Paid Time Off

Use Your Paid Time Off (PTO) to Refresh and Reset

Stepping away from the demands of work to spend time with loved ones, travel, complete simple projects, pursue personal hobbies, or simply relax at home promotes well-being—and this can positively impact your productivity and job satisfaction.

Productivity decreases when you work long hours or weeks without vacation or time away from work. You may have trouble focusing, suffer burnout from overwork, or become less motivated. Your ability to think “outside the box” can also diminish and impact creativity and innovation.

Balance the demands of your professional and personal lives
It is possible to strike a healthy balance between life, work, family, relationships—and play. In addition to paid time off, Yale offers resources and services to maintain your sense of well-being and support you through difficult situations.

Review your available bank of paid-time-off days
Yale provides generous paid time off for you to step away from work and return refreshed and recharged. To review your available PTO balance, go to Workday, select the absence worklet, and view your available PTO balance. You can submit your request for PTO (absence) right from the same menu. In addition to official Yale holidays, Yale provides paid time off to attend to personal responsibilities such as:

Yale encourages staff members to provide advance notice and coordinate schedules with their managers for planned days off. Provisions for staff PTO follows:

Yale Staff Category	PTO Provision
Clerical and Technical, Security	Paid time off (PTO) for those hired before July 1, 2009, and for those hired after July 1, 2009
Faculty	Leave of Absence Faculty Handbook
Managerial and Professional	PTO and Flex Days Sick pay and short-term disability
Postdoctoral Associates	Leave of Absence PTO Sick time
Service and Maintenance	Sick time Vacation time
Yale Police Benevolent Association (pre-Oct. 1, 2011, hire)	PTO

For Managers

Supporting staff well-being and PTO requests
Here’s how managers can create a supportive environment to encourage self-care and accommodate employee’s requests for PTO throughout the year:

First, practice self-care. To best support others, start with yourself.
Lead by example. When managers don’t take time off themselves, some employees may be hesitant to request time away.
Discuss PTO scheduling in team meetings. This enables the coordination of responsibilities and overlapping of time off and builds a supportive work atmosphere within your team.
Encourage work-life balance. Discuss the impact of unhealthy work habits and how the benefits of taking time off can enhance overall well-being and creativity. This is especially important for staff who frequently tend to work beyond reasonable expectations.
Be flexible in supporting your staff’s personal issues.
Keep your staff informed about resources, programs, and services that support well-being at home or at work.
Emphasize that “unplugging” really means “no working” while on PTO.
Promote the use of the “delay send” email message feature to contain messaging during working hours.