Thread by @bopinion

A new debate has erupted after Citigroup announced its new sabbatical policy — 12 weeks at 25% pay for employees that have been at the bank for five years.

In the competitive world of finance, is it a career-killer to take advantage of that kind of deal? trib.al/GTdKLf6

In 2018, the average American full-time employee earned 23 paid days off a year, but only used 17 of them.

That’s six days of PTO left on the table — the equivalent of handing a week’s salary back to your employer trib.al/GTdKLf6

When you consider that the U.S. has the rich world’s stingiest vacation policies, this becomes even more depressing.

Other forms of paid leave — like family leave — also see a significant number of people leaving time on the table, especially men trib.al/GTdKLf6

Clearly, Americans think they can’t afford to take time off, even when their companies are paying them to take it.

In many years of looking, @skgreen has seen no data to suggest that such fears are justified trib.al/GTdKLf6

Some research on Americans who take their vacation time shows that they are more likely to get a raise or promotion — not less.

Admittedly, this finding also comes from a study that only shows correlation, not causation trib.al/GTdKLf6

Logging longer hours won't help you, either. In fact, another study found that managers couldn’t tell the difference between those who worked 80 hours a week and those who were faking it.

Rest really does improve performance, mainly by avoiding burnout trib.al/GTdKLf6

It’s been well documented that overwork creates:

🧠Cognitive impacts
👀Physical setbacks
🙍🏻Interpersonal costs

All of these can easily translate into lost productivity trib.al/GTdKLf6

Cynics tend to think that paid time off is something companies offer to attract talent, and then punish employees for actually using.

But in the case of Citi’s offer, it pays to take the company at its word: “People just sometimes need a break" trib.al/GTdKLf6

The chance to take a sabbatical, even one that’s only partly paid, could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

And there are lots of reasons to take a break in the middle of your career, rather than grinding it out until retirement trib.al/GTdKLf6

Think about it this way: Money is the ultimate renewable resource. You can always earn more of it. But time is fleeting and finite. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

So why not buy yourself 12 weeks of it? trib.al/GTdKLf6