Joan believes Superior’s current time off policy creates an incentive for employees to call off at the last minute. She has learned from supervisors that many employees use their sick days to take care of personal business such as attending parent–teacher conferences or running personal errands. These are often events that could be prescheduled time off, but employees do not feel they have a time off option to address such needs. Sick days can’t be prescheduled, and vacation days are often already committed at the beginning of the year.

Joan believes that changing the time off policies could reduce the number of unscheduled absences, but she is not sure if her idea will address her concerns. She is considering replacing the current vacation/ sick day allowance with a paid time off (PTO) bank. Employees would receive 12 PTO days each year.

They would be permitted to schedule preferred days off at the beginning of the year so that they can make vacation travel plans, and the remaining days could be saved for days when the employee is ill or could be scheduled ahead of time to take care of personal business. Joan believes this change will encourage employees to schedule their time off in advance when possible. With advance notice of absences, supervisors will be better able to plan projects and meet deadlines.

Questions:

Do you think changing Superior’s time off policies will decrease unscheduled time off?