In her viral TikTok, she says, "Regularly take your PTO. There's no medal you receive for not using it. By taking it regularly, you train your manager to see it as this consistent, natural occurrence — not some freakishly odd, rare event. When you do notify them about PTO, keep it simple. Don't justify it, like my kids need to go to the eye doctor or I'm helping my mom clean out her doll collection. ... Doing that sets this precedent that you'll share your whereabouts every time you use PTO."
"Take your PTO even though the response may not be great. Just because you expect some resistance or pushback doesn't mean you shouldn't take time off. I tell people it's never a great time and it's always a great time to take PTO. Don't wait for ideal conditions. Do it anyway," she concludes.
Her TikTok was eye-opening for a lot of people:
And many users started sharing suggestions for how companies can better implement and encourage people to take PTO:
Like removing the need for manager approval:
All around, people had lots of great suggestions:
BuzzFeed spoke to Selena to get more insight. "I released a book called Pushback — encouraging professionals to stop settling for 'less than optimal' work conditions and to seize those everyday moments to stand up for themselves. That book took off — winning an award, becoming a bestseller, and it’s still the most popular topic I speak on today!"
When we asked Selena why she thinks taking PTO is so important, she said, "No one else will set boundaries for you. No one else will value your time — or mental and physical health — like you can. We see real benefits of taking time off in the quality of our work and ideas, the vigor we bring to our personal and professional lives, and our resilience for the not-so-great times."
As for the people who feel it is necessary to save up their PTO for unexpected events, Selena explained, "As a mom to 9-year-old twins, I can especially empathize with wanting to save time for sick kids and other stressful things that come up. And there are some people who simply don’t have the privilege to just ask for time off. One common perception is that PTO in the US needs to be earned, deserved, and sacrificed when it should be seen as a preventative, beneficial 'vitamin' we take regularly."
"Some people argue there’s a literal payoff to cashing out your PTO when you leave a job, but by the time taxes are taken out and by running the risk of being burned out, I’d argue that PTO would have been better spent being taken throughout the year," she said.
When it comes to companies that offer little to no vacation pay, Selena said they ultimately end up paying the price. "Unpaid time off is a bad idea for companies because it can encourage employees to come in sick if the company doesn't have a PTO policy in place, and stress levels are higher for these individuals."
"Leaders need to stop vacation-shaming and incentivizing people to have 'perfect attendance.' (There are actually workplaces that give out perfect attendance awards and others that give payouts or financial incentives to those who don’t use their PTO at the end of a period.) It’s not conducive to normal human rhythms to work like a robot. As empowered adults, people can and should be able to judge for themselves when they need time off (and of course to make an effort to help operations run smoothly while they’re gone)."
Selena also wants people to realize they are under no obligation to share WHY they are taking PTO. "Look, if you want to share with your boss why you’re taking off, by all means, do it. The issue is, for plenty of people, there are times when they don’t want to share why. Like what if you need a very personal medical procedure done? Or you want to spend the day laying on your couch eating a bag of chips? You don’t owe people explanations. And if there’s already a precedent in place that you’ll share your reason every time, it can be awkward for an employee to try to set a boundary."
When it comes to advice Selena has for leaders, she said, "Bend over backward to show you respect your employees' time off and when they inform you they’ll be out, say something like, 'Got it, enjoy.' Don’t interrogate them. If you’re an employee, don’t give a long justification about what you’re doing on PTO — they’re called personal days for a reason!"
OK, now go take some PTO!!!
