In today's episode of Coffee and Career Hour, we'll explore the cultural and personal reasons behind the reluctance to take time off work, even when you're not feeling your best. We'll underscore the importance of utilizing PTO not just in the summer, but year-round, emphasizing that taking breaks is not only okay but crucial for your well-being.
Discover the transformative effects of regular PTO on your mental health, physical well-being, and overall work-life balance. We unpack the myth that PTO should only be for extravagant vacations and highlight the value of staycations that genuinely allow you to relax. We make a compelling case for the necessity of regular breaks to avoid burnout and enhance productivity.
Lastly, we dive into the power of consistent self-care. Drawing parallels to a regular fitness routine, we emphasize that self-care is a long-term investment in your health. We share our own summer plans, from a family road trip to a San Diego visit, to illustrate the rejuvenating power of stepping away from the daily grind. It's time to prioritize ourselves and use our PTO wisely, whether for a getaway or simply for mental health. By doing so, we not only boost our personal well-being but also increase our professional effectiveness.
In today's episode of Coffee and Career Hour, we'll explore the cultural and personal reasons behind the reluctance to take time off work, even when you're not feeling your best. We'll underscore the importance of utilizing PTO not just in the summer, but year-round, emphasizing that taking breaks is not only okay but crucial for your well-being.
Discover the transformative effects of regular PTO on your mental health, physical well-being, and overall work-life balance. We unpack the myth that PTO should only be for extravagant vacations and highlight the value of staycations that genuinely allow you to relax. We make a compelling case for the necessity of regular breaks to avoid burnout and enhance productivity.
Lastly, we dive into the power of consistent self-care. Drawing parallels to a regular fitness routine, we emphasize that self-care is a long-term investment in your health. We share our own summer plans, from a family road trip to a San Diego visit, to illustrate the rejuvenating power of stepping away from the daily grind. It's time to prioritize ourselves and use our PTO wisely, whether for a getaway or simply for mental health. By doing so, we not only boost our personal well-being but also increase our professional effectiveness.
Hello, hello everybody. We are so excited to have you back at Coffee and Career.
Speaker 2:
Hour. It would be better if we could like actually give them coffee and like sit at a table and have a conversation. But you know, grab a cup of coffee and you can listen to us have a conversation.
Speaker 1:
One day, maybe in the future? Yeah Well, today, in the middle of summer, middle of July, what do we want to talk to our audience? About PTO, the thing that I am least good at, I would have to agree, unfortunately, pto, if you don't know what that means, that stands for paid time off, which is some.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, it's a legal. I don't know if it's not a legal rule, but it's a legal responsibility, ethical responsibility on behalf of your employer to pay you for paid time off because they want to add to your well-being as a human.
Speaker 1:
Yes, it is required for companies to offer that. So please know that if you, by any chance, are working for an employer that is not offering paid time off, that would mean that they are not following legal requirements and you should probably look into that I want to say too.
Speaker 2:
It may depend if you are also part-time, full-time salary versus hourly, that kind of stuff. Just know that those are also differences, but you can always ask your employer for more information or, if not, your HR representative as well.
Speaker 1:
Yes, definitely, definitely. Either way, some sort of paid time off is needed and should be used, and we're going to talk today a little bit about why taking PTO is so important, especially as we're in the middle of summer and this is a very typical time that people take time off, but definitely not the only time. You should and could be using pto throughout the whole year yeah, absolutely so.
Speaker 2:
Why don't we kick it off?
Speaker 1:
yeah, so when, okay, mj, you mentioned that it's not something you're great at not a strength of mine. Let's start there. What is it that makes you not want to take time off?
Speaker 2:
Oh, okay. So it's not that I don't believe in time off. I think for me, it's just like I don't feel that I need to take time off. I think, for me, it's I'm like oh, I wake up, I'm fine, I can go to work. Why would I choose not to go to work if I feel okay? I think, though, that comes from just like a personal background history. You know just my childhood experiences that I've had, where I also never saw my mom ever take a day off. My mom works, even still to this day, six out of the seven days of the week, even sometimes on Sundays. So I never grew up having an example where people took time off. My family never went on vacations in the summer. Um, if we did, it was like a family emergency in central america, or it was not like a, it was like a weird like every three years or every other year we'd go to vegas for like two days yeah back.
Speaker 2:
So I think that's where it comes from for me, but I've learned from amazing friends like you and others that it goes beyond just needing, or my body telling me that I need a break yeah, because when you were saying like, oh, I wake up, I'm fine, I can go to work, like do you have to be like dying to not go to work?
Speaker 2:
yeah, same but you know it's funny because same that happens for me too with sick days. Yeah, if I'm like having a nasty headache or I don't feel well or whatever I'm like, oh, but I still feel fine to function, yeah, and be at work. So I won't even take a sick day or go to the doctor. But yeah, yeah, I don't know, I don't know, may take some more time to fix an mj so funny.
Speaker 1:
Well, look, I get it, because I remember when I was in school I would always go to school, even when I was sick. Like literally the one time I remember missing school for being sick was when I was I had the flu for a week. I was in bed like fever and all of that.
Speaker 1:
That's the only time I remember like actually not going to school for maybe a few days back to back because I was that sick otherwise like just a little bit of cold headache, all of that, like I still would go to back because I was that sick otherwise, like just a little bit of cold headache, all of that, like I still would go to school. So I do completely understand that. It was like the sense of like, if I don't go, I'm not doing what I'm like responsible to do and I'm missing out on important things you know, yeah, um, even at work too.
Speaker 1:
Yes, like I'm also the type of person who, like I, won't skip work if I have a little bit of a headache or maybe something isn't feeling right. Uh, something is feeling a little bit off in my body, but I'm I'm like, okay, you know I should still go to work, but I definitely do love to take my vacations and enjoy at least, you know, a few days out of the year. Enjoy that time like I feel like I've worked hard and I deserve this. Right, that's something that kind of goes through my mind, especially in the summers, because it's like, okay, it's the end of the year, especially in academia, but really in any industry. It's like summer it's kind of slow. Um, everybody likes to go to different places. So, with that said, like it's sort of a mentality, so I do get where you're coming from. But, um, we want to tell our listeners like one, endorse it, like it's okay to take pto, yes, and not only it's okay, but it's actually like encouraged, yes yes, so don't don't be like me.
Speaker 2:
Um, do not be like me at all.
Speaker 1:
It's like a do as I say, not as I do, situation I mean last year was the first time I actually took a vacation ever. Yeah, I'm so proud.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, as an adult I mean I haven't been an adult for a long time, but you know what I mean Like it's the first time I took one. It did feel really good, but I want to take one. My goal is to take one in the next two years, okay, okay, next two years, where I do have like a beach relaxing vacation. I think that's also. My issue is like vacation for me could be like like last year I went to Seattle so it was like a busy, like going, walking six miles every day and visiting here and visiting there, Like it was no time to like decompress, even though it was a week away from work and I didn't think about work, it was still something. So don't be like me, please take it, because it there's a lot of benefits to it. I'm taking this summer I'm not sorry, sorry to report. I'm not taking a week or two off, I'm taking like a few days here and there off, not consecutively, but just like a wednesday or a friday or monday or something yeah, that's okay.
Speaker 1:
You know, I feel like, yeah, when we think of like vacation, we think you take a whole week off and you go to this nice relaxing place, yeah, um, and I think for the two of us that's like a beach, but for many people that's not yeah, I'm one laughing because I'm taking those days off.
Speaker 2:
It's not for vacation. I actually have to go give a presentation, oh lord that's why it doesn't count. It does not count, okay, yeah I shouldn't have said that, I should have just left you guys lit on.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, you should have just let us enjoy that, but but I'm not okay. Well, we'll have that conversation off off speaker. But, um, you know, vacations look different for everybody. Even like, even if it's a staycation, right, yeah, like taking time off from work to just do stuff that you need to do for yourself at home, you don't have to go anywhere. It does not have to be this extravagant, expensive thing that you do, yeah, um, so I think maybe that might sometimes also be a disconnect. When people decide not to like use their pto is like oh, maybe I don't want to like spend on a vacation or anything like that doesn't have to be anything extravagant.
Speaker 2:
So know too that those staycations I'll tell you why I'm laughing in a second they're not for you to make appointments of stuff you've been putting on for off for a long time. So like, if you think you're gonna take a vacation a week off and you're gonna make a dentist appointment or go to the doctor, you've been putting up that that's what sick days are for. That is true. My supervisor told me that this year when I told her I was taking a day off to do an appointment I've been waiting to do, and she said, mj, that's what sick days are for. And I was like, okay, I don't know. So know that those staycations are meant for you to chill, to relax, I mean, if you can. You know everyone's life looks different. I can't sit still. I need to be productive. So it really depends for me.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, but hey, you know, like relaxing looks different for everybody, even if it's like you were saying, like where you went last year it was a very busy place and you didn't actually like decompress, but that could be very relaxing oh, so much fun.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I mean I had a great time. It was really. It was really fun walking around and in taking all that energy. But yes, it looks different for everybody. But just the sick days too, they're different from vacation. Sorry, I just had to because I was told like no, it's mj, those are sick days, not ptl days. And I said, oh okay I didn't know.
Speaker 1:
Hey, you know one thing too, uh, is that when you don't use up these hours, eventually, depending on the company, every company's system works different, but they can expire yeah, yeah, you don't want to lose out on all those hours that you could have been having fun yeah, those hours you've been having fun and they're paid guys, they're not.
Speaker 2:
you're not taking a day off and not getting paid for it, and they're supposed to be given to you so they can expire. Some people don't roll over either. So if you don't use them, you lose them. Right, you don't use them, you lose them. So really pay attention to what that looks like, what system you have in your company so you can be using those days.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
So why are they so important, mj? Well, aside from me not taking them, they actually have a lot of benefits, armine, and there are things that you can already think of on the fly, like improving of mental health, physical well-being, your work-life balance. Yes, those are typical things, but they also have other benefits too, of course. Mental health prevents burnout and stress, which is one of the main reasons why PTO is so good. In American culture, we're so fixated on our careers, on our jobs, being busy, always trying to impress or being competitive with one another, that that really does lead to a lot of stress and burnout, even in our personal lives. Right, I'm going to use motherhood.
Speaker 2:
We've been talking about motherhood, you and today a lot like being the best parent yeah being the best, sibling doing the best, parties doing like being the best is really an american sickness and talk to like it's a really toxic culture that we have here, and taking a day off prevents that. It gives you a lot of opportunity to reduce your stress in your everyday life and what that looks like in your workspace yeah, yeah, it's like deeper than that.
Speaker 1:
Right, like okay, not just like you take a day off and then okay you you're fixed, yeah no, it's deeper than that, it's more of a practice and it's it's really just prioritizing yourself, I think oh, I love that yeah and I I like to say it's also like respecting yourself, right, because when you have self-respect, you pay attention to where you're at mentally, where you're at physically, where you're like maybe there's a deficiency going on, you're stressed, you're overworked.
Speaker 1:
So respecting yourself means, hey, I need to take a step back because something's off. I gotta work on this. That could look like doing other things too, like going to therapy or doing things that like make you feel good about yourself, whatever it is. But in the context of what we're talking about today, pto is one of those things where it's like, yeah, I work hard when I'm there, I show up. Nobody's saying you're not going to be a superstar, you know, but having that regular practice of taking care of yourself is going to make you more of a superstar because you're able to take care of yourself yeah, it's like um, it's, it's, there's like an athletic example.
Speaker 2:
I can add to it right, like an athlete right now. We're in olympic season soon, so athletes need to rest. They cannot train seven days a week because their bodies need time to rest to heal, to grow, to repair their muscles all these different things so they can perform better when they're needed to, when they're asked to. So think about it like that too your brain, your body really do need a break, and and yes, it's not all going to be fixed in one day definitely so one thing, too, that, like taking time off, you know that becomes a practice and and something that you do for yourself.
Speaker 1:
One thing it does is it helps you build a stronger foundation, too, for yourself. So if you think about it, like when you're regularly taking care of yourself, your overall health is better in the long run right. You don't wait till you're sick and then you take a day off to feel better. You don't put a bandaid on it. You actually make this a part of your practice, your lifestyle, so that you are actually healthier from the foundation.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, very true. Yeah, I know you looked at me when you said that.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and you were laughing.
Speaker 2:
I do wait until I'm like dead sick to go. But yeah, overall health is so important it's just like you can't just fix one bone in the body, right? You really have to give equilibrium to everything that demands your attention, because how else are you going to perform, how else are you going to do good in all the different spaces? You're not just needed at work, you're needed in everywhere in your life.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, you are. You are. So when you're healthier from the foundation, you are more resilient, you're a stronger person, you're able to actually handle stress better, you're able to handle challenges better, and we all know that life is full of challenges and stress, right? So if we don't take care of ourselves regularly and it doesn't become a practice, we are not going to be able to Like that one little stressor. It might be the smallest thing that comes up at work. It like tips you over the edge and people might be like, why did you freak out over this little thing? But it's because the stress has accumulated so much that, like all you needed was that one little fingertip that push you over much, that like all you needed was that one little fingertip that push you over. Um.
Speaker 2:
So this is really the core of it is taking that pto regularly and and prioritizing yourself and respecting yourself so that you have a stronger foundation yeah, arminia, and I have mentioned this before when we've talked about self-care, and even in our meditation episode as well it's not just like a spa day.
Speaker 2:
This isn't that's not what we're telling you to happen, and it really does. When you think about like your mental and emotional state, it isn't just one part of you, it's multiple parts of you that are healing all at once together, and sometimes maybe your brain needs to rest more than your body, or your body needs more rest than your brain. I usually like love to use those days to catch up on sleep, which is why weekends are awesome. They'll just rest in. But you need that. It's a. It's like a inputs days off, right, a random day off could really help you overall, holistically. It's also, I mean, self-care. It looks very different, but when you do these things, it isn't just dedicating time to like your family or whatever it is, but it could be, and you want to think about what that looks like for you. And, like Armin said, I love what you said prioritize you and your needs, yeah.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I mean, I'm thinking about it in the sense of like, let's say, someone who works out regularly, right, when we talk about like weight loss or things like that. And there are people who might like just work out for a little bit of time and like lose weight or diet, but it's not a lifestyle, and then they gain the weight back. But then there are people like yourself, mj, who have this as a lifestyle. Yeah, you see food, you understand like how much protein and calories and all of that you need in your body. It's not like you're just temporarily doing this healthy lifestyle, you're actually living that. That's, that's just a natural way for you to be right now. Right, and so that's the same concept. So, thinking of for our listeners too, if you regularly work out and this is a part of your lifestyle, think of self-care in that same context yeah, and I mean in fitness, there's a saying you know, everybody gets into it because of motivation.
Speaker 2:
Oh, I have the motivation. I have the motivation. When motivation is done, what is there? There's dedication. You have to have consistency and dedication to go. You think I would? I want to wake up every day and go to the gym for an hour and a half. Hell, no, yeah, there's some days I just want to lay in bed. Sometimes I do, because that's me giving my body rest that it's asking for. But there are days where I need I have no motivation. I have to count on the consistency and dedication to push through. That's the same for these pto opportunities, these moments in life that you're not going to regret.
Speaker 1:
That's the other thing too oh yeah, like has anyone ever gone for a workout and regretted it exactly?
Speaker 2:
right, I mean unless like something horrible happened.
Speaker 1:
Well yeah, no, you know that's your sorry crime.
Speaker 1:
You watch a lot of crime shows yeah, yeah, that's me, but no like, if you think about, like, going for a workout, it's always hard to get yourself to the gym and then, once you're there and right after, like you feel amazing. Same goes for, like, these times where you take time for yourself. It might be hard for you to like finally, like say, okay, I'm gonna take this day off, because work is always busy, there's always stuff to do. Yeah, right, um. And so it might be hard to get yourself to that point of like I should prioritize myself. But once you do, you're not going to regret it, it's going to feel great. No matter what you decide to do, as long as you're, like, taking care of your needs and prioritizing yourself, it's going to feel good.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, what is it saying? Work is always going to be there.
Speaker 1:
Oh yeah, Work's always going to be there.
Speaker 2:
And that that really leads me to tell all of you, when you take time off and you separate yourself from your work identity, your workplace, your laptop For me, I have a fixation with this damn laptop. It's a problem when I separate myself physically from it, turn off the notifications on my email, on Slack, on everything, everything. I really come back better at work. I come back with like 20 out of 20 vision on what our projects are. My, my head feels clear. I can think better. There's not.
Speaker 2:
There's not like clutter and fog yeah in my head, in my mind, that really was not holding me back at work, but it wasn't allowing me to perform my best. Yeah, and that's one of the for me, I see it as one of the best things that pto gives. I mean, I know it's we're talking about coming back to work, but it really allows me to really get rid of whatever's on my mind. On my mind, whatever I need to do to heal, to recover, to rest, to recharge, rejuvenate, whatever you want to call it and come back and hit the ground running yeah, 100 percent.
Speaker 1:
Um, it's always like that. Anytime like there's something going on in your life, or even like when we were in school, we would say like, let's say, a project was kind of becoming really complicated, take some time away from it, look away, do something else for a while, and then you come back with fresh eyes.
Speaker 2:
Yeah same for work, right? That's crazy, because uh, yeah, uh, armon is absolutely right. And if nobody has ever told you, I've been telling oh my god, I know I've been telling a lot of people this recently if you're in a situation, please take at least 24 hours to think on it. If it's a work-related situation, take a sick day, take a day off, take a mental health day is what we're also, what we can also call it to, to really come back and see the problem, the situation, with fresh eyes. Yeah, yeah, think better about it.
Speaker 1:
I do want to emphasize, though, like, just like we said earlier, just taking a day here and there is not really what's going to help. It's more of like the practice of prioritizing yourself, right, so keep that in mind too, like you could decide what works for you if, um, you want to take a few days here and there you want to take a?
Speaker 1:
week. Whatever. It is like your own lifestyle, your own work, culture and everything is gonna like look different for every person, but it's the mindset of. It's okay to take pto, it's okay to to step away for a little bit, because this is what I need for myself and you don't need.
Speaker 2:
You don't need to have a vacation lined up. That's the other thing too is like that's a I feel like that's like a misconception that people have like, oh, I'm taking pto because I'm going to spain. I mean, great for you, some of us can't go to Spain, yeah, so you don't need to have a vacation lined up, just take the PTO, take the time off.
Speaker 1:
Definitely. Another great thing about taking time off and prioritizing yourself is yes, we talked about you come back to work, you're more focused, you're more energized, and we talked about having a stronger foundation for your overall health, your mental health, your emotional well-being.
Speaker 2:
But it also, interestingly enough, helps you with better relationships.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I mean that's like yeah.
Speaker 1:
Yes, and what we mean by that is that I think sometimes people think of like, oh, self-care, that's so selfish. Like I have so much to do, I have to be a parent, I have to be a sibling, I have to be a daughter, a son, I have pets I got to take care of, right, like, I have so many things I have to do and be so, many, so many things to so many different people in our lives, and so how could I dare think about self-care, that different people in our lives, and so how could I dare think about self-care? That's so selfish? But it's actually not. Actually as a mom too, like becoming a mom. I've been reading a lot of things and they always say right, like, when you take care of yourself, you can be a better mom. It's the truth for any, anything, even if you're not a parent. Like, if you take care of yourself, you will be more emotionally, you'll have more emotional resources and bandwidth to have different relationships with people, not just your co-workers, but in your personal life too I agree with that.
Speaker 2:
I agree with that 100. When you prioritize yourself and you do put the energy and time to invest in yourself because that's what you're doing you're're investing long-term in yourself it's like buying your own I don't know health insurance, life insurance, whatever you want to call it for yourself. You do have a different vision with people and you do connect with others differently and you work with them and the relationships I feel they become a little bit easier, yeah they do.
Speaker 1:
They do because you feel better about yourself, yeah, and you have a more positive outlook on the world and your energy is different, like all of these things matter, right, in all the different roles that we have to play in our lives. If you're not feeling 100, you can't put out 100 100 and that's going to impact every single role, every single relationship that you have. So think about it this way like self-care is actually better for all the people in your life. Yeah, you know it's good for you, but it's good for everybody else too that's true, absolutely, friends.
Speaker 2:
We talked about how PTO can be helpful. Armanay, will you be taking PTO this summer?
Speaker 1:
I will be. We are going on a trip it's like a three or four-day trip with the family and it's going to be my baby's very first trip. The road trip and, um, to be honest, I'm a little nervous because taking a nine, ten hour road trip with a six month old shall be interesting, but nonetheless, I am going to take it because I know that this is going to be good for me and our family, and we all need some time, especially having had a baby six months ago. It's been no, no less than stressful, um, for the whole family. So I think we definitely need some time to like step away and just even to just like not be in our regular space. You know, doesn't even have to be anything extravagant, it's just like not being in your regular space helps because you're getting fresh air yeah how about?
Speaker 2:
you, mj, I so. So I do have a couple days where I've taken the day off to do some presentations for a local organization, which I have yet to actually announce on my Instagram. One of them is next week, but I will be taking one day specifically off to go to San Diego and here in sunny Southern California, yay yeah, I'm going to go visit some family for one day, and then I'll be back and then at work. The next Amazing I know I know some family for one day and then I'll be back and then at work. The next amazing I know I know I should be taking more, but at the moment that's all I can handle for capacity wise yeah, that's okay.
Speaker 1:
Hey, as long as it's something that makes you feel good, it doesn't matter how long it is or any of that yeah, so I'm excited.
Speaker 2:
So, as you see, even our versions of pto and self-care look different. Do what works for you, make it the best for you. Prioritize yourself, though, and we challenge you. It's july 8th when you're listening to this. You have july has 31 days. You have 23 more days left to prioritize yourself.
Speaker 1:
We challenge you to prioritize yourself yes, and, and as we leave this conclude this episode, we leave you with thinking about how do you view PTO, how do you feel when you are taking time away from your responsibilities, and what does self care look like to you?
