December 19, 2016

Vacation All I've Ever Wanted

We finally held compensation negotiations last week for those of us who were promoted into the new practice lead roles a few months ago.  I weirdly find that particular chess match enjoyable, so I wasn't stressed about it.


The reason this is horse related: after a couple of rounds of back and forth, my boss and I were essentially a week's pay apart on what my salary should be.  I said, "Okay, I'll come down to your number, but I'll need an extra week of vacation."  And he cheerfully agreed - it's way easier for them to give us time off than it is more money.


So I now have four weeks of PTO plus 7 holidays per year, which means I can be less stingy about taking time off for horse shows and clinics.  (And if I somehow manage to stay here another 8.75 years, I'll have six weeks plus holidays...oh the possibilities...now I understand how people can do a month in Florida.)

"We're doing what?  Going where?"
Game on!

23 comments:

Hillary (equestrian at hart) said...

Nice! I feel like Florida for the winter would be lovely but sill stay out of reach. I use my PTO to spend time with my family on the other side of the country too so it's hard to try to use it all on horse stuff. Though the rest does go to horse stuff haha.

Hawk said...

I'm super blessed with my company - I can accrue 7 weeks of vacation right from the start (like 3 weeks a year I think?) they roll over and I can 'buy' and extra week every year haha. So I never worry about taking time off.

Erika said...

That first meme is awesome. Way to go on your negotiations!

jenj said...

More PTO is soooo nice!

SheMovedtoTexas said...

Yesssss! I've had 4 weeks for about 3 years, and it is AMAZING. One of the main reasons I've stayed at my company for some long.

SprinklerBandit said...

Sounds like a great outcome for everyone!

Jen said...

Right? That was one of my reasons for asking for it. #1: Not going to get burned out like my predecessor and #2: It makes it harder to shop around, since some places have shitty vacation policies or won't negotiate on it (cough cough healthcare). I'm in it for good now, haha.

Jen said...

Haha yeah, that was my husband's Facebook profile picture for like two years.

Jen said...

You are very lucky!

Jen said...

Yeah, my family is 4 hours away so while it's not an easy trip it's not the other side of the country! I mostly use mine for Fridays off.

Jen said...

Yesssss

Jen said...

I think so.

Heather - The Graduated Equestrian said...

4 weeks plus 7 holidays sounds so lovely!

T said...

Excellent negotiating! It's amazing what a difference an extra week makes. Being limited to 3 and having completely inflexible hours is actually turning into a deal breaker for me.

Olivia @ DIY Horse Ownership said...

I love negotiating for more vacation. I did that a few times at a previous job. I want as much time off as possible.

Jen said...

Right? Like, I want to work for you, but I also want to not work for you as much as you'll let me.

Calm, Forward, Straight said...

Good job closing the deal!

Kelly said...

Florida sounds amazing right about now!!!

Karen said...

Niiice!!! While job pays shit, I do have almost 4 weeks of vacation so uhhh at least I can take time off for horse shows that I can't afford! #horselife

Tony the Pony said...

Awesome! All of my vacation time is taken up by clinics and shows and other horse things ;)

Piccolopony said...

Nice!!! I finally work at a place where I get a nice amount of vacation days and it is SOOOOO nice to be able to actually take time off during the year

L.Williams said...

My job has always been extremely generous with time off and I'm going to be sad to be anywhere else once I am gone because of it (and frankly its worth putting up with less pay and idiots)

Micaylah said...

Hell yeah girl! One day I'll have a big girl job..I see that degree at the light at the end of the tunnel!