Team Member Is Overusing PTO?

It sounds like you’re navigating a tricky situation with your team member who takes a lot of time off under the unlimited PTO policy. While her performance is excellent, the excessive PTO is creating some tension with the team and affecting her visibility, especially when it comes to opportunities for advancement.

Here are some steps you might consider:

  1. Clarify Expectations: Since the PTO policy is unlimited, it can be hard to define what's "reasonable." It could be helpful to have a discussion with your team about what the company expects in terms of PTO usage, particularly regarding availability for collaboration and work assignments. This sets a clearer standard that everyone can align with, including your team member.

  2. Have a Direct Conversation: It’s important to address the situation openly and constructively. Let her know that while you appreciate her work performance, her PTO usage is impacting her visibility and the team’s perception of her commitment. Frame it as a career development conversation, where you discuss how being more present for team activities and assignments could help her in her growth and future opportunities.

  3. Tie PTO to Career Goals: If your team member has aspirations for promotion, explain how her actions might impact those goals. Often, those who take on additional responsibilities and demonstrate consistent presence are more likely to be seen as leadership candidates. If she doesn’t take this feedback seriously, she might miss out on those opportunities.

  4. Address Team Dynamics: Since her PTO is being noticed by others, it’s crucial to manage how this affects team morale. It might be worth addressing team concerns directly in a way that helps your employees understand how to balance PTO with the needs of the team. This could include ensuring coverage or setting expectations for availability during key periods.

Create Guidelines: If the company does not have specific guidelines on PTO usage, this might be a good time to propose some general standards for the team. For example, you could set expectations around how often and how far in advance PTO should be requested, and what’s considered reasonable in terms of frequency and duration.