4 ms·

I don't think most companies in the US give 4 weeks PTO. Currently I am contracting but at my last full time gig standard was 1 week, I pushed at hire time and

I don't think most companies in the US give 4 weeks PTO. Currently I am contracting but at my last full time gig standard was 1 week, I pushed at hire time and got 2. What are other people's experience with this?

fataliss 12y ago
I think the US standard is more around 15 days of PTO. That's what I get here. Plus the week between Christmas and New year that is for everybody.
logfromblammo 12y ago
When I started at this place, I had 10 days of vacation and about 8 sick days per year. Within the first 3 months, I had no more vacation, no more sick days, and just 15 days of PTO. Note the mathematical inequality. We were, of course, then required to use PTO days when the office was shuttered due to dangerous weather, and everyone got the flu because no one wanted to scuttle their own summer vacation plans by staying home sick in February. My experience is that American companies hate the idea that their employees might prefer to do anything at all other than to make more money for the company than it costs to pay out their benefits and wages. This is not a theoretical hate, but an actual, almost tangible hate. They are completely furious that their inefficient meat-robots continually whine about needing to eat, sleep, and eliminate wastes. Never mind wanting to actually leave the workplace. US companies emphatically do not offer 4 weeks PTO to new hires. You would be lucky to get that after 5 years of continuous employment with the same company. Your mileage, of course, may vary, especially if you are in a particularly labor-friendly job market. My personal experience, however, is that I have never been able to take a vacation longer than 9 continuous days, and those were often constrained by weekends and paid holidays, resulting in 4 days spent from PTO, and 5 days from weekends and holidays. I would be willing to put up with some of the negative aspects of having a union, if it could manage even as much as stopping my non-paycheck benefits from eroding a tiny bit every year. I have had enough.

fataliss 12y ago

I think the US standard is more around 15 days of PTO. That's what I get here. Plus the week between Christmas and New year that is for everybody.

logfromblammo 12y ago

When I started at this place, I had 10 days of vacation and about 8 sick days per year. Within the first 3 months, I had no more vacation, no more sick days, and just 15 days of PTO. Note the mathematical inequality. We were, of course, then required to use PTO days when the office was shuttered due to dangerous weather, and everyone got the flu because no one wanted to scuttle their own summer vacation plans by staying home sick in February. My experience is that American companies hate the idea that their employees might prefer to do anything at all other than to make more money for the company than it costs to pay out their benefits and wages. This is not a theoretical hate, but an actual, almost tangible hate. They are completely furious that their inefficient meat-robots continually whine about needing to eat, sleep, and eliminate wastes. Never mind wanting to actually leave the workplace. US companies emphatically do not offer 4 weeks PTO to new hires. You would be lucky to get that after 5 years of continuous employment with the same company. Your mileage, of course, may vary, especially if you are in a particularly labor-friendly job market. My personal experience, however, is that I have never been able to take a vacation longer than 9 continuous days, and those were often constrained by weekends and paid holidays, resulting in 4 days spent from PTO, and 5 days from weekends and holidays. I would be willing to put up with some of the negative aspects of having a union, if it could manage even as much as stopping my non-paycheck benefits from eroding a tiny bit every year. I have had enough.