Scary Leave Policies

Disclaimer: This article reflects my personal views and not my current employer's or in its representative capacity.

Last day a friend told me she can't take a planned leave anytime soon because she was out of office (OOO) for more than seven working days last month. She had to inform about those leaves months ago understandably because of her dependency but she had to still put up a fight as vacation period approached. It's always something arbitrary that makes the days before the start of the vacation acrimonious, a quality not mentioned in any employee handbook. The plan now was to take an unplanned leave. Since all four of her grandparents have passed (never having faced a situation like this in their lives), she will be having a stomach ache next week. Menstruation leave hasn't caught on yet.

This is how vacations and long weekends are planned by salaried professionals in my circle. This has always been the case or at least what I have noticed since 2015 when I landed my first job.

At that time, there was a popular leave policy that I'm told to my relief doesn't have many takers now. It basically was this or some variation and is widely known as a sandwich leave: if an employee takes a day off that is next to a holiday (say, a Sunday), both days will be counted as personal leaves. In my eight years of working, I don't think I have come across a more brutal leave policy.

There are still many written and unwritten rules around vacation time that are normalized and uninhibitedly followed by India Inc. Here's a look at some of them:

Two years ago when I was looking for a better opportunity, one company that I interviewed at refused to disclose their leave policy during offer negotiation. I would be given all required information during induction after I join, the recruiter assured me. That was cue for me to reconsider the offer because it was likely it had anti-employee leave policies which are more common than you think. This is something that I keep telling younger professionals; when you evaluate an employment offer, go beyond the figures.

Companies that do not advertise their leave policies and other work culture attributes are not proud of what they have built or have another stupid policy that prevents them from disclosing them or are still in the pre-2000 mindset where emolument always equalled money and that's it. I'm inclined to believe in the former based on my experience at interviewing at more than a dozen large companies since 2015.

More recently, another company extended an offer to me. It was an email with a compensation break-up. It took a couple more emails to get the information I needed. I was surprised to see that the company offered a total of 50+ unconditional leaves a year to new hires. I was also surprised that it was not actively advertising it. I believe companies like this will be able to attract better talent if it advertises its policies along with the cost-to-company (CTC) numbers. (On that note, companies including gratuity as part of your CTC to inflate it should be taken as a red flag because gratuity is only paid out if you complete five years of continuous employment with a company.)

That vacation policy reminds me of another pet peeve: regulation of the number of leaves you can carry forward. It's usually around 45 for mid-to-large companies. Employers have this policy for two reasons: one, to encourage its employees to take more paid time off (PTO) and two, to reduce the leave encashment outgo. You can see how an ironical situation seems to be appearing around that first point.

You see, leave policy enforcement is abysmal. At least when it comes to the good part. Take the first example where my friend was discouraged to take a day off just because she had taken a weeks-long leave the previous month. Since she has been with the company for several years, she had enough leaves to take weeks off and still have a few dozens to be forward to the following year. By rule, she had the right to take the leave officially. Yet, it needed to be approved by her work schedule that the company dictates and her manager. She has enough leaves but she cannot take one because her manager discourages it and because her manager discourages it she has enough leaves that will soon lapse. I sense catch-22.

Managers in such situations are like messengers of leave policies. Some might say they deserve to be killed for that. I wouldn't be that harsh on them because the blame lies on a lack of sensitization. The human resource (HR) department generally makes no effort to sensitize managers and leaders about their leave policies. Telling them to direct their team members to take mandatory time off in December to prevent leaves from lapsing doesn't count.

It's usually left to the manager's skill and attitude, not to mention the intrinsic bias that often slips through the crack even during leave approvals. We know a manager's bias is like a one-eyed snake that sways promotions and hikes but the jury is yet to be out on its influence on vacation approvals.

My friend doesn't believe it's all her manager's fault that she can't be away for a day this month or next. She opines that it also wouldn't be right to stay away from work when a critical project is on. I have to disagree with this because I believe that nothing cannot not wait for a day or a week. Urgencies in a professional setup are rare and usually manageable, even if it's critically dependent on a particular person or team. That's the point of having teams in a trickle-down hierarchy and why independent contractors are often always the non-charming expendables.

Yet there is a tribe of professionals that strives for maximum dependencies in their teams. They see dependency as a golden goose. If you've a lot of dependency, the company will think twice before letting you go. This may all be more relevant today when companies are on a firing spree but if a professional has that kind of attitude towards work, then being caught between the crosshairs of a crooked leave policy, a manager's whim, and a sudden inundation of work is on them.

Still, vacation policies should be the same for everyone in the workforce except for maybe the leaders. I agree with the theory that company leaders deserve better perks and more work flexibility so that they don't have to worry about their personal lives while helping grow the business. This also applies to government servants.

Although, there is some sense and wisdom in not allowing more than half the members of a certain team to be away on the same dates. This unwritten rule should be included in the official leave policy because it has nothing to do with sadism. If more than half the members of a team are on leave for a long period, the projects they were working on are bound to derail. Smartness then comes in planning ahead. Those who mark their vacation dates the moment HR releases the annual holiday calendar are the smarter employees.

The practice of having to state (or justify) why you're taking leaves is another unwritten rule of a problem I see in many companies. The employer has no business knowing why an employee is taking a leave, although in its defense, the status quo around leave policies has resulted in an opaque system where leave applications usually has only a few traces of honesty. Some employees lie through their teeth why they'll be away for 10 days in summer. It's better for the manager's conscience and overall team morale that his team member is attending a family's religious function and not holidaying. Holidaying in the Maldives when your teammates are sharing your work and extending hours? Pathetic.

Working professionals need to stop mentioning why they take leaves, especially if it's a toxic workplace, if we are to collectively normalize it. It's rare for companies and teams inside them to encourage vacations but if you can find a company that does, it should be considered as a strong positive when you have to evaluate your employment. It's definitely one of the things I feel why people stay longer at a company, adding to my other reasons.

According to the new Labour Code of India (pdf), a worker is entitled to a day's leave for every 20 days worked provided they have worked for 180 days (down from 240). That comes to about 12 leaves a year counting national holidays and assuming Saturdays and Sundays off. I have seen some companies bend this code by keeping Saturdays on and not counting them in the leave policy calculation. Extended probation periods also have something to do with this subversion.

There's another unwritten rule in some companies that have business targets. Mostly in banks, financial institutions, and retail businesses, I see draconian leave policies that outline the periods in a month when employees can take leaves. Another friend refuses to come to trips if they're in the last week of a month because month-end leaves are discouraged and rarely approved. I remember she even had to skip a close friend's wedding because it fell on December 30, which was a weekday, and the venue in another state - the unholy trinity for a salaried employee. She works every other Saturday though all Saturdays are holidays in her company's system. The months of January, February, and March are so bad for her that if the reaper came for her, she would request him to come back after March 31. That friend also disclosed how even sick leaves are monitored. The only motivation for such employees is then money.

Something that's not as scary and what has proliferated in recent times is the floating holiday leave policy. It aims to do away with fixed national holidays and instead takes a customized approach. At the start of the year, companies that follow this rule share a list of national and state holidays. Out of these, certain holidays of real national importance - such as the Independence Day - are fixed and others are optional. Employees have a few of such fixed leaves and a dozen or so optional leaves that they can use as per their needs and cultural leaning. In such a scenario, I can take an off day for Onam and Vishu and decide to work on Bhaidooj and Raksha Bandhan. It doesn't force the holidays on people and regards the different religious and cultural backgrounds of the employee workforce. I don't think there has been a better unofficial reform in leave policies in India.

I also dig a host of leave policies surrounding reproduction that are the norm these days. Maternity and paternity leaves are abundant and so are those concerning surrogacy, adoption, and even marriage in some cases. Bereavement leaves are also a good, thoughtful addition I had seen with my previous employer. Though, another pet peeve I then had was male employees not being included in the special leave offered to individuals who experience a miscarriage or abortion. it might be well to have a balanced leave policy for all genders with a ratio similar to that of maternity and paternity leaves. Companies that call "honeymoon leaves" that way should face legal music.

That brings me to the crux of the problem. I wrote this because Bloomberg's Erin Lowry wrote an op-ed where she blamed pitiful vacation policies (without the paywall) in the US for work burnouts. Back home, according to a 2021 report (pdf) by The 7th Fold that surveyed 1,000+ Indian employees, 82% of the lot reported that their productivity was low due to presenteeism while 60% of the lot said they had to work on holidays and during leaves. Another report published in 2018 by Expedia suggested that employees are not taking enough leaves. In the report, it was found that Indian employees wasted 25% of their annual allotted leave days on average. Interestingly, the reasons cited are as follows:

• Missing out on important work decisions
• Fear of being seen as less committed
• Finding it difficult to coordinate PTO with partner

The study also suggests that 18% Indians feel that those who are successful at their job don't take vacation days. It looks like I'm shooting in the dark here because the blame apparently should fall on both sides. Since that is an old report and its publisher is a holiday travel portal, we have to take those numbers with a pinch of salt. Yet it does show the sad state of affairs of vacation policies and leave consumption in the country.

The only way to tide over this mess is then to have a "personal leave policy". Even if your life revolves around work, taking full advantage of your leave policies is an effective way to manage work stress.

Here are some pointers based on my eight years of thoughtful leave-taking. Because this is LinkedIn and not Reddit, I'll stay away from malicious compliance:

• Ask for the vacation policy before joining a company. (Bonus: also get details of health insurance, virtual work policy, employer NPS, VPF customization, notice period, next eligible promotion month, and other perks)
• Plan your vacations ahead and earmark long weekends throughout a year.
• Use the annual holiday calendar and earmark possible dates for potential week-long trips.
• You don't have to exhaust your sick leaves because they can't be carried forward but start taking them if you feel the blues. Feeling low is as good a reason as a stomach ache. Calling in sick has nothing to do with success.
• Mark your leaves 3 months ahead and inform your teammates too.
• Avoid specifying the reason for PTO. If demanded, tell the truth and don't kill your grandparents.
• Keep an eye on the number of leaves that can be carried forward. Do not let casual (non-sick) leaves lapse.
• Vacation leaves are more valuable as they are than as converted money after you quit.
• Prefer a handful of week-long leaves than fewer weeks-long leaves for better management of your wellbeing and a good leave balance across the year, courtesy dear Elena Glinskaya.
• Don't take your computer along on a vacation.
• Switch off work email apps if you have them on your phone.

If you're a manager, consider sending this to your team.

I have to admit this is a rebellious take on vacation policies being written from under the shadow of privilege. Some employers, proponents of mule-like hardwork, startup pundits, and their friends who echo baseless commentary that one should work 14-hour shifts a day to get what they want will dismiss this as hedonism. The point is to optimize your leave policies, however scary they may be. As someone who's been lucky enough to work with rational people who understand the magical effervescent effect of leaves on overall wellbeing, I am happy to report that it's not all doomed in India.