Tag: vacation

Answers to Your Questions About Vacation/Personal Paid Time Off (PTO)

Published on by MSU Human Resources1 Comment

Do you have a plan for using your vacation/personal paid time off (PTO) this year? According to this Forbes article, “American workers are notorious for being workaholics. Since March of 2020, an overwhelming majority of U.S. employees have shortened, postponed, or canceled their vacation time.” While most of us are aware that time away from work is crucial to maintain mental health and support our relationships, we sometimes have a hard time truly disconnecting.

While it may seem harmless to check in a couple of times while you’re away, to really benefit from a vacation you need to disconnect entirely. Review these tips for setting boundaries so you can get adequate rest and reset. Having a plan for setting boundaries with your team before, during, and after your vacation will help reduce pre- and post-vacation stress.

We encourage everyone to work with their supervisor to schedule a well-deserved break. And don’t forget, employee discounts for travel are available through MSU Benefits Plus and the HR website.

Your Top PTO Questions

The following are the most common questions HR receives regarding PTO and answers vary based on the employee’s personal details. These answers are only applicable to regular, benefit-eligible employees working half-time or more. Please make sure to reference the appropriate policy page for further details: support staff, faculty and academic staff, librarians, and MSU extension.

  1. How do I find out how much PTO I currently have?
    • Log into the EBS Portal and select My Time & Payroll from the top navigation, then select the Time Quota Balances tile. For support using the application, please review the Time Quota Balances help page.

  2. How do I find out how much PTO I have used?
    • Log into the EBS Portal and select My Time & Payroll from the top navigation, then select the Time Quota Usage Monthly Report tile. For support using the application, please review the Time Quota Usage Monthly help page.

  3. How do I enter my PTO in EBS for supervisor approval?
    • Login to the EBS Portal and select My Time & Payroll from the top navigation, then select the Time Entries & Statement tile. Enter the number of hours in the cell for the correct date in the row with the appropriate absence type. For support using the application, please review the Time Entries and Statement help page.

  4. What is the difference between personal leave and vacation PTO?
    • Eligible support staff are granted both personal leave and vacation PTO. Eligible faculty and academic staff are granted vacation PTO.

      For support staff, up to 24 hours of personal leave PTO is granted each fiscal year (July 1 – June 30). The amount granted is proportional to employment percentage. You may not carry these hours over to the next year, so make sure you use this PTO before the fiscal year ends. Please review the support staff personal leave policy page for more details. Please note: POAM employees should review the POAM union contract for their unique personal leave policy.

      Vacation PTO is granted to eligible employees and varies based on employee type, union affiliation, employment percentage, length of employment, and new hire status. Please review the appropriate policy for further details: support staff, faculty and academic staff, librarians, and MSU extension.

  5. I’m a new employee. Do I have access to my vacation PTO immediately?
    • This depends on your employee type. Eligible faculty, academic, and support staff have access to vacation PTO after 6 months of service. Eligible librarians and MSU Extension employees have access immediately upon employment. Please review the appropriate policy for further details: support staff, faculty and academic staff, librarians, and MSU extension.

  6. If I leave the university – such as through retirement or termination – what happens to my unused PTO?
    • Employees will receive payment for unused vacation PTO when they leave the university. Support staff will not receive payment for unused personal leave PTO.

  7. For Time Entry Roles Only: What are the absence and attendance codes?
  8. Support Staff Only: How do I accrue vacation days?
    • Eligible support staff accrue vacation days on a monthly basis. The amount accrued depends on union affiliation, employment percentage, and length of employment. Please review the support staff vacation time policy page for more details.

  9. Support Staff Only: Is there a maximum amount of vacation PTO I can accrue?
    • Yes. The maximum amount eligible support staff can accrue depends on union affiliation, employment percentage, and length of employment. Please review the support staff vacation time policy page for more details.

      Support staff cannot earn vacation time beyond the accrual limit. You are encouraged to use your PTO so you don’t lose out on valuable vacation time.

More information about PTO for eligible employees can be found on the HR website (support staff and faculty/academic staff). We encourage you to review the appropriate policy pages thoroughly to help answer any questions you may have. If you need further assistance, please contact the HR Solutions Center at SolutionsCenter@hr.msu.edu or 517-353-4434.

Unplugged: How to Disconnect from Work and Enjoy Your Vacation

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As travel restrictions ease and the summer heats up, there is no better time to take a vacation or staycation. Taking time away from work has many health benefits including improving your connection to yourself and loved ones and resetting from or avoiding burnout.

The Benefits of Taking a Vacation

Vacationing and taking time away from your job promotes a long, healthy life and has tremendous benefits to your mind. Taking a break from routine in fun and different ways can have the same benefits as consistent meditation exercises and help you build connections with not only your loved ones but yourself, too. In addition, taking a vacation has been scientifically proven to boost brain power. Taking time off from learning, working and gaining new information every day allows your brain to consolidate existing knowledge, resulting in improved learning after vacation.

The benefits go beyond just your mind — they affect your body too. Through reduced stress, vacations can improve heart health and decrease chances of metabolic diseases or conditions. Vacation time also improves sleep as poor sleep habits can be broken when sleeping in a new place. Coming home after vacation feels like sleeping in another new place, allowing those improved habits to continue.

Using vacation time is one of the best ways to reset from or avoid burnout. Check out this video from Jamie Hutchinson, the Deputy Director of the MSU Worklife Office, where she explains the five phases of burnout and how to avoid or correct them. Taking a vacation and then coming back to work helps reset a person to their “honeymoon phase,” a term used in Hutchinson’s video. 

Before Going on Vacation

To take full advantage of these benefits, you should consider fully unplugging from work — those emails and phone calls won’t go anywhere. 

Before you head to the airport or hit the road, set up automatic email replies with your out-of-office details including when you will be back, who to contact in the meantime, and how to contact you in case of an emergency if needed. If you use a shared calendar with your team, add your out-of-office dates as early as possible and notify your team verbally and/or by email. If you have ongoing projects, consider asking a coworker, supervisor, or team member to check up on them while you are away and plan to share updates when you return. If possible, leave work-related things at home or at the office to prevent the temptation to focus on work. Finally, prepare for the day you return from work before you leave by keeping your schedule as clear as you reasonably can on your first day back.

Returning from Vacation

Returning to work can often be stressful and sometimes undo the rest you achieved on vacation. To avoid getting immediately burned out, take time to ease back into your work routine. Try to avoid scheduling several meetings on your first day back and try not to set or meet big deadlines during your first week back in the office. The more time you spend away, the more time you should give yourself to get back to your normal work pace and routine.

In addition to easing into your normal work routine, it’s important to unplug from work at the end of each day. It’s easy to get burned out if you are mentally on the clock 24/7, answering emails and catching up during nights and weekends. You can use Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Google Calendar and other work team services to set out-of-office messages at the end of your workday. Finally, avoid stress by taking the necessary steps to be productive and engaged as shared in this earlier post about avoiding and reducing burnout. 

All these tips and more are available through these links: