He was home for 60 days and worked 53 of them before he deployed again. That included Memorial Day weekend - he actually took two days off in a row! (Military got four days off.) We struggle to get time off, especially since the military doesn't officially grant leave until two weeks out, so if something comes up... We plan one big trip every one to two years and beg for it, then try to plan smaller trips last minute when he can get leave.

[rachel0]

I'm an attorney and law firms on hell on vacations. Yes, most of them tell you there's 2 weeks vacation days. But no one actually lets you take much of it, and certainlhy not both weeks at the same time (no transatlantic cruises for me). There's constant conflicts b/c of court, billable hours that need to get done, and of course, I can't be gone if boss needs to go (or boss' wife) relax at the beach house or on the boat. And if your boss is a jerk on top of that, well good luck even getting a common holiday regardless of trial schedule. Luckily, while in law school/studying for the bar DH (not an attorney) & I traveled absolutely every oppty--spring break, thanksgiving, winter holidays and summer including study abroad. After I started practicing, we went when there was a whiff of an opportunity (usually when I was between firms haha).

 

Every firm I've been with is like that. My friends who work for the government get all the holidays plus usually get to take some vacation days during normal times. I had to quit my last firm to even get pregnant, much less have & raise the baby. I haven't gone back to work yet. I plan to in the fall, but I bet I don't even get an offer until after my upcoming cruise is over b/c they'll freak when I tell them off the bat I have a vacation planned that i must take.

 

DH gets about 30 days and gets to rollover part of it. He used to just cash out since he couldn't use it all.

[jacksan1]

After having worked in the private sectior all my life, I switched to government work two years ago. Pleasantly surprised by how many days off I get! My first year, I was given 22 days paid vacation plus all national holidays. My wife, who has been a public employee all her life, gets even more (six weeks off a year plus all national holidays). As far as my work area is concerned, taking the time off has never been a problem in the two years I have been in the government. I think that in areas where shift rotations are based on seniority this is probably not the same, but where there is no senority factor, government seems to be a very easy place to get a vacation time in. There are people off for many days all the time around me, and no one has any problem with that (I don't).

[Mrs. Connie]

I was only a legal secretary and not all that hard to replace I guess.

 

I used to work for bullies. You are much better off somewhere (anywhere) else! So, tell us the rest: where did you end up? Was it better? I really hope so, for your sake.

Mrs. Connie