If you’re like most Americans, you don’t get nearly enough vacation time from your employer. The average American worker gets only ten paid vacation days after a year of employment (plus, generally, federal holidays and paid sick leave). That’s pretty paltry, especially compared with time-off norms in other industrialized countries. What you may not realize, though, is that you can often negotiate more vacation time for yourself — either as part of the job-offer negotiation process, when you’re first being hired, or later on after you’ve been on the job for a while. Here’s everything to know about how to ask for more vacation time.
The easiest time to negotiate for pretty much anything — more money, more vacation time, working remotely one day a week, or so forth — is when you’re originally negotiating your job offer. When a company has decided they want to hire you and is in the process of wooing you, but you haven’t accepted their offer yet, they’re often more open to accommodating your requests than they will be later. There are limits to that, of course — if you ask for too much or for something wildly outside the norms in your field, you risk turning them off or seeming out of touch. But asking for a bit more vacation time than the offer originally includes is (a) something that people do and (b) a request that’s often granted.
The easiest way to get more vacation time included in your offer is to compare the offer to the vacation time you’re getting at your current job and asking if the new employer can match it. For example, you could say, “Right now I get four weeks of vacation a year, so two weeks would be a pretty big step back for me. Would you be able to do four weeks to match what I have currently?” This is a particularly common request from people in mid-level and senior roles, who have worked their way up to a higher amount of vacation time at previous jobs and don’t want to start at the bottom again.
Or, if the new company will increase your vacation time the longer you’re there (for example, starting people at two weeks a year but offering three weeks once you’ve worked there three years), you can ask to start off at the higher level: “I know you increase people to three weeks of vacation after three years. Given the experience I’m bringing, would you be able to start me at three weeks right away?”
You can also suggest more vacation time if the employer is unable to agree to something else you’ve requested during negotiations. For example, if they didn’t agree to your request to increase the salary, you might say, “Would you be able to do an additional week of vacation instead? I’d be glad to accept if you can do that.” (That last sentence can be helpful incentive — it’s telling them that you can both wrap up negotiations right now if they’ll say yes to it.)
Of course, the employer may not agree; some companies have rigid rules about how much vacation time they’ll offer and won’t budge from that. But it’s a very normal and reasonable thing to ask about, and an employer shouldn’t have a problem with you raising the question.
In many ways, asking for more vacation at your current job is similar to asking for a raise. Since you’re asking for a change to your compensation package, you should wait until you’ve been at the job for at least a year, and you should be in excellent standing; this isn’t a request you can make unless your manager is thrilled with your work. But if you meet both of those conditions, you can try meeting with your boss and making the request.
It’s easiest to tie it to performance evaluations or salary reviews, because that gives you a natural opening where you and your boss are both already reflecting on and discussing your performance. In that context, you could say something like, “One thing that would keep me really happy here is if we were able to increase the amount of vacation time I receive each year. Would you be open to giving me an additional week of vacation per year in recognition of the work I’ve been doing?”
If you suspect this will be a no-go for your manager, your chances of success may be better if you ask for more vacation time in lieu of a raise that year. That’s often an easier thing for an employer to agree to, since you’ll be saving them money.
It’s also worth researching how much vacation time other employers in your field are offering. Your employer might be much more willing to grant your request if they know that their competitors are offering more paid vacation than they are.
If you do get an employer to agree to give you more vacation time, make sure you get that agreement in writing. This doesn’t need to be a formal contract — and in the U.S., most likely won’t be, since most U.S. workers don’t have employment contracts — but just something that memorializes what was agreed to in case there’s any question about it later. If you don’t put it in writing and then your manager or HR person leaves, the next person won’t have any record of the agreement. Plus, with nothing in writing, there’s a higher risk of genuine mistakes or misunderstandings, like someone forgetting a year from now what your agreement was.
If the employer doesn’t offer anything in writing, you can simply send an email saying something like, “I wanted to summarize our conversation earlier, agreeing that effective this month, I’ll begin accruing four weeks of vacation time per calendar year. Thanks for working with me on this!”
Order Alison Green’s book, Ask a Manager: Clueless Colleagues, Lunch-Stealing Bosses, and the Rest of Your Life at Work, here. Got a question for her? Email . Her advice column appears here every Tuesday.
How to Ask for More Vacation Time
There's some merit to the phrase “work hard to play hard.” But with workers devoting their all to a business, especially when it's just getting off the ground, it can be easy for them to lose sight of their need for relaxation. Therefore, it is up to the leaders to intervene and help employees realize that their peace and mental health are just as important as the valuable work they do.
Employees that relax and take things in stride are less likely to experience burnout or have emotional breakdowns. Here, eight leaders from Young Entrepreneur Council offer sage advice on how to encourage employees to take time off for relaxation as a core element of keeping them motivated and productive.
Young Entrepreneur Council members share strategies for encouraging employee time off.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Lead By Example
We cannot realize our collective impact unless every member of our organization is feeling well rested and valued. This is why we stress the importance of taking time off, meditating on a daily basis and prioritizing health in all its forms above all else. Making sure to set healthy boundaries and to encourage vacation time, I lead by example and make sure to announce when I'm taking time off, why I'm taking the time and what I plan to do to unplug. Learning lessons the hard way, I know what happens when we burn out. It not only hurts us on an individual level, but it also bruises the organization. If there is one thing I recommend to all executives and employees alike, it is to find balance. - Samar Ali, Millions of Conversations
2. Help Them Build Systems
The reason many employees don't like to take time off is because they don't feel confident they can leave without things falling apart. The best way to promote time off is to help employees build systems and processes that will outlive them at the organization. We encourage all of our employees to focus on making themselves obsolete, which can sound a little strange but it is, in fact, liberating. If an employee can take responsibility for creating systems that don't rely on them having to be there every day, they are much more likely (and able) to get away. Engaging an employee to be part of the solution creates the best outcome. - Russell Benaroya, Stride Services
3. Be Tuned In To Their Needs And Habits
The 9-to-5 is dead. You need to be more receptive to your employees’ individual work habits. While some people like the structure of a 9-to-5 day, others work better from home, late a night, early in the morning or sometimes by just having the ability to take the time off when they know they need to. It's important to understand what brings enjoyment to your team members, and then encourage them to act on it. If it's time for a vacation, and you're tuned into their needs, you'll see it. Ask them how they're feeling, and don't be afraid to be the one that suggests the idea. Always make a welcoming atmosphere for people to truly express themselves—it will be better for you and them. A happy employee is a productive employee, but maybe next week. - Andy Karuza, LitPic
4. Incorporate Time Off In Your Culture
Oftentimes, employers expect consistent top performance from their employees on levels that aren’t work-life balance friendly. It’s important to encourage and promote a work-life balance within your organization. We know just how important work-life balance and really treating yourself to a well-deserved vacation is, so we’ve incorporated it into our company culture. Our Founders’ Circle company trip rewards our top performers with an all-inclusive paid vacation. Bottom line is, our top performers deserve time off and we’re happy to give it to them—paid. We’ve found that by doing this we’re advocating for well-deserved vacations and, in turn, our Grovies (what we call our employees) come back to work even harder with a passion to continue to succeed. - John Lie-Nielsen, One Park Financial
5. Offer Time Off As A Sign Of Appreciation
Practice patience and sensitivity. If you sense that your employee is stressed out and just not telling you, tell them how much you appreciate their work (because you do). If they ask for one day off, give them two. These gestures of human kindness and decency may cost you a little money, but pay huge dividends in the long run. - Han-Gwon Lung, Tailored Ink
6. Make Regular Announcements
You can encourage employees to take time off by making regular announcements about it. We have a deadline in September for submitting holiday requests because we have a lot of people to accommodate. Reminding them about it eases their worries and encourages them to submit their time off without overthinking it. Leaders want their employees to feel rejuvenated and ready for work so they can put their best foot forward. Not taking advantage of time off is a disservice to both parties and helps no one. - Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
7. Be Genuinely Excited For Them
Be genuinely interested and excited for your employees when they request time off. We've had an unlimited paid vacation policy for years and ran into the common trap of employees not taking enough time off. Rather than adding more policies to force people into it, I've found that taking an interest and encouraging team members to take family vacations and add leisure time to work trips can help break the stigma of taking time off. Ask questions. Be excited for them. As a company founder and a dad of small kids, I enjoy living vicariously through the international travels of my team! - Dan Golden, BFO (Be Found Online)
8. Make Sure It’s Spelled Out On Paper
It's important to provide crystal clear information about taking time off during onboarding and in the employee handbook. When time off policies are expressed in black and white, people will feel more confident about taking time off. Of course, you can create more confidence by verbally talking to people about taking time off during meetings. - Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner
Check out my website.Editorial StandardsCorrectionsReprints & Permissions