A Pool vs a Puddle - Paid Time Off (PTO) vs Rainy Day Funds

The paternalistic model the US workforce has operated under for the last "century" is finding challenges coming at it from many directions.

A big area under siege is the benefit of vacation days and paid time off.

Traditionalists and Baby Boomers have operated under this paternalistic model that monitored employees' time off. These generations have been accustomed to following strict guidelines as to what constitutes vacation time or sick leave. In exchange they have benefited from being able to accrue unused sick day for years with the idea that they will stockpile them and use them for a "rainy day". If that rainy day never comes, they can usually cash in accrued time on the back end of their careers, having used the value of all those days as a sort of investment plan.

The Rainy Day model works if you stay at one organization and retire there but does not work out so well for the younger generations. Xers tenures range from 3 - 5 years and Millennials typically are 12 months to 36 months if they make it past the 4 month (hump).

But to compound the issues we have a core difference on philosophy between the generations about the purpose of these days.

Traditionalists' have perceived their careers as their legacy work. They were shaped by the Great Depression and World War II and felt fortunate to have a job. They were loyal to the organization and the organization was loyal in return. Traditionalist had every expectation to retire with the same organization they started their career at. A Traditionalist often measured their work ethic by years of service, and weeks (even months) of accrued, unused sick leave that could potentially be cashed in when he/she retired. Taking time off was seen as a lack of commitment to the team and the organization.

Baby Boomers followed along in this model to a degree. Taking their designated vacation time became the norm, and actually a tangible demonstration of their level in the organization. However for the most part the use of sick days was still strongly discouraged and a 60+ hour work week became the expected instead of the exception.

Xers personally felt the impact of this work-centric living and parenting. They tried it out personally during the Dot.com era, but have decided that it's not worth harming their health. They want to be available for their children now - not when they are 60. They don't want to make up lies and subterfuge just to go on their child's field trip, or take a mental health day.

Millennials have fast paced varied schedules and work is only one piece of their puzzle. They don't want to live in fear that "The Man" is watching their days off and asking if they were really sick. They want to be able to take a "pool" of flexible days and disperse them as needed.

Many organizations are finding that this flexible approach not only works for the Millennials and Xers, but also for their time-starved Baby Boomer colleagues as well.